BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[CanadianBuckeye]

I keep those portable dog exercise pens in the barn. A two foot high one works for smaller chicks and the 36 in tall one works on the bigger birds. I can set it up in the corner of a coop or run and herd the birds in before closing the opening. Because the 8 sided pen accordion folds, I can quickly reduce the size of the temporary pen. I've even used the 36 inch tall one as a temporary fence around one of my small portable coops in a pinch.

That's a great idea, I actually have a couple of those. I'll see how it works.

@CanadianBuckeye , looks like someone failed a lesson or 3 in chicken math.

I'm sure I saw where you have something like 45 cockerels to wrangle? Sorry to make fun of your plight but most of us have been where you are and feel your pain. When we got in trouble, we picked a 100ft roll of welded wire mesh and that worked very well for making some relative comfortable pens and covering them with the same material. It's cheap enough, easy to work with and can be re-attached to make larger sizes if one goes even crazier.

Lessons learned, we now have a total of 24 birds and plan to go into the winter with about half that many, unless we can agree to take ride South to pick up another few youngsters.
we took two of the cock birds that dad discarded and 5 pullets (W.Chanteckers)...they will stay. Also we managed to get 3 of their very nice looking hatchery Dark Cornish hens that are driving brother Jason nuts with their perpetual broodiness but that will suit us just fine. Dad gave us a very good incubator but we gave it back because we don't have time to mess with it or chicks. Any brooding can be done by the hens. I don't know if it has been mentioned but the White Chanteclers dad started also went broody. While not ideal for the most part, it does make me think they come from shoots that sprang fairly close to the root.

Sorry for having fun at your expense.

Turk

LOL you are right, and lesson learned. It's the incubator's fault, most weren't supposed to hatch!!!

I plan on having far fewer when winter sets in too.
On the plus side, I have a lot of birds to choose from and there's a great deal of variability, so in a way it's good and will probably save me time, money and work in the long run. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Turk Raphael]

That's a great idea, I actually have a couple of those. I'll see how it works.
LOL you are right, and lesson learned. It's the incubator's fault, most weren't supposed to hatch!!!

I plan on having far fewer when winter sets in too.
On the plus side, I have a lot of birds to choose from and there's a great deal of variability, so in a way it's good and will probably save me time, money and work in the long run. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Oh yes, even a thin coating of honey will mask the odor of chicken turd and give it a more appealing visage.

 

[Beer can]

@CanadianBuckeye looks like mystery chick might be a Barnevelder. Didn't know Cackle had them, never checked the dark brown egg layers section. Is getting some nice lacing that was confusing the heck out of me with it's straight comb.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

@CanadianBuckeye looks like mystery chick might be a Barnevelder. Didn't know Cackle had them, never checked the dark brown egg layers section. Is getting some nice lacing that was confusing the heck out of me with it's straight comb.

Of course! Yes that's it that makes perfect sense now. But it's probably a cockerel, right?

 

[Turk Raphael]

Here is a new 7 month Dominique cockerel to be added to our breeding program 7/15. He doesn't look so great in this pick. For one thing, he's standing in a rain storm in West Virginia. He over-sized but that' ok, that's why the breeder is giving him to us. It appears the pic was taken with a cheap phone cam so enlarging it only blurs it....

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Here is a new 7 month Dominique cockerel to be added to our breeding program 7/15. He doesn't look so great in this pick. For one thing, he's standing in a rain storm in West Virginia. He over-sized but that' ok, that's why the breeder is giving him to us. It appears the pic was taken with a cheap phone cam so enlarging it only blurs it....

I'm curious, what is it about the Dominique that you wanted to add a rooster to your breeding program?

 

[Turk Raphael]

I'm curious, what is it about the Dominique that you wanted to add a rooster to your breeding program?

The short answer is, it takes a cock to cover hens if one wants to produce peeps. Honestly, I have my reasons for being fairly excited about him coming this way but he was my partners idea. I'll see if he's willing to answer the question.

 

[lpatelski]

Auggie update 1,543g @ 44 days 3.4 pounds

 

[NanaKat]

Here is a new 7 month Dominique cockerel to be added to our breeding program 7/15. He doesn't look so great in this pick. For one thing, he's standing in a rain storm in West Virginia. He over-sized but that' ok, that's why the breeder is giving him to us. It appears the pic was taken with a cheap phone cam so enlarging it only blurs it....

I'm curious, what is it about the Dominique that you wanted to add a rooster to your breeding program?

One of these boys might be considered a good addition for a meat project...just saying... These are barred Wyandotte from a variety cross White over Columbian.

 

[lpatelski]

#115 update...





68 days today 1,472g or 3 1/4 pounds.
3 weeks older than Auggie and a 1/4 pound lighter.
Maybe it's just a 3/4 Dark Cornish is slower growing. Could be a pullet.

This pullet is a 3/4 Dark Cornish close to the same color pattern. Her name is Koi for her beautiful Koi-scale like colorful feathers.