I aim for hatching an absolute minimum of 100 per variety but I cull a lot from the brooder still. With legbars you can cull ambiguous marked chicks at hatch, anything that's not thriving, crooked toes, splash legs. By a couple of weeks old I'm looking for ugly combs, good growth rates, nice width and straight legs and toes, good body feel/condition in hand. I'm culling continuously for the best type and best growth and vigor of the bunch but usually will still grow 25 cockerels and 25 pullets out to 16-20 weeks of age, then cull more for best production qualities when it comes time to butcher the cockerels and when when the girls start laying.
You can reduce how many you have to hatch and grow out by single mating with purpose and keeping great records of what each pair produces.
Ultimately, though, it's going to come down to how good a quality you start with and how many you have room to grow out.
You can reduce how many you have to hatch and grow out by single mating with purpose and keeping great records of what each pair produces.
Ultimately, though, it's going to come down to how good a quality you start with and how many you have room to grow out.
