BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Beer can]

Bee I wish I had a brain as resourceful as yours!!  I tend to prefer written data in general rather than rely on memory. OR at least MY memory. lol

I'm going to start writing stuff down. I can't even remember how many weeks old the bunch of different breeds of cockerels were I butchered last fall, and I would like to know. We got them in May and butchered around when school started in September 16+or- weeks? The only reason I remembered weights is I vacuum sealed each bird whole and wrote the weight on the package.

 

[Our Roost]

Thats what I'm talkin bout! I am 68 years old and I try to collect as much data as I can in my head. Much like you, I cant always remeber everything, so I write down what I feel is important. 5 plus years ago we started with dual purpose birds for both meat and eggs. Some were better egg layers than others and we wern't really impressed with the meat results from any of them. Our goals havent changed any and we still want a bird for both meat and eggs. Trust its not the cornish x. I dont want a happy medium where a bird is good for meat but not a good egg layer or visa versa. So my research and reading, asking questions and looking at data continued. I have 3 good candidates that if crossed properly they just might be able to give me both meat and a nice quantity of extra large eggs.This to me is utility breeding.
In my case, some but not all data is useful. I already know the stats on the 3 birds I have chosen, so thats a plus. I know their features and their heritage, so thats another plus. I know how fast they mature and feeding habits. I know how many eggs to expect from each breed per year. The challenge for me comes into play when the offspring arrive and new data will definitely have to be monitored. The transfer of quality and traits from one breed to another is visualized as well as collected as they grow. I have a very good feeling my efforts are worth the challenge. I will collect as much useful data as neccessary.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm going to start writing stuff down. I can't even remember how many weeks old the bunch of different breeds of cockerels were I butchered last fall, and I would like to know. We got them in May and butchered around when school started in September 16+or- weeks? The only reason I remembered weights is I vacuum sealed each bird whole and wrote the weight on the package.

That's me too. A couple of years back I found I had forgotten the date of a whole flock of bird's birth and had thought they were a year older than they actually were. So many flocks, so many years, and, finally, I can't remember the exact year any longer. That goes beyond the month even, when one is losing a whole year in accuracy.

The only reason I can remember the hatch date on my current birds is because they were distinctive times and months, so I'm going to write them down right soon so I'll not lose that over the next couple of years. It's embarrassing to be losing one's memory, but just like aching joints and weakness in the back muscles, one has to go ahead and farm around it. Keeping a farm journal is something I used to do anyway but just got away from after awhile but now the need is much more dire...I'm just too old not to do it now.

Especially now that I'm building a flock again and have some good blood to put into it...now it's getting fun again!

 

[dfr1973]

I use my blog as my notebook/journal. Otherwise, I would never remember when I planted what, or which date chicks arrived, etc. One thing I have started doing since joining in this thread is to write on my calendar who lays which days. This won't be important until next spring, but I know how I am and am trying to establish a habit.

 

[Beekissed]

I utilize the calendar for egg counts too and use to save them from year to year so I could look back at different seasons and the rate of lay then. I've started to implement that once again this laying season. When I take pics of birds and hatches, of gardens and builds, I usually leave the date stamp on the pic and this helps me keep track as well.

I'm going to look back through this varied archive that I have and start putting it into the journal so I have it all in one place.

 

[Beer can]

My father in law is in his upper 70s. He uses one of those desk size calendars on his wall in his bakery. They have a addition on their house with a wood fired brick oven, and wholesale bread and rolls. He writes on that calendars daily. His memory might be going but one look through of his calendar and he knows everything Lol! When the first robbins came back in the spring, when the apple trees blossomed, last frost, when he planted what and when in his huge gardens, coldest days, hottest, when he changed the oil in his car or tractor, etc....

 

[millbrookfarm]

I've been stalking this thread for a while, I'm determined to read every page.

Anyways,

I'm on a search for my perfect chicken breed and I'm not sure it exists. I'm hoping that I can get help from multiple threads here.

Here is what I'm looking for:

Multicolored (something like an Icelandic)
Meat build (8-10lbs)
200-250 eggs per year

Any thoughts?

 

[Our Roost]

Here are 3 birds for you that I have chosen to observe and cross. The bielefelder. the blue orpington, and the belgium malines. The english crele orpington might give you some more thought about color as well. Each of these meet your egg and meat specifics. Forget getting hens to weigh 8-10 pounds! Raise turkeys instead. You surely can get some roosters to meet that weight, but most likely, not the hens.

 

[Shellz]

I've been keeping a written record since October to track the rate of lay of my Malines pullets/hens. Date, each egg's weight & which one laid it. What I could really use is a computer spreadsheet! Anyway, this has been a real eye opener for me. My flock is all over the map, but I also have a new bloodline that's come into lay too. Good info that will help me greatly with my selection process this year. I've always recorded dressed weights on the freezer bags as well.

I've found my birds not to be stellar layers during the winter, so I'm considering another breed for that. Something that lays anything but a beige egg & is very cold hardy. I'm thinking...cream brabanters. If anyone has other breed suggestions, I'd be willing to consider them. I have no electricity to my coop though, so there's no supplementing light there. I'd just get a few production birds, but they all lay beige eggs similar to my Malines. My coop isn't easily partitioned, so...can't go that route either.

Millbrookfarm...not sure such a chicken exists. If there is, I'd like to know! I researched for a year to find my chosen breed, the Malines. I'm still waiting to hear from the buckeye breeder to try to 'fix' the comb issues I have with the roosters' large, single combs. I might ditch this project for another year & keep working with my Malines as they are. They still need some work anyway. The Malines meat can't be beat though! We roast ours as you would a conventional cornish x. They only start to lose tenderness at 7 months of age. I didn't even separate the sexes & they did well on 15% protein grower ration & will happily free range for most of their food in warmer months. Very easy keepers! I will be separating the sexes this year though & watch for any differences in growth. Sorry...shameless plug.

 

[Beekissed]

The WRs will lay through the winter and BAs will lay through the winter. They won't have their normal rate of lay but they still seem to crank out an egg or three a week, especially the BAs.