BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Molpet]

Hi all. Dunno if am writing this in the correct place. I have meat birds, i feed them fermented feed . They are meant to be 5weeks today but they look small for their age. They eat a lot and healthy but why on earth do they look small and with very scanty feathers! Am thinking this is a bad stock!

the scanty feathers is typical in CX (cornish cross) meat birds, if that is the type you have... the size may be poor stock. My CX did well on fermented feed... Here is the FF meat bird thread, maybe someone will have a better answer.... https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds/17590#post_17677206

 

[dfr1973]

I just set 42 GLW eggs in the incubator - makes a big difference without that family of possums pillaging my eggs. Egg thief #4 was in the trap Saturday morning.

 

[GabrielBane]

I'm really enjoying watching the Sulmtalers fill out. Here's a size comparison with a Spitzhauben just a few days younger than them. We chose a pullet (?) and a cockerel to try and show off both.

They don't seem to be wasting much food( at least in comparison to the turkey poults)which is nice.

 

[DesertChic]

I just set 42 GLW eggs in the incubator - makes a big difference without that family of possums pillaging my eggs. Egg thief #4 was in the trap Saturday morning.

Woohoo! Hatching time! Good luck!

Today is day 10 candling for my eggs and I'm as excited to see their development as I was with my very first hatch ever. Of the 11 pure Dorking eggs I only had to discard 2, one of which wasn't fertile and the other fizzled. It's soooo much easier to candle white eggs than my colored ones, and watching those little embryos bouncing around in side the eggs was just too much fun. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I've got the humidity and temperature dialed in right to have a successful hatch.

 

[DesertChic]

I'm really enjoying watching the Sulmtalers fill out. Here's a size comparison with a Spitzhauben just a few days younger than them. We chose a pullet (?) and a cockerel to try and show off both.

They don't seem to be wasting much food( at least in comparison to the turkey poults)which is nice.

Is there anything more charmingly amusing than watching little chicks feather out? Does the chick on the far left have a tuft developing atop its head, or is it just the fluff growing out?

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Hi everyone! I've ben away from BYC a while (super busy with everything) and am getting back in the swing of things. I have a lot of reading back to do here, but thought I'd pop on and say hi.

It's been nice to be in a bit of a "lull" where there are no new chicks and I haven't had to scramble for housing for everyone (though I do have to build another large coop eventually). I've been thinking production lately because the German New Hampshires have grown out (now ~7 months old) and look fantastic. And just this weekend I pulled the only cockerel I did cull (he had a beak deformity), and he was quite delicious. So I'm back to my plan to cross GNHs and Naked Necks and hopefully have that as my primary "project". I'll post some photos (for those on the NN thread, please forgive the cross post of these here). BTW, the GNHs were all over 5 lbs at 16 weeks, which is a nice start with regard to fast growth for the freezer. I haven't weighed them lately but they are HEAVY when I lift them. I might guess 9 lbs, but not sure my estimate is accurate - I'll need to get out the scale.

Plan is to put the pullets (they won't sit still for photos) with Tank, my sweet and fast growing NN, to start. Maybe put the buff NN girls with one of the GNH boys (if Snape doesn't go too bananas about his girls being borrowed...

)

Boy Blue


Joe Black


Earl Grey (the best, I think - but all three are quite similar and consistent/close in weight and configuration, though this photo shows him off better than the other two)



Tank


- Ant Farm

 

[GabrielBane]

Is there anything more charmingly amusing than watching little chicks feather out? Does the chick on the far left have a tuft developing atop its head, or is it just the fluff growing out?

Hah, yup! The Sulmtalers are just now starting to get the appearance of their little tufts. It's super cute!

 

[jbkirk]

Hi all. Dunno if am writing this in the correct place. I have meat birds, i feed them fermented feed . They are meant to be 5weeks today but they look small for their age. They eat a lot and healthy but why on earth do they look small and with very scanty feathers! Am thinking this is a bad stock!

Often a lack of feathers is caused by them being to warm( they don't need them so why should they grow them?!).

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Hi everyone! I've ben away from BYC a while (super busy with everything) and am getting back in the swing of things. I have a lot of reading back to do here, but thought I'd pop on and say hi.

It's been nice to be in a bit of a "lull" where there are no new chicks and I haven't had to scramble for housing for everyone (though I do have to build another large coop eventually). I've been thinking production lately because the German New Hampshires have grown out (now ~7 months old) and look fantastic. And just this weekend I pulled the only cockerel I did cull (he had a beak deformity), and he was quite delicious. So I'm back to my plan to cross GNHs and Naked Necks and hopefully have that as my primary "project". I'll post some photos (for those on the NN thread, please forgive the cross post of these here). BTW, the GNHs were all over 5 lbs at 16 weeks, which is a nice start with regard to fast growth for the freezer. I haven't weighed them lately but they are HEAVY when I lift them. I might guess 9 lbs, but not sure my estimate is accurate - I'll need to get out the scale.

Plan is to put the pullets (they won't sit still for photos) with Tank, my sweet and fast growing NN, to start. Maybe put the buff NN girls with one of the GNH boys (if Snape doesn't go too bananas about his girls being borrowed...

)

Boy Blue


Joe Black


Earl Grey (the best, I think - but all three are quite similar and consistent/close in weight and configuration, though this photo shows him off better than the other two)



Tank


- Ant Farm

Impressive! I just love that New Hampshire red, the colour glows even in a photograph. And Tank is just as handsome as ever.

 

[Beer can]

Fire Ant Farm, beautiful NH's! How's the pullets look?
You got me really wanting to try to get hatching eggs from 8acres...
I really don't need another breed though... And then those Ixworth GreenFire has now, very tempting, wonder how much $$ they're going to be...