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Point taken. I won't cull particularly heavy at first because I'm trying to establish genetic depth in a fairly rare breed. I will pair up complimentary cockerels with pullets to balance traits. Once I establish three distinct lines I'll cull much more vigorously.

So I just collected data on my chicks for the first time. These were the first 5 Silver Gray Dorkings from P. Allen Smith's line to reach 1 month. It was really interesting that when I actually recorded data on each numbered chick (thanks to Lpatelski's chicken jewelry) I was able to see...

Haven't been here in a while... too busy with chicks. Long awaited chicks are starting to arrive, and I'm very grateful to the committed breeders who have provided them. 10 White Dorkings from Yellow House line via J. Woeppel (15 more coming soon) 10 Silver Gray Dorkings from P...

Sorry. I mis-spoke. I'm waiting on the White Dorkings to move my project forward, but they will all be grown out to select future breeders from. I'm also ordering Silver Gray Dorking cockerels from a hatchery to practice caponizing on. From what I understand most hatchery cockerels go into a...

Oh, on the topic of infection, newly castrated capons should be kept in a clean cage with a wire floor away from the barnyard for a few days. That helps keep the flies situation under control. Apparently there can also be bubbles that occur under the skin of some capon chicks that need to be...

Actually this tabl Actually this table is very widely used in China at the commercial level. Many caponizers are initially trained using it. I've seen a video of a team doing this procedure with several operators going at once with another team member handing each of them a fresh chick. The...

For at least 2000 years the procedure has not included sutures. The skin should be pulled back during the operation so that when you release it the incision in the skin moves away from the wound, therefore there is no opening thru to the chicken's insides. The procedure is done millions of...

So my capon project just took a major step forward. My caponizing table came yesterday from China via Poco Pollo in Oklahoma. She was kind enough to import it for me, and I'll be getting a large set of operating tools thru her as well. Now if I can just get my White Dorking chicks... my...

That must be why she always seemed "sauced" by the end of every episode.

Julia Child used to use a meat clever and mallet.

BNJRob is right on the money with this. I don't think there's some grand cabal at the top plotting all this but this situation has grown out of the type of economy we have created. It is built into those corporate entities to make profit at the expense of everything else. Cheap food makes...

Beautiful!

This is a really important point. I have lost an entire flock to disease but only once in nearly 50 years of chicken keeping. I took a year break to let nature clean things up and started over. Now I cull anything that hints of sickness instantly. I also live in close proximity to many...

Yes. Ducks can get AI

Try not to be too afraid. I went thru my own panic over the AI situation and feel a little more calm now. AI is a problem but is complicated by the politics of protecting the commercial poultry industry. And there's not much we can do about those politics. The existing form of AI is pretty...

There's no fighting the government, so if it shows up at a chicken house within 5 miles of me I expect the men in white coats and respirators to show up and destroy everything. Once I have my breeder flock of White Dorkings up and running I'll be looking for people to take my excess breeding...

Oops

Just ordered my Chinese caponizing kit from Poco Pollo. It should arrive in March a bit before my Dorking chicks, so I'll have time to familiarize myself with the equipment and possible try it out on a few cadavers before working on the hatchery Dorkings. The SOP Dorkings will remain intact to...