Salmon Faverolles from McMurray Hatchery

[zackcrack]

Back in March, I received an order of chicks from Murray McMurray Hatchery. The order was mostly salmon Faverolles chickens. These chicks are the first generation of my SF breeding project, and for hatchery birds, they turned out pretty well! Here are some pictures.

 

[SuperChickRuth]

Beautiful birds! Is that hatchery pretty good?

-I've got one Salmon Faverolle or however you spell it- and I absolutely love her!!! I was so blessed to get her and raise her, because she had an eye infection and probably would have died if left at the store. Love those birds!!!

 

[zackcrack]

I think that the birds turned out well for hatchery birds. Love Murray McMurray!

 

[waddles99]

I would be strongly hesitant to incorporate those birds in a breeding plan for a number of reasons. While they may appear decent for hatchery birds, I do not think they will be worth it to breed. I suggest getting them from an established breeder known for having good stock.

 

[zackcrack]

The goal of the project is to see how much improvement can be made from hatchery birds. I will of course outcross for hybrid vigor and a lower inbreeding coefficient.

 

[waddles99]

The goal of the project is to see how much improvement can be made from hatchery birds. I will of course outcross for hybrid vigor and a lower inbreeding coefficient.

I'm sorry to say, but unless you are a master breeder, I wouldn't attempt a project of that magnitude. It takes many decades, for even the most skilled breeders to do that. You will not be impressed with the results. Look at Underwood RIR, for example. It took 100 years to breed them from hatchery stock up to the quality that they are today. And that is even with a skilled breeder. Also, it is not smart to cross different lines. If you do so, you will make a mess. It makes sense logically, but crossing lines will just mess them up. That statement right there shows me that you are not a skilled breeder, and therefore will struggle with such a task. Why not start out with a known line of quality birds and just try to breed them?

 

[zackcrack]

I'm not looking to breed for APA shows or any such thing. The project is to see how the birds change throughout each generation. Even if I do make a mess of the lines, that's part of the experiment! Its more for fun than anything.

 

[theuglychick]

Oh man, I thought the elitist were bad in the dog world. I jump over to chickens and they're just as bad here! @zackcrack I think the birds are lovely. I'm sure there will be plenty of interest in your birds. Not everyone wants an inbred cookie cutter genetic train wreck.

 

[zackcrack]

I'm glad there are others in this for the fun and learning opportunities. That's what a hobby is all about, right?

 

[theuglychick]

You're absolutely right. I hope that you do update us on how your breeding plan works out. I have a shipment coming from MM this week so I'm happy to see you got some pretty, happy, and healthy birds from them. I wanted Salmon Faverolles this order but they weren't available for my ship date

Maybe next go round. Best of luck with it!