a converstion with a show breeder.

[chickendales]

check these pens out they work for breeding pens show contioning cages or brooder pens
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=10901-cage-page

 

[chickendales]

Quote:
if u had 4 by 16 winter pen u could split it in to 4 breeding pens u could also us your horse stalls as grow out pens

 

[blackbirds13]

This is a great thread, very informative. Thanks.

 

[minister man]

Ok, learning lots..................

Contacted the local show club, and they told me that to be ready for the august show, then the chicks would need to be hatched in February or March.

So If it takes 3 weeks for them to hatch, and a bit of time to be laid, To me, I have to have the breeding pens set up by Christmas!

That means that my breeding pen building, has to be warm, and have 16 hours light so that they will think it is spring and start to lay! So for those first eggs I might have to use my incubator. Although if I can set up an enviroment in which they will lay, then perhaps some might set out thier own eggs.


I like the link to the breeder cages. If my trio's need 12 square feet, then a 6x2 cage would be great. One above the other gives me two, so I would need two of those cages for my four pairs. Because they are not built into the building, one or both could be removed to a storage area as needed so that the pen could be used as a floor pen.

Got a toe punch to make which "trio Family" the chicks come from...... So that is starting to narrow down the breeding pen to a clan mating. As the birds get chosen for the breeding pen, they can have some legbands.

So it would seem that I need another warm area to start the chicks in February. The horses wouldn't be going to pasture until the end of may. So if I had another set of those pens for starting chicks, I could start chicks in one, and divide them out as they grew.


It seems that the plan is coming together! I can't thank-you enough for all your help....... I feel Llike I am finally finding some peace in this whole idea. Your right Dave, starting to draw up a detailed plan, and working all the pieces into place, is exactly what I needed to do. Don't have all the pieces yet, But working on it!

 

[chickendales]

Quote:
the barn dosent need be kept that warm just warmenuf that eggs dont freeze

 

[minister man]

So if the breeding barn was about 40 degrees F, would be ok? Do eggs freeze at the same temp as water?

 

[minister man]

So here is the plan that I have designed. I think I included everything that Dave suggested. So what do you think? is this what you Mean? am I missing things that I need to put in?

Thanks Again, It has been a good day! MM





Show Silkie Breeding Plan


The breed: Silkies
The Variety: Whites

Number of Breeders: 8 female breeders + Extras
4 Breeder males& 4 spares

-All breeders will be fed a 20% Game breeder ration, available from Purina.
-I will use a rotational line- breeding program with
4 Pens that are 2 feet by 6 feet. Each pen will contain one male and two females.
I will replace one female each year, with the best pullet.
The males will rotate to the next pen each year, and the pullet will go into the pen that their mothers were in.
To meet the show dates in August, the chicks will have to hatch in February or March, so the breeding pens will need to be set up at Christmas.
The breeding pens will be built up to sixteen hours of light per day to encourage laying.
The pens will need to be kept above freezing to protect the hatching eggs.
The early eggs may need to be hatched in the incubator.
Each pen will be designated a toe punch mark to identify the matriarchal pen that they came from. And a leg band colour will be assigned to each clan or pen as well.



Grow out pens

Grow out pens will be assigned chicks at a rate of one square foot/ per chick, raising to 2 square feet at a month, and three at 6 weeks.
Culling will begin at hatching.
All chicks that don't have 5 toes will be culled.
All chicks that don't have black skin will be culled.
Because of the white colour the chicks will be raised inside.
The chicks will be started on Medicated chick starter for the first 6 weeks and then transferred to Medicated grower, until 12 weeks, then fed Non Medicated until they start on 19% layer at 18 weeks.

 

[chickendales]

Quote:
i wouldnt lemmet your self just keeping one pullet or keeping one cockerl per year if the babies are better then there parents then keep more offspring
i personaly dont sell many show\\breed quailty pullets i keep as many as i can
i keep extra roosters but most my extra roosters end up im breeding pens so at least he doing his job while im feeding him
i like use my coop floor a grow out pen\\extra pen and i have breeding pens that line the walls
here one my pens im going put in my coop that way the babies can run the floor breeder are up off the ground

 

[chickendales]

this year a used the for trio in them spring had birds out doors

 

[minister man]

I was thinking about that today as well. If I built pens, like the ones on the link that was posted on here, and lifted them up a little higher off the floor, then the building could also have a floor pen under them. It could be hall way or store shavings under the cages when the breeders are caged, and then as the space is needed for birds, the shavings move, and a floor pen emerges.

I know that it seems hard to determine how many birds to keep until I see if any are worth keeping. The issue is, to stay small, a person can only keep so many. There will only be one "best" per mating will there not? I don't know maybe I will need a pen for possible breeders, or I could rotate the birds in the breeding pens sometimes to have more birds for selection.


thanks again for the help, I think I am finally putting together something that might work.