Breed Kosher Kings?

[Jingles1234]

Hi peeps,

Our family is raising Kosher Kings from Meyer Hatchery for meat. We are thinking about keeping a breeding pair so that we can start hatching our own eggs. My questions are:

1. Can you breed KK's or are they the kind that get so fat that they can't breed?
2. How do we select a pair that would be good for breeding? Fastest growers? Fattest? Best Foragers?

They're all on pasture, free range at this point (5 weeks old) and there are a few that I'm eye-balling to keep.

This is our first go-around with meat birds. We're old hat with layers at this point.

Thanks!!!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Sure you can breed them. The offspring will have more diversity of size than parent stock. Reason for this is they are hybrids. Whenever outcrossing a line or two breeds you get a lot of variation in offspring and must cull ruthlessly to pick out the best very few to breed the following year or you'll be moving backwards.

I've not read of any weights on the Kosher Kings but assume they are in line with the Freedom Rangers, red or black broilers. These hybrids do not get so large as to flop over or have difficulty breeding. Pretty much chicken size with the only advantage being they mature a little faster than standard breeds. By no means are they even close to Cornish X.

The largest birds at 8 weeks to time of butcher, I'd assume slaughter would be 14 to 15 weeks, are the birds you want to choose breeder stock from. Find the largest male with widest back that stays wide full length. Size alone has some value but the body structure has more. Meaning if it's your third or fourth largest male with excellent body conformation then use that to breed forward rather than a male with V shaped body that happens to be larger. Females should have full breasts, wide set tails and good size. Save aside as many females as you think you'll need. Don't breed so so birds just to have more breeders, be picky as this is your flock foundation. It's better to hatch every egg from one or two excellent hens than a large batch of eggs from 6 so so parents.

Here's an excellent article from the Livestock Conservancy, read that carefully and choose your breeders accordingly:

https://livestockconservancy.org/images/uploads/docs/ALBCchicken_assessment-1.pdf