BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Kassaundra]

I just been enjoying reading it

that why I won't ever do Cornish

I'm hoping in future generations I won't have to AI

 

[miss heny]

I'm hoping in future generations I won't have to AI

lol don't blame you! Any breed I decide on have to be able to do it natural.

 

[BlueBaby]

*Chuckle* Horny little things, aren't they? But in this case I'm quite confident that no mating has occurred. The Silkie is currently trying to hatch some eggs and the two frizzles haven't started laying yet since going through a very hard molt....and they're way to fast for him. He keeps trying to woo them, moving closer and making his "come hither" sounds, but they just run for their lives. (Smart girls!)

Yes, they are. I was outside weeding near the coop and run this afternoon, and while I was out there I seen my rooster breeding 3 out of his 5 girls.

 

[Beer can]

IDK, I'd probably attempt AI with those giant white turkeys. Let a hen grow out yrs ago and she laid tons of eggs. Turkey's ain't like cornishX they live fine, just unable to breed. They're getting 7-$10 apiece for them.
Then again, I wonder you could probably use a holland white tom over broadbreasted hens. Hmm.

 

[GabrielBane]

lol don't blame you! Any breed I decide on have to be able to do it natural.

x2 regarding breed selection!


@DesertChic Here's what I snapped a second ago, it's chilly so I didn't want to take the screen off the brooder for too long!

Here's what my girls look like, the other NN who's a runt / had the curled wings comes from the same parentage. Shame she doesn't seem to be growing quite as nicely as her siblings;

Here's the boy;

Both are super heavy, but the girl doesn't seem to have the naturally friendly disposition the boys do. All the sex-links that we bought with the NNs have (of course) managed to be the sweetest birds we have.

 

[miss heny]

Just, hardest thing is picking too many rare APA/ABA breeds to pick from...and some don't even have bantam counterparts anymore. :/

 

[DesertChic]

Well, I've been trying to snap some decent photos of the chicks from my last hatch but they haven't been entirely forthcoming. My NN has been the most camera shy, so please excuse the motion blur photo, but it's the best shot I've got of his unique feathering.



At 3 weeks old this guy weighed in at a whopping 10.23 ounces. Right now he's on the path to being the biggest NN cockerel I've ever raised.

Here he is in the back row of a group shot. You can definitely detect the buff barring in his muff.


And now my gentle giant, Andres, who weighed in at 10.69 ounces at 3 weeks:




Now Sweetie Pie, the EE mix that is thankfully behaving and looking more like a pullet than a cockerel again. She (I hope) weighed in at 9.67 ounces at 3 weeks. @Kev - Sex linked female since her mother was barred, right?



And lastly, a photo bomb courtesy of one of my Silver Gray Dorking pullets:

She my biggest SGD pullet at 7.05 ounces at 3 weeks. The SGDs continue to blow me away with how incredibly sweet and friendly they are. Usually at this age the chicks are more nervous, but this flock runs right up to me as soon as I walk near the pen. Too sweet!

 

[Kev]

IDK, I'd probably attempt AI with those giant white turkeys. Let a hen grow out yrs ago and she laid tons of eggs. Turkey's ain't like cornishX they live fine, just unable to breed. They're getting 7-$10 apiece for them.
Then again, I wonder you could probably use a holland white tom over broadbreasted hens. Hmm.

They can run into problems, nowhere as bad as cx but some do. Some of them 'drop down'- can't walk anymore or not without much difficulty. It's a good idea to feed restrict some and make them range.

Any hertiage or wild tom can breed broadbreast hens. The bad thing is, so many of the broadbreast hens get in a real serious breeding mode, squatting down for the toms too often and they can get scratched up by the tom(s) as a result. The urge can be so strong, they will still try to squat and breed even if they have deep gnashes all over their backs and sides. This can happen in some heritages, but it seems so prevalent in broadbreasteds.

Hen saddles will help, however some hens are just so stupid about it they need to be separated for their health.

 

[Kev]

Now Sweetie Pie, the EE mix that is thankfully behaving and looking more like a pullet than a cockerel again. She (I hope) weighed in at 9.67 ounces at 3 weeks. @Kev - Sex linked female since her mother was barred, right?

question- are there notifications for the @Kev coding? I never get anything when those pop up..?

Yes that is a pullet, if mother was barred. That's also a pullety color pattern- analog cockerels usually have the same hackle color showing on their wing bows and saddle areas. It's technically the same color pattern as "black copper"- pullets black with color on hackles, on hackles, saddles ad wings for cockerels.

 

[DesertChic]

question- are there notifications for the @Kev coding? I never get anything when those pop up..?

Yes that is a pullet, if mother was barred. That's also a pullety color pattern- analog cockerels usually have the same hackle color showing on their wing bows and saddle areas. It's technically the same color pattern as "black copper"- pullets black with color on hackles, on hackles, saddles ad wings for cockerels.

The notifications, I think, depend upon your settings. I get email notifications saying something like, "So-and-so mentioned you in a comment".

Thank you for the color sexing info. I know you'd originally told me it was a female and though I'd never had reason to doubt you before, her behavior was so cockerel-like for a while that I really had to wonder. She's a very assertive little pullet and has already put all of the boys in her flock in their place. I have a feeling I'll have my hands full with this little one.