I think you are right. I'm not really set up for it right now, but I guess I would have to serious breed myself for egg production. When I see productivity gains within 3 generations, I guess it could be worth it at some point.
http://albc-usa.org/Newsletter/newsletterJulyAugust2008.html
Muscovy - other duck breed crosses (including Pekin) are likely to be infertile, fyi. I tried quite a few times to cross a Muscovy drake over other females. But the eggs were consistently infertile; then I learned that while they can breed, they only have about 30% fertility if left to nature...
I see you are in Ireland; my next question was going to be to ask for a hatchery recommendation in the US. Most lists I've seen list the potential of the Orpington bantams about the same as the Wyandottes, so maybe I can try to breed for more eggs. I was just disappointed when I saw the egg...
I've found quite a few dated threads regarding best egg laying bantam breeds but nothing really gave strong detail. I currently have a few bantam Wyandotte and Silkies. The Silkies are an experiment to see how they do in my extremely wet winters and hopefully I can use the two hens to brood...
Thank you for all of the feedback. Sounds like it would be best to overwinter before selecting, after they have started laying. My impression though was that geese will 'pair' off and I wasn't sure when that would happen. I was worried about them selecting their own breeding pairs and then me...
Hello all,
I'm looking for some insight and experience selecting geese as breeding stock. I am going to order my first goslings this spring. I am thinking I will order 6 straight run and hope to end up with a breeding trio (two females and one male.) I've googled and checked a number of...
I love the rich yellow fat that comes from a free range bird, regardless of age. What I have access to are 'retired' live birds from a nearby layer operation. I know that they are extremely affordable stewing birds, but won't have the same free-range taste or yellow fat. In terms of...
Hello,
I'm new and wanting to start breeding dark brahmas for conservation and productivity (consuming the eggs and culled birds along the way.) I have a few questions:
1. Anyone have live weight records from their own use of dark brahmas as meat birds? I'm not sure what ages would be...