BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Beer can]

I actually do plan on keeping record of weights and dates on these giants through the yrs. I'm going to do it for me, I have a terrible memory. I want to be able to see in writting what I've gained or lost. I don't want to say I think they were so many pounds whatever weeks last yr maybe.
The different breeds of cockerels I butchered last yr I know averaged between 3.5-4 pounds
dressed and ready for the freezer. I know this because everytime I thawed one out I saw the weight I wrote down. At how many weeks I can't say for sure. Got them in the spring, butchered in the fall around when school started in Sept. I think we got them in May, so were they 12 weeks or maybe 16? Wish I wrote it down.

 

[Our Roost]

A person can learn a lot by spending time with their chickens if they aren't in great numbers. I would go cross eyed if I couldn't count them while watching them grow! That being said, I think when you are working with larger numbers, data is important. Smaller flocks, maybe not so much. Even with small numbers one can learn a lot from the data collected. A fully mature meat bird might weigh as much as 8 pounds but if you are happy culling it at 5 pounds and want a more tender bird, you keep a record of their weight weekly. Some of it is just simple thinking to assist you in your goals. Mixed hatches and ages can drive one nuts. Keeping data and leg bands help. I don't follow all the professional breeders rules but I modify to fit my needs. Use it as you see fit.

 

[Beekissed]

I take a lot of pics...I've heard just one of them is worth a thousand words.

 

[DesertChic]

Talking about stuff isn't so tedious as catching chickens to measure and weigh them. I think my husband cringes when I tell him we're spending the day examining chickens.

LOL! My husband lucked out. I do all of this myself. He does tell me that I spend too much "free time" on "chicken stuff".

 

[JRNash]

My OCD pretty much requires me to Track things

 

[Beekissed]

Everyone has a different style of doing things, one not necessarily better than another, though recording all things is unquestionably more efficient and accurate. It doesn't, however, insure success in all endeavors, no more than NOT recording all things insures a lack of success. If everyone was the same it would be quite the boring world.

I think there's room for all kinds here and no need to act like one is not going to make a difference with a flock or breed if they don't do it the same way as others. Half the fun of this chicken thing is doing things in your own way and still producing good results, hence all the discussions that don't necessarily log all results in pie charts for all to see, but are still fun to kick around so there can be a good flow and exchange of ideas.

 

[gjensen]

There seamed to be an effort to discredit the idea of keeping records. I did not see it as a positive contribution, or a contribution at all.

We cannot intelligently breed our birds without a scale. We can play pretend, if we please.

Livestock breed weights are a fundamental part of their definition. The weights also act as an anchor of sorts.

There is a natural tendency and drift to return where they come from. If there is not an actual effort to maintain size, then they do drift back toward mediocrity. Large breeds do not stay large just because they are supposed to. Bantams tend to trend larger. They do not stay small just because you want them to. Everything drifting towards mediocrity, and that is the natural current. We have to push back against the current to maintain size.

It is a use it or lose it reality. It is much easier to lose size than it is to gain it. Once it is lost, it is very hard to get it back. You do not have to do anything to lose it, but to continue doing nothing to keep it.

Many of the best breeders keep good records. You get to a point, if you get involved enough, that it is hard to remember exactly what you did with who two/three years ago. If a troublesome fault pops up and becomes problematic, you will want to know it's origins. If you only have eight hens and one cock, it doesn't matter anyways.

I like to track the weights until I get to know a strain. Afterwards, it is just spot checks, and a final weigh in. I am going to track the qty. of eggs, and I will weigh the eggs that get set in the incubator (or don't). I will now what I have.
There is a number of things that I scratch down, but I am not good at keeping up with all of it. I am not a good record keeper, truthfully. But it is not helpful to imply that they are not a good idea. They are, and it should be recommended rather than discouraged.

All of the master breeders that I know anything about keep good records. I have a friend in my area that goes out on the yard with his book in hand as if it is part of the routine. He is not new to breeding, and he takes his craft seriously.

Numbers do not lie. People do. Impressions do. Ideologies do. The bare, cold, hard numbers are honest. Concerning production, I do not pay any attention to anyone that does not know their own numbers. If they do not know the numbers they are not breeding for production. They certainly do not know if they are going forwards or going backwards.

One thing that is certain among many uncertainties, if we are not moving forward with our birds, we are certain to be going backwards. Many do not even know that they are (a natural result of not knowing), and to most people it will not matter. They will just buy more later, but that is not breeding. That is just feeding someone else's work.

 

[collie1470]

I can joke and fool (it's in my nature), but I always write everything down, realistically relevant or not. Habit from my Navy days. The wheel book is law.

Once I make the final determination of my starting point, everything will be written down...amount fed, time free ranged (as that factors in to how much they eat), weight, etc. But I'm crazy about planning via writing. :/

 

[Beekissed]

I've spent a whole career writing down every little thing I did all day, wearing a watch and living by it, everything on a schedule and everything documented. I did that because I was paid to do it and it was the job.

Thank heaven chickens are not my job, but more a healthy source of food for the family. It's all rather sad to reduce chicken farming down to a pissing contest about whose chickens are best according to breeding efforts and documentation surrounding that. Should be a joyful pursuit, not a competition...but then, that's a woman's view of it all. I'm well aware that men seem to need to compete at everything to make it worthwhile in the doing.

 

[collie1470]

<---- woman.

Wanting to improve for yourself isn't a pissing contest :/