any thoughts on hybrids

[SLAP STICK487]

What do you all think about hybrids, I know that everyone loves a pure breed.....but when your numbers are down what's your take? This is referring to personal egg producers and meat...

 

[Sydney Acres]

Well, hybrids do produce better, which is why they were developed. They tend to lack the longevity and reproductive consistency of the purebreds, but they can be very useful for specific purposes. People should get the breed that best fits their need, whether it be purebred bird or hybrid.

 

[SLAP STICK487]

What is to be suggested as the right meat bird?

 

[Sydney Acres]

Wow, that's an open ended question. The right meat bird for one person is definitely not be the right meat bird for another. Some important questions:

1) How do you plan to manage them? Free range, close confinement, all in -- all out, etc. What kind of facilities do you have to keep them in? How many do you want to raise at once?

2) Do you want to buy chicks every year from a supplier, raise them to table size, then slaughter them all at the same time? Or do you want a bird where you can slaughter a few every week for personal use, and the meat will stay tender through a wide age range? If for personal use, do you need the meat to be as tender as the chickens in the market (which are only 6 weeks old at slaughter), or do you plan on using some of the older recipes that don't need super tender meat?

3) Do you want to buy chicks every year from a supplier, and slaughter them all every year, or do you want to start with some good quality birds and then raise your own chicks after that?

4) Are you doing this as a for-profit business, or just as a hobby for personal use? Do you have financial concerns regarding feed costs, and need a specific feed ratio (the amount of food it takes to produce a pound of usable meat)?

5) How quickly do you want these birds to grow? Do you need them to reach slaughter weight at 5-8 weeks, or 9-12 weeks, or 12-16 weeks, or is a longer period ok?

6) Do you just want chicken meat, or do you want chicken meat that has a specific flavor, texture, superior quality, or some other feature?

7) Do you have any humane concerns about birds that become crippled and painful if they grow too rapidly? (Because extremely rapid growth usually comes with problems, and you need to be willing to watch these chicks get worse and worse every day until they reach slaughter weight if you choose the fastest growing hybrids.)

There are literally hundreds of options when it comes to meat birds, both purebreds and hybrids. Once you answer the above questions, the options can be narrowed down a bit.

 

[3riverschick]

What do you all think about hybrids, I know that everyone loves a pure breed.....but when your numbers are down what's your take? This is referring to personal egg producers and meat...

Stay in your breed. Backcross your strain to a cock from a quality producing flock. Actually it should be a hen so if the backcross doesn't nick, you haven't polluted your whole flock with the cock's genetics. here's a great little 55 pg. book written by a renowned poultry breeder who actually created a quality breed ( White-Laced Red Cornish). His gift was making poultry breeding simple to the seeker.
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.087299559;view=1up;seq=5 The linebreeding program is a classic use din many species for well over 100 years. Sounds like you might be at the generation where the breeder backcrosses to a son of the original stud cock. ( failing having one available, a 1st cousin from a flock of the same strain would do). It would help to know what breed you have. If you do want to hybridize, some breeds have classic crosses which are proven to be superior.
Best,
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

Maybe double check the physical qualities in your birds which are related to production virtues. The depth of body ( meat and eggs), width of breast ( meat), quality of head characteristics (eggs), Fineness of skin texture, comb and wattle texture ( eggs), looseness or closeness of feathering (eggs), width between pelvic bones ( eggs). Whichever are lacking, choose a related cock from the same strain which possesses them.
Best,
Karen

 

[SLAP STICK487]

Thanks for the advice. Here's my delima , my Rhode island red(rooster ) has bit the dust and I have an order to fill and there's no time to raise another one and I don't want to bring one that has already spurred in from another farm due to the risk of contamination ....the purchaser doesn't mind a hybrid and my three black copper marans are itching to mix it up with one of the hens......all roosters have the same makeup, but the alpha is the most aggressive and I don't own a back sattle ... how can I go about reducing the risk of injury?

 

[SLAP STICK487]

Those are very demanding questions...maybe the fullness of breastmeat and thick wings will come in to play. And when it comes to feed ratio conversion it all depends on how fast they are growing and I'm very patient with my product. I sell most of my eggs both chicken and duck so that's how I pay for their feed-and whatever I'm lacking I dip into my pigs fund.

 

[junebuggena]

You only have one hen?

 

[Mini Meat]

Thanks for the advice. Here's my delima , my Rhode island red(rooster ) has bit the dust and I have an order to fill and there's no time to raise another one and I don't want to bring one that has already spurred in from another farm due to the risk of contamination ....the purchaser doesn't mind a hybrid and my three black copper marans are itching to mix it up with one of the hens......all roosters have the same makeup, but the alpha is the most aggressive and I don't own a back sattle ... how can I go about reducing the risk of injury?

You could use a rooster tie. Then, the hens could visit the rooster when the are in the mood.