BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[dfr1973]

Shame about the chicks

. I am a bit surprised that the two would have got smothered, with only eight chicks?

Eight chicks plus Pollux, my capon-nanny.

 

[GabrielBane]

Welp. Lost the other little Spitzhauben this morning. He was the only one I was concerned about sleeping outside, so the Sulmtalers are officially enjoying life outside on our back patio while we construct our bigger coop. Not going to lie, they are little monsters, one I'm keeping an eye on in particular;


This guy. Green band. He's even bigger and more impressive now. I'm going to have to photograph him for you guys.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Welp. Lost the other little Spitzhauben this morning. He was the only one I was concerned about sleeping outside, so the Sulmtalers are officially enjoying life outside on our back patio while we construct our bigger coop. Not going to lie, they are little monsters, one I'm keeping an eye on in particular;


This guy. Green band. He's even bigger and more impressive now. I'm going to have to photograph him for you guys.

Awww... that's a shame about losing the Spitzhauben :-(
Your cockerel looks like he's growing up to be a large fellow, looks nice and blocky already.

 

[FaerieChicken]

LOL, lets stick with forum posts and PM for now. I don't share personal info with many people I meet online. 

Hahaha, totally understand! I really meant info like stuff we do regarding our chooks. What has worked and what hasn't etc...

I like the forums but sometimes it's hard to go through all the random chatter and conversations between others, kind of like what you and I are doing now lol.

 

[FaerieChicken]

I'm a total nerd when it comes to chicken data. I've got measurements on just about everything including hatching egg weight and weight changes, which birds' eggs pip and hatch first and how long it takes, etc. All of my data combined with continual interaction with and handling of my birds has proven invaluable to me.    Have you graphed the growth rates yet? It really is quite helpful to do so. 

I have not graphed yet. I figure I can do that when I have a couple more weights.
What is the purpose again for graphing? Is it to see the rate of gain. I'm wondering if there is an average they are suppose to gain each week. How do I calculate % for growth?

 

[DesertChic]

I have not graphed yet. I figure I can do that when I have a couple more weights.
What is the purpose again for graphing? Is it to see the rate of gain. I'm wondering if there is an average they are suppose to gain each week. How do I calculate % for growth?

In the next few days I'll PM you a spreadsheet I made for charting growth rates. It will be in ounces and eventually pounds and includes the formula for automatically calculating % of weight gain from one week to the next and since hatch weigh.

Graphing is just a nice way to have an at a glance representation of of growth. Sometimes the numbers can all start to blur in my mind, but one glance at a graph can show me if a particular chick showed a sudden spike, if all of the chicks are progressing similarly, etc. It's not a necessity, but some people like myself find them helpful.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
Like she said.

Here is an example of my 12 week chart for my hatchery Naked Necks. Helpful deciding on keepers. Interesting to see the obvious split between males and females, and the speed of growth Snape had after being a smaller chick early on (he's the light blue on top, and my primary NN flock rooster). Alternatively, Tank (the dark blue on top most of the time) was bigger than everyone by a LOT until about 10 weeks, then leveled off, and didn't turn out super large. Kept him anyway due to his fast early growth, his homozygous NN status, and exceptionally gentle disposition.



Added bonus is that you get your hands on each chick each week, so you can examine them to pick up any issues, and they get more used to being handled.

- Ant Farm

 

[FaerieChicken]

In the next few days I'll PM you a spreadsheet I made for charting growth rates. It will be in ounces and eventually pounds and includes the formula for automatically calculating % of weight gain from one week to the next and since hatch weigh. 

Graphing is just a nice way to have an at a glance representation of of growth. Sometimes the numbers can all start to blur in my mind, but one glance at a graph can show me if a particular chick showed a sudden spike, if all of the chicks are progressing similarly, etc. It's not a necessity, but some people like myself find them helpful. 

Thank you, that's awesome share!

 

[DesertChic]

Thank you, that's awesome share!

No problem. I should have verified with you first....can you open Excel spreadsheets?

 

[FaerieChicken]

No problem. I should have verified with you first....can you open Excel spreadsheets?

Oh yes! I wish I could say "I love Excel" but the truth is, I am not all that skilled in it. Very generic as a matter of fact. But yes, I can access Excel no problem