BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[bnjrob]

That's what I've been afraid of. Hoping to find someone with a large flock that is producing large blue eggs well,so I can buy hatching eggs, but that might be a dream. Our even with the rhodebars, which are having similar problems. The RB are heavier,though. It's hard to believe there are no standard bred brown egg laying equivalents to leghorns. Surely there is an obvious solution I'm not thinking of.

Probably an issue of finding someone with the right strain of them. May have to wait a bit until you find the ones you want. We waited several years before finding our birds, but it was worth the wait.

I'll be getting some CCL eggs hopefully next month from a buddy in South La. She is close to me. Same state. She's really loving hers.

LOL - there it is again - Perspective, Expectations, and Goals. Can't put chicken keeping or breeding into a box. It is individualized for each person, each flock, and each bird in the flock. What is crummy for one person is great for another and vice versa.

 

[bnjrob]

I'm sticking with NN Turkens and Bielefelders (if I can actually get some eggs). I figure the "naked" aspect of the Turkens will not only be good in this very hot desert environment, but will also help me get a better understanding of what the bird looks like underneath. These will be my two breeds for the long-term and I look forward to breeding them extensively for both eggs and meat.

I have to admit though...blue eggs from those Cream Legbars are pretty darn enchanting.

Don't forget that husbandry has a lot to do with how birds do in extremes of weather.

Actually, butchering your own chickens and seeing the entire body plucked will give you the best lesson in how your breeding and husbandry choices affect your birds. Just having a naked neck isn't going to let you see much of the underlying structure like a completely naked bird will.

 

[Arielle]

Jumping in here (i'll go back and catch up tonight) but who has standard bred birds with productivity levels that they are pretty happy with?

Looking at starting up a CSA outside of Birmingham and want to offer eggs and meat, so I've kind of been looking at the heavy dual purpose breeds like Delawares, Barred Rocks, RIR and New Hampshires but I'm mostly unfamiliar with their status in the productivity department. I do not want hatchery birds, but my focus will be on production from birds that could possibly produce show winning stock with more selective breeding as opposed to the flock breeding I would be doing.

The other thing I have to think about though, is how much these heavy layers EAT. I'm almost leaning towards an egg breed and a separate meat breed. Are their any light, sprightly, efficient large BROWN egg laying breeds that I'm not thinking of? Unfortunately folks just don't want WHITE eggs from a farm share!

THis is my thought on this: SInce I am p roducing for meat as well as eggs, half or more of the pullets could end up in the freezer at 6-8 months old; and most of the cckls as well. KEkeping the best of the pullets for breeding and production.


In my sheep I would select a few weanling lambs to keep for 2 years on trial. She was selected on a number of physical characteristics and had to be from a mother that was an easy lamber, and had a history of twins. THe youngster was allowed to grow tup and see how she produced over two lambing seasons, knowing I would cull down to one or two to keep long term. Years later I had a flock of identical looking ewes and easy lambers.

Quote:
This is so true!!! Last fall I grabbed a couple SS to butcher, as I had held on to farrrr too many boys. When they were plucked and I had a clear view of their naked breast I could put together what I was feeling with what they had: good meatiness for a couple. Actually stuns me still to have a bird with a bit of good meat.

 

[ocap]

THis is my thought on this:

KEkeping the best of the pullets for breeding and production.

thinking..................and trying to piece together ideas

 

[ocap]

Like a commercial Leghorn male over some exhibition females. Maybe going back to the exhibition side another generation or two.

here is another idea that I can ponder

 

[gjensen]

I'm sticking with NN Turkens and Bielefelders (if I can actually get some eggs). I figure the "naked" aspect of the Turkens will not only be good in this very hot desert environment, but will also help me get a better understanding of what the bird looks like underneath. These will be my two breeds for the long-term and I look forward to breeding them extensively for both eggs and meat.

I have to admit though...blue eggs from those Cream Legbars are pretty darn enchanting.

Naked Necks do have a practical advantage. Less protein and energy devoted to the production and maintenance of feather. Not only are they naked in sections, but they have less feather elsewhere. Usually when you look at a NN, you get what you see. They have a face only a mother could love, but they do have their advantages.

The Beilefelders in the States should not be called by that name. I am a long time admirer of the breed. I have admired the birds in Germany for a decade. I considered making some, but decided against it. I was disappointed to see what Greenfire had. I would have purchased some if they were remotely as good as what I had admired all of those years. I still toy with the idea of making them as bantams.

 

[gjensen]

here is another idea that I can ponder

I am considering doing this with bantams. Making a half sized utility strain. Not as small as the bantam where the hens are supposed to be 22oz, but not as large as the large fowl. Maybe hens around 40oz.

 

[hellbender]

Just posting this now because with so few birds here, comparatively speaking, I have plenty of time on my hands and finally I feel retired.

All told, there are fewer than 100 birds here and that is a very manageable crowd and for as long as chickens are raised on this farm, there will always be Naked-Necks. However, my plan is (except for birds being bred for conformation), we intend to have nothing but birds WITHOUT straight combs.

I may be going through a second childhood or the first stages of senility but over the last year or so, I've become increasingly attracted to the pea, rose, walnut combed types and decided we could do as we pleased. It was an easy decision to make and to pull off because of our interest in meat birds like Buckeyes and Dark Cornish.



Also posted on another thread.

 

[RedRidge]

I actually think that rhodebars or cream legbars could be my perfect layer breed, bit I'm not sure if anyone is breeding them for production qualities yet. They're so young in the states, I feel a bit inclined to jump into the melee and get some stock I can breed up to MY production standards while others worry about that standard crap. Maybe bring in some birds that match those standards later on.

My original "purebred proven" (many are not what they claim to be) Rhodebars lay like crazy, but do not have the type and structure they should. And I do mean crazy... these things lay daily through their first, second and third winters. My standard bred RIR are the only true dual purpose bird I've run across. They lay better that most other lines, but not as heavy as the rhodebars. The RB genetic project I've been working on for the last several years is really bringing the RB into the dual purpose category. But it'll take several more generations for their type to be up to par with the RIR. They've improved a lot though.
It's so hard to beat the standard bred reds on every level... quiet and calm, great foragers, easily rotated, 70-80% laying in the breeding pens, great dress out weights. When I can say that about my rhodebars I'll know I've accomplished something. In the meantime, we're eating a lot of chicken. ;-)
I have a large market for just hatched cockerels so it works out great for me as several chefs here in the southeast are raising them for meat.
I suppose if I just wanted egg production and didn't care about meat, the RB would be as appealing. But they work great for my situation because we sell a lot of eggs each week but our primary business is meat.

 

[RedRidge]

A 90 day old RB pullet who finally exhibiting some dual purpose qualities - both body cavity and breast.