BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[FaerieChicken]

I would set up another digital Hygrometer and Tenp gauge inside the incubator. I never trust the ones that come with the incubator... But I am always scared my tenp is too high or too low... I might be crazy lol!

i do, I actually bought a digital hygro/thermo combo but its crap. I tried to test it, the humidity was spot on, but when I went to test therm at boiling point or glass of ice water, it broke the hygrometer. So I bought the analog (?) one in the reptile section

 

[FaerieChicken]

OMG!!!! TYPO!! No, I didn't run the incubator at 110.4F!!!

I ran at 100.4F.

OH THANK GOD! I was like "where the heck do you live, Antartic?" LOL

 

[DesertChic]

@Desert Chick Your SGD Flock, what exactly is that breed, or is that an acronym to what you named the group? BTW they are all very stunning little chickies!

Sorry....Silver Grey Dorking. They're my heritage breed. When I first decided to keep chickens, the SGD was the breed I had decided on but I couldn't find any. A few months back I found a breeder and purchased some hatching eggs. They are, without a doubt, the sweetest birds I've ever hatched and that's saying a lot because I've raised some exceptionally friendly birds. If these birds were more readily available I've not doubt that hobbyists and those who want chickens for pets would snatch them up faster than they could hatch.

As far as the "tainted" meat is concerned, I'm not going pretend to be an expert on matter because I just don't know. I've been warned by my vet/neighbor/friend that the longer the carcass sits on a hot day the more likely it is to be loaded with dangerous bacteria as decomposition begins to occur pretty rapidly out here. I just don't want to take the risk. If they die when I'm not around and I have no idea how long the bird has been down, I'll take it out into the desert and leave it for the vultures.

 

[holm25]

This is what i use. After shipping it ended up costing like 10-15 dollars. Definitely worth it. The only reason the Bator ran at 95 degrees at one point is because I put the thermometer in after it was warmed up. As u can see it was off 4 degrees lol.

 

[FaerieChicken]

Sorry....Silver Grey Dorking. They're my heritage breed. When I first decided to keep chickens, the SGD was the breed I had decided on but I couldn't find any. A few months back I found a breeder and purchased some hatching eggs. They are, without a doubt, the sweetest birds I've ever hatched and that's saying a lot because I've raised some exceptionally friendly birds. If these birds were more readily available I've not doubt that hobbyists and those who want chickens for pets would snatch them up faster than they could hatch.

As far as the "tainted" meat is concerned, I'm not going pretend to be an expert on matter because I just don't know. I've been warned by my vet/neighbor/friend that the longer the carcass sits on a hot day the more likely it is to be loaded with dangerous bacteria as decomposition begins to occur pretty rapidly out here. I just don't want to take the risk. If they die when I'm not around and I have no idea how long the bird has been down, I'll take it out into the desert and leave it for the vultures.

Oh yes yes, that makes perfect sense now that you mention decomposition, duh. Here I am, a nurse, a Psych Nurse to boot, and you'd figure Id know, but not till you throw the RN slang into it, then I get it. Yes, the birds are relatively small to human body per say so rate of decomposition may be quicker, especially when given all of the exterior factors, heat, humidity, time of day, geographic location- literally, higher elevations take a little longer than closer to sea level, I think it has to do with the exchange of Oxygen in the air.

Im going to have to research the SGD, never seen one, in person or otherwise, until you showed your babies!

 

[DesertChic]

Oh yes yes, that makes perfect sense now that you mention decomposition, duh. Here I am, a nurse, a Psych Nurse to boot, and you'd figure Id know, but not till you throw the RN slang into it, then I get it. Yes, the birds are relatively small to human body per say so rate of decomposition may be quicker, especially when given all of the exterior factors, heat, humidity, time of day, geographic location- literally, higher elevations take a little longer than closer to sea level, I think it has to do with the exchange of Oxygen in the air.

Im going to have to research the SGD, never seen one, in person or otherwise, until you showed your babies!

I'm really curious to see how the SGDs develop. The breed has long been heralded for its superior meat qualities and for the hens' amazing mothering skills. I plan to allow the hens to hatch the chicks as much as possible from here on out rather than using an incubator as long as they're willing. It'll be a while before I get to sample the meat though. Right now I'm planning to keep the entire flock for breeding, both to keep the SGDs pure, and to cross with a few NNs. (I cross everything with my NNs.)

 

[GabrielBane]

I'm excited to follow your SGDs! (And the resulting NN mixes...) Before we got the Sulms, we were looking into those briefly (and then we happened to win the auction, it was fate~), super cute birds.





We're actually trying to pick a few "heritage" breeds to have around, there's been a little demand for a few specific breeds, I've never been a fan of selecting breeds for profit. So far we've specifically chosen for certain production traits, so w're going to try and research a happy medium of something american heritage, un-common AND dual purpose. There's an INSANE demand from the ladies around here for Wyandottes... but I just never liked how the ones I raised in high school dressed out. Super flighty and ornery. I never enjoyed working around them...

 

[NanaKat]

We're actually trying to pick a few "heritage" breeds to have around, there's been a little demand for a few specific breeds, I've never been a fan of selecting breeds for profit. So far we've specifically chosen for certain production traits, so w're going to try and research a happy medium of something american heritage, un-common AND dual purpose. There's an INSANE demand from the ladies around here for Wyandottes... but I just never liked how the ones I raised in high school dressed out. Super flighty and ornery. I never enjoyed working around them...

I love my Heritage Columbian Wyandotte and the White Wyandotte. Mine are great egg layers, attentive mothers and have a nice carcass. They are gentle and free range every day.
I have had Silver Laced in the past. I still have one 5 year old Blue and three 4-6 year old Black plus two 4 year old Blue Columbian hens that are still with the layer flock....laying 4 to 5 eggs a week.
Seems everyone who wants Wyandottes is seeking the Blue Laced Red or any of the new color varieties rather than the Heritage colors.

 

[bramblefir]

I'm excited to follow your SGDs! (And the resulting NN mixes...) Before we got the Sulms, we were looking into those briefly (and then we happened to win the auction, it was fate~), super cute birds.





We're actually trying to pick a few "heritage" breeds to have around, there's been a little demand for a few specific breeds, I've never been a fan of selecting breeds for profit. So far we've specifically chosen for certain production traits, so w're going to try and research a happy medium of something american heritage, un-common AND dual purpose. There's an INSANE demand from the ladies around here for Wyandottes... but I just never liked how the ones I raised in high school dressed out. Super flighty and ornery. I never enjoyed working around them...

Here are some breeds for you to consider, besides Wyandottes:

• Barred Holland
• Dominique (I like them better than Barred Rocks).
• Cubalaya
• Delaware
• Rhode Island White/Red
• Plymouth Rocks (lots of rare varieties besides the common Barred & White).
• Buckeye
• Chantecler
• Java
• Jersey Giant
• New Hampshire

Now if you really want to get some OLD heritage breeds, these 3 were the first breeds brought to the Americas:

• White Faced Black Spanish
• Dorking
• Old English Game

 

[bnjrob]

We're actually trying to pick a few "heritage" breeds to have around, there's been a little demand for a few specific breeds, I've never been a fan of selecting breeds for profit. So far we've specifically chosen for certain production traits, so w're going to try and research a happy medium of something american heritage, un-common AND dual purpose. There's an INSANE demand from the ladies around here for Wyandottes... but I just never liked how the ones I raised in high school dressed out. Super flighty and ornery. I never enjoyed working around them...

That has to do a lot with breeding selection and even husbandry. Most people are not serious breeders of anything except *pretty* birds. They use sentiment to determine who they breed from. Even show breeders can be bad about breeding for the *look*, but not for production or even temperament. I see people in APA groups who are horrified when one of the *old guys* tells them to butcher and eat their birds. This new breed of chicken exhibitor sells their culls rather than killing and eating them. And then people breed those cull birds to sell them, and there continues to be more and more people breeding questionable quality birds. And they sell them to people that don't know what they are buying and don't understand how much breeding and husbandry influence everything from production to temperament in a bird. It's a vicious cycle. I get so irritated when I see on Facebook and Craigslist what people are paying for badly bred birds.