BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[DesertChic]

Oh ok, cool. I'll take you up on that for sure one day soon.

Yes, I just plant everything directly in the ground after I amended the soil with compost of which I'm sure you have a fair amount, or following a cover crop/green manure.Our soil and probably yours too, is very high in minerals and only needs a healthy dose of organic matter to do very well. It may look sterile but it's just waiting for the proper ingredient to spring to life, believe me.

Well, our home resides on what used to be a rock quarry, so the soil was extremely sterile when we first moved here, and has slowly improved over time. Combined with my formerly-black-thumb....it's a challenge.

This year, however, I have watermelon, rosemary and even a cherry tomato plant growing well straight in the ground rather than in raised beds, so I'm still hopeful.

 

[NanaKat]

I've been working with my Columbian Wyandotte for almost 7 years now using the SOP and advice from the original breeder and folks here on BYC as my guides.
I just posted several photos on the Exhibition ..breeding to the SOP thread with comments on what characteristics I selected. I have two 13 month old cock birds and possibly three 9 month old cockerels for the 2017 breed pen. Wyandotte take almost 14 - 15 months to really show their full potential as breeders.

This is the bird that makes me smile every time I see him.... He is so much nicer than his father and grandfather..

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Nanakat he's lovely. By nicer, do you mean temperament? Or did it take 7 years to get the rooster you've wanted?

 

[NanaKat]

Nanakat he's lovely. By nicer, do you mean temperament? Or did it take 7 years to get the rooster you've wanted?

His conformation and look is nicer. His grandfather Beau had the sweetest temperament of any rooster I've ever had...he would actually sit on eggs to give his hens a break.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

His conformation and look is nicer. His grandfather Beau had the sweetest temperament of any rooster I've ever had...he would actually sit on eggs to give his hens a break.

One day I hope to have a nice rooster like that- I'm trying to select for good temperaments as well as looks. They are still pretty young, but it's easy to spot the nasty fellows.

 

[DesertChic]

One day I hope to have a nice rooster like that- I'm trying to select for good temperaments as well as looks. They are still pretty young, but it's easy to spot the nasty fellows.

Yes, it really is. It's amazing how they can go from being sweet, affectionate little chicks to something that attacks every part of your body as soon as you get near them.

 

[Beekissed]

I've been blessed to have never raised a nasty rooster, nor ever had one that couldn't have it's mind changed in two seconds, many different breeds and all. It would be interesting to see such a thing as I've never actually seen the makings of a nasty rooster in a set of chicks. What do you notice first and what do you do about it?

 

[DesertChic]

I've been blessed to have never raised a nasty rooster, nor ever had one that couldn't have it's mind changed in two seconds, many different breeds and all. It would be interesting to see such a thing as I've never actually seen the makings of a nasty rooster in a set of chicks. What do you notice first and what do you do about it?

The nastiest of my nasty roosters all started out as affectionate chicks, but once puberty hit they all began showing the same tendencies - upon entering their pen they would immediately lunge at my feet or legs and peck very hard; if I tried to move or handle them they would turn and bite; as I worked in their pen they would stand very alert watching me and crow almost constantly. Comparatively my nicer cockerels usually move out of the way when I entered and all but ignore me while I work, or come over to be pet or handled. A few will just lay down nearby and watch me go about my business, but show zero sign of aggression.

 

[DesertChic]

I finally managed to snap a current photo of my preferred meat breeding cockerel from my last hatch. This is Monty, an Ameraucana/White Rock cross:



He weighed in at over 5.5 lbs at his 16-week weigh-in, has an impressive amount of breast, thigh and leg meat, and actually has a really good disposition. He's not very heat tolerant, which concerns me, because his father was so filled with fat when I processed him that I had a hard time removing his organs.

 

[Beekissed]

The nastiest of my nasty roosters all started out as affectionate chicks, but once puberty hit they all began showing the same tendencies - upon entering their pen they would immediately lunge at my feet or legs and peck very hard; if I tried to move or handle them they would turn and bite; as I worked in their pen they would stand very alert watching me and crow almost constantly. Comparatively my nicer cockerels usually move out of the way when I entered and all but ignore me while I work, or come over to be pet or handled. A few will just lay down nearby and watch me go about my business, but show zero sign of aggression.

Maybe some are imprinting due to be handled, hand fed and petted as chicks? This article has a paragraph about male birds.... http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/Bottle-raised%20males%20can%20be%20very%20dangerous.pdf

After reading about that topic so often here on BYC, I've noticed most of the posts involve young males that were handled or hand fed as chicks, folks describing them as affectionate, gentle, babies, etc. that turned to attacking their owners upon sexual maturity. I have to wonder if a lot of it was a result of that early imprinting and resulting confusion. Maybe some cockerels are more prone to imprinting than others which could explain the varied results you are showing. It would be worthy of an experiment on deliberately ignoring male chicks during the formative months, no handling or hand feeding, etc to see if that tends to continue or if it's truly a line or breed issue.