BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[KittieChick]

if they are noticeably smaller than their same-age siblngs and cousins, they are NOT healthy. "No disease perceptible to the human hobbyist" is not the same as "no disease."

Best wishes,
Angela

Point taken. Thanks.

 

[neopolitancrazy]

Most runts that dramatically different is due to one of the dwarfing genes, and some of those are associated with other genetic health problems. Not all.

My view is that if the bird is not fit for me to keep, then it is not fit for anyone to keep.

yeah, most de novo mutations are harmful, not helpful.

Best wishes,
Angela

 

[Gramma Chick]

Do birds with thick legs make better broilers or are thick legs just a good thing to have??

Thick legs on a young chicken can indicate a cockerel

 

[Our Roost]

Wondered when leg discussion would crop up! Of all the breeds I have owned in the past 5 years, my blue orps are at the top of the list for having large thick shanked legs including the hens. The breed is not all pretty rump feathers either as the hens dress out at 4 1/2 lbs. Very nice dual purpose broiler.

 

[bramblefir]

Thick legs on a young chicken can indicate a cockerel

Yes. holm25 was asking that in regards to production value, not on gender. Most of the folks on this thread are well-versed on sexing chickens.


Leg thickness should be proportional to the body, as far as I'm concerned. Big legs for big birds and smaller legs for smaller birds. Now, with birds bred for meat I would think that too much bone (i.e., thicker bones than what is needed to support the body) would result in a poor bone-to-meat ratio. Bones are good for making stock, but I'd rather have more meat on the carcasses.

 

[holm25]

Yes. holm25 was asking that in regards to production value, not on gender. Most of the folks on this thread are well-versed on sexing chickens.


Leg thickness should be proportional to the body, as far as I'm concerned. Big legs for big birds and smaller legs for smaller birds. Now, with birds bred for meat I would think that too much bone (i.e., thicker bones than what is needed to support the body) would result in a poor bone-to-meat ratio. Bones are good for making stock, but I'd rather have more meat on the carcasses.

Yep exactly what I meant. How r your CX pullets doing Bramblefir?

 

[bramblefir]

Yep exactly what I meant. How r your CX pullets doing Bramblefir?

Still waddle running behind all of the other chickens out to the fields. They've learned to fly off the top of the ramp to the pop door, but unfortunately they're so front heavy they do face plants instead. I was getting worried about their weight gain, but they seem to be growing more frame again. I'll have to get some more pictures once the weather turns nice again. It's dark and drizzly today and supposed to continue for the next couple of days.

 

[holm25]

Still waddle running behind all of the other chickens out to the fields. They've learned to fly off the top of the ramp to the pop door, but unfortunately they're so front heavy they do face plants instead. I was getting worried about their weight gain, but they seem to be growing more frame again. I'll have to get some more pictures once the weather turns nice again. It's dark and drizzly today and supposed to continue for the next couple of days.

They r so fun to watch. Run trying to fly and watching them grow different personalities

 

[gjensen]

I look at shank size as a foundation. You want the weight of a heavy bird to be centered on strong legs, and moved by strong legs and thighs. Not just size alone, but position. We want them well spaced and centered up nicely on birds with level backs, and maybe only a little less so on birds with sloping backs.
Balance has aesthetic value, but it has practical value as well. When we properly understand a breeds standard, we see that much is about balance. True much is about appearance, but that does matter when not taken to extremes, and to the exclusion of what makes a bird useful.

 

[bmvf]

A few updates: My last hatch which ended two weeks ago was much better than the hatches before, but not where I want to be. I had 22 out of 41 eggs hatch with 2 others not making it out of the shell. The Brinsea thermometer helped a lot although I only got it a few day after starting incubation. I still had a prolonged hatch and lost humidity rapidly after I took the first chicks out after 24 hours. In the meantime I bought a Genesis incubator and it was delivered a few days after the hatch completed. But, the next day the new incubator was off to my cousins place for duck eggs! They bought a few ducks at the local auction and found they could sell the eggs at their produce stand (along with their own chicken eggs) for $4.50 a dozen. With only 4 females and 4 males, they needed more laying!

My New Hampshire project is likely ending. The rooster was going after my wife and kids when they got eggs. He started going after me and there were a few times he jumped at the door as we were just about to enter or had just left. So he is no more. I have the new chicks so I could continue breeding them but I'm going to focus on the Delawares which may still be a month away from having eggs large enough to hatch. I have considered putting the Delaware roo in with the NH's which is a cross that has interested me. The other problem I saw was feed conversion. Without detailed records, I was going through a $15 bag of feed in a week and was getting less than 7 dozen eggs. That's over $2 a dozen just in feed costs. Either I need to find cheaper ways to feed or I need to get rid of chickens since a dozen eggs a day is plenty for my small family who rarely eat eggs for breakfast.