BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Beer can]

@Fluffyserama, capons is also a good route to go, poco pollo on here sells good kits. Luckily I also got the larger rib spreader, I failed at giving it a go when it was time, extra naked necks have already been culled. I still have three large jersey giant cockerels that I'll attempt to get myself to caponize, see what happens.

 

[Turk Raphael]

I regret posting my research here. It was a mistake. This list is the equivalent of a BARF feeding forum in the dog world. And I am advocating regular dry commercial feed with supplements. I am going to take it and move it somewhere else where it can be appreciated and viewed on its own merits without the distractions of wet feeders. I know we all have our own choices to feed as we wish. And that's fine. I just wish to have a less distracting forum in which to present it.
Best,
Karen

I appreciate it...'Aint that reason enough to post it here?

 

[Turk Raphael]

@Fluffyserama , capons is also a good route to go, poco pollo on here sells good kits. Luckily I also got the larger rib spreader, I failed at giving it a go when it was time, extra naked necks have already been culled. I still have three large jersey giant cockerels that I'll attempt to get myself to caponize, see what happens.

Older birds can be a real challenge. If I were you, I'd slaughter the birds one at a time and practice on them. Their testicles are large but quite soft and require a deft hand to do it correctly and even with that, it's a gamble.

 

[DesertChic]

Big *sigh*
I'm just a back yard hobiest. I don't have many individuals in my flock and I don't ever plan to sell chicks or eggs. I doubt the birds I hatch will ever impact their breeds as a whole, but 'IF' I ever did things on a larger scale I would would want to have pure pens. Right now all I'm shooting for is a great tasting bird for home consumption. The cross I'm thinking of seems to create something that can take the best out of both. I don't know if the cross will happen in my coop, just researching at the moment.

Yes the time to processing for these breeds is longer than for a lot of production meat birds, but all things are relative. For a super flavorful, tender, duel purpose bird 4 months to processing age sounds good to me.

I like lurking in this forum and learning, But my goals are different than yours.

I also feed fermented grain

From one newbie hobbiest to another (I've only been at this for 2 years now), the only thing I can say confidently is that you will find it VERY difficult to find good Silver Grey Dorkings to work with. My first flock (aka my "practice flock") was comprised of hatchery birds purchased from local feed stores of a few breeds I was interesting in. After raising them for a few months I decided that the SGD was THE breed I really wanted to work with. I still haven't been able to get my hands on any, and finally decided to switch my focus to birds that fit both my climate and my objectives better. So....take you time, don't be afraid to experiment, and be both patient and diligent in your endeavors. This is the one hobby that allows for you to eat your mistakes and start over, so you're never at a complete loss, and you learn from every project. And most importantly...HAVE FUN!!!

Good luck!

 

[Turk Raphael]

@Beer can ...My dad told me when the guy taught him how to caponize cockerels, he used one of his mom's crochet needles that had been customized on a grinder, a piece of black thread and a soda straw. They opened the birds with a very sharp hawk-billed knife, the point of which had been ground down to a razor edge. Also taught him how to poulardize pullets. That's tricky but actually easier than dealing with the cockerels.

 

[ejcrist]

Big *sigh*
I'm just a back yard hobiest. I don't have many individuals in my flock and I don't ever plan to sell chicks or eggs. I doubt the birds I hatch will ever impact their breeds as a whole, but 'IF' I ever did things on a larger scale I would would want to have pure pens. Right now all I'm shooting for is a great tasting bird for home consumption. The cross I'm thinking of seems to create something that can take the best out of both. I don't know if the cross will happen in my coop, just researching at the moment.

Yes the time to processing for these breeds is longer than for a lot of production meat birds, but all things are relative. For a super flavorful, tender, duel purpose bird 4 months to processing age sounds good to me.

I like lurking in this forum and learning, But my goals are different than yours.

I also feed fermented grain

From one newbie hobbiest to another (I've only been at this for 2 years now), the only thing I can say confidently is that you will find it VERY difficult to find good Silver Grey Dorkings to work with. My first flock (aka my "practice flock") was comprised of hatchery birds purchased from local feed stores of a few breeds I was interesting in. After raising them for a few months I decided that the SGD was THE breed I really wanted to work with. I still haven't been able to get my hands on any, and finally decided to switch my focus to birds that fit both my climate and my objectives better. So....take you time, don't be afraid to experiment, and be both patient and diligent in your endeavors. This is the one hobby that allows for you to eat your mistakes and start over, so you're never at a complete loss, and you learn from every project. And most importantly...HAVE FUN!!!

Good luck!

DesertChic hit the nail on the head with her comments. It's not just Dorkings that are hard to find but even a lot of more or less common birds. Try to find a good Brown Leghorn Breeder and if you find one let me know. I kinda look at it the way I view most things, that good things take time and effort. I'll work with whatever I can get for now, and if that's hatchery birds that's fine, and while I'm doing that I'll continue to search for good breeders of the birds I'm interested in breeding. The worst thing that can happen is I'll get a lot of good training on how to breed chickens. And like DesertChic said, and this is the best part, you get to eat the birds that don't make the cut. How cool is that? That's why I think I'll be raising poultry for a very long time - one of the best hobbies I ever had. Another reason I'm not in a big hurry to find a Brown Leghorn breeder is because I'm still in the process of building a multi-bay coop for breeding birds. I need to get that finished soon though because my rooster and 25 hens are currently living in sin in my main coop and run. I need to get better control of that before I start selecting birds/eggs for breeding.

 

[3riverschick]

Canadian Buckeye, you're from Cadmus? Have they rescued Supergirl's dad yet?
Inquiring minds want to know.
VBG,
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

I appreciate it...'Aint that reason enough to post it here?

Hi Turk,
It just makes it hard to follow the line of thinking when it is interspersed with posts on other subjects. I have always tried to keep research as a more unified field of knowledge. I started a thread on epigenetics over in the Genetics and Breeding section of BYC. I think I will move everything over there. That way folk won't have to hunt and peck to find the posts in many pages of other information. When I get everything transferred, I'll post the URL to that BYC thread. I have a lot of other research I haven't uploaded yet. if I keep posting it here, I think it will clutter the thread and confuse people as they keep paging back and forth to see where the new info fits in with previous posts. I think I can organize it more clearly on that Epigenetics thread. Then folk can use it as a library of sorts.
Best,
Karen

 

[DesertChic]

Hi Turk,
It just makes it hard to follow the line of thinking when it is interspersed with posts on other subjects. I have always tried to keep research as a more unified field of knowledge. I started a thread on epigenetics over in the Genetics and Breeding section of BYC. I think I will move everything over there. That way folk won't have to hunt and peck to find the posts in many pages of other information. When I get everything transferred, I'll post the URL to that BYC thread. I have a lot of other research I haven't uploaded yet. if I keep posting it here, I think it will clutter the thread and confuse people as they keep paging back and forth to see where the new info fits in with previous posts. I think I can organize it more clearly on that Epigenetics thread. Then folk can use it as a library of sorts.
Best,
Karen

I really don't care where you ultimately post your research. I'm looking forward to reading it even if I need a dozen flashlights and a bloodhound to find it.

Thanks for contributing to my education!

 

[Fluffyserama]

From one newbie hobbyist to another (I've only been at this for 2 years now), the only thing I can say confidently is that you will find it VERY difficult to find good Silver Grey Dorkings to work with. My first flock (aka my "practice flock") was comprised of hatchery birds purchased from local feed stores of a few breeds I was interesting in. After raising them for a few months I decided that the SGD was THE breed I really wanted to work with. I still haven't been able to get my hands on any, and finally decided to switch my focus to birds that fit both my climate and my objectives better. So....take you time, don't be afraid to experiment, and be both patient and diligent in your endeavors. This is the one hobby that allows for you to eat your mistakes and start over, so you're never at a complete loss, and you learn from every project. And most importantly...HAVE FUN!!!

Good luck!

Thank you!

I kept chickens for about 13 years, and got to try a quite a few different types of bird during that time. I loved doing it, but had to take a 6 year absence from chicken keeping due to life blowing me around a bit. So I'm building my flock from scratch and testing breeds new to me. I may go back to breeds I know, but since I'm starting fresh I may as well take a chance or two on the unknown.

Right now all we have are pet breeds, unintended for the table, with a few very young bresse thrown in. I'm trying to clarify what my family needs and wants out of a duel purpose bird.
I know someone local who breeds American bresse from green fire stock so I'm not worried about trying to find more bresse if I need them. However bresse are flighty and I've heard the roosters can be aggressive. (none of mine are very old) I have young children so an aggressive rooster CANNOT be tolerated. Also pure bresse can have problems with thin shelled eggs and other issues caused by no protective bloom to keep bacteria out of eggs. Unless I luck out with a calm rooster and can figure out the shell issues I don't see myself breeding this bird when I have a source so close.

I would love to keep dorkings, but have heard mixed things about hatchery stock for this breed. If I can find good birds, I would like to keep and breed some of the pure strain, since they are so hard to find. but I would also like to see if breeding to bresse would help offset some of the temperament and shell weaknesses in the bresse. Supposedly the cross results in a flavorful bird that reaches processing size earlier than the dorking but that also stays tender at an older age. All I have to go by is hear say so experimentation is very tempting.