Toad Raising.

[duluthralphie]

How long until they reach the 15.5 lbs? Or just the most efficient age to butcher?

It appears they are 15 pounds in 15-18 weeks.

They really do not gain a lot of weight after that. But that is one of the things I want others to figure out. I do not do well at keeping growth and feed rate or ratio charts and data.

I think it is a pound a week after about week 4. They seem to get bigger but I have not weighed an adult yet.


My wife, aka the WWD, is with her coven this weekend, so I might be able to bring the scale outside and weigh them without her knowing I did it....Hmmmm

I know they mature slow, but that could be a function of my climate. My pullets are May and June hatches I am only getting eggs from one or two of them. My Hen is laying a huge egg nearly daily.

I had a woman here the other day getting some chicks and she was impressed with the Toads, said she had never seen a chicken that large and so on. She liked the legs. I mean the legs!! She eats chicken legs/feet. She says they are huge feet/legs (the yellow part.)

To me that is a throw away part.

I am too close and involved in their development and kind of consider them my pets to give the unbiased answers to some questions. Another reason more people need them.

I have a person picking up all the eggs I get between the 24th and march 5th to start incubating on the 5th. I am excited for this. They are a farm family and looking for sustainable meat birds.

The funny part is this person is the WWD's cousin's daughter. I last saw her 30 years ago when she was a kid. She joined the MN thread and we discovered the relationship. I know how self reliant the family is or wants to be. I have great hopes for her having a flock that is even larger than mine. If I could talk her into becoming NPIP I would even be happier.


I also have a couple 4h kids/families getting some eggs. One kid wants to have two batches. one that is 6-8 weeks old at their fair time and another that will be mature at the fair ( maybe some of the toads I have now) so people can see their size. He said he did not care if they won, just that people saw how big a chicken can get.


I am not sure they will beat the CX's because of the prejudice for them from judges. They will not have the weight gain of a CX.

 

[Icravepoultry]

Thanks

 

[duluthralphie]

I lost a toad rooster yesterday, No Idea why, I am assuming just bad heart, I did not see any injury, but I did not look close. This worries me some, maybe I did not lengthen their lives as much as I thought.

Hmmm

I have to find a place for the toad roosters. I am going to only allow one rooster in with the girls. The girls are getting beat up on their backs and the fertility is lower than I want to see.



For those of you wanting eggs I am getting a few out. Most are still going to Minnesota people so I have ready access to the gene pool if I need it.

Thanks for bearing with me. I only get an egg or two a day right now so it is slow going.

Thanks!

 

[Karen523]

Thank you for the update!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Cornish crosses raised free-range with a diet usually live 2-3 years. Like most giant animals they have reduced lifespans. As long as you're raising giant animals it's something you'll have to deal with. You should look into the health issues and rearing techniques for other giant breed animals like draft horses and giant dogs (great danes, st bernards etc.). It might help you on your quest.

 

[Twin Fowls Farm]

What is the feed conversion for the Toads? I looked through the thread but didn't see anything about feed documentation. Do they eat as much as a turkey to get that big?

You have a great project going here and it's fun to see your enthusiasm around your birds. Its refreshing to see!

-IdahoTom

 

[duluthralphie]

What is the feed conversion for the Toads? I looked through the thread but didn't see anything about feed documentation. Do they eat as much as a turkey to get that big?

You have a great project going here and it's fun to see your enthusiasm around your birds. Its refreshing to see!

-IdahoTom

I can not really tell you that stuff. I do not know. I do not keep those records my goal is to get a long living self sustaining breed. I am sure the feed conversion is lower than in a CX. I am not trying to duplicate the CX. I want a slower growing larger bird.

I will occasionally force them to fast for a day to help burn excess fat.

One of the reasons I am trying to get this out to others is to have them do that feed conversion charts and so forth, to me they mean nothing.

Cornish crosses raised free-range with a diet usually live 2-3 years. Like most giant animals they have reduced lifespans. As long as you're raising giant animals it's something you'll have to deal with. You should look into the health issues and rearing techniques for other giant breed animals like draft horses and giant dogs (great danes, st bernards etc.). It might help you on your quest.

I have never had a CX live that long, I do not know of anyone that has experimented with them get them to live over 2 years. When I had CX's I severely limited the intake and still had trouble getting over a year. BTW I did free range and recommend to anyone trying this to incorporate free ranging and exercise into the program.

With the Toads I do not have the leg issues the CX seem to have or the circulation problems, but there are still some problems, hopefully selective breeding will take care of some of those.

Thanks

 

[JRNash]

Cornish crosses raised free-range with a diet usually live 2-3 years. Like most giant animals they have reduced lifespans. As long as you're raising giant animals it's something you'll have to deal with. You should look into the health issues and rearing techniques for other giant breed animals like draft horses and giant dogs (great danes, st bernards etc.). It might help you on your quest.

You have got to be kidding.Ralph has had spectacular success. If you will start at the beginning of this thread and pay attention, you will gain valuable insight in how to raise a CX. Everyone jumps in and thinks they have the solution.It's very difficult.Failures are the norm. Comparisons between other animals is pointless. I have a CX named "Foghorn" a little over a year old. I tried following the "guidelines" Out of over 50 birds, I had one that might just give me my first Toad in a couple weeks. When I got home from work today I thought his jugbutt was toast.laying on his side. Turns out he was sleeping.
After all is said and done I don't expect him to make it much longer. You can free range. You can limit the diet.
You can't erase the genetic issues that have been selectively bred for. Unless you have the patience, the skill and the knowledge of someone like Ralph. To date I have not seen or heard of anyone who has came close to Ralph's or Linda's birds. They've taken different approachs and their results are spectacular.

 

[JRNash]

Free ranging CX only went so for. I believe some of them can gain weight on air

 

[JRNash]

Foghorn. Believe it or not I free ranged and restricted the caloric intake of this juggernaut. I was just about to give up.Ralph told me not to give up. Once again Ralph,who I fondly call Doctor Ralph since has been published,was right. Foghorn has successfully bred his little harem. It's hard on him though. His legs shake and he can't walk very far without sitting down.And like I said his days are numbered. I may get lucky. I might end up with something that doesn't have the fatal flaws of the CX. I know for a fact I won't achieve the results Linda or Ralph have. It takes years.It is fun trying though.