BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[hellbender]

Ive got 8 Lf cochin that should arrive by friday.

Never owned one...looking forward to seeing them. Are you planning to use them as brooders?

 

[hellbender]

I'm going to purchase the capon kit. Kinda makes me wish I still drank.

It won't be bad to learn...just practice on dead birds that you plan to eat or something like that.

Where do you plan to get your kit?

When I taught my daughter, I ordered 25 Austra-White cockerels from Cackle hatchery....They are very easy to work with and cheap. They also make for a deacent capon too.

 

[JRNash]

It was a knee jerk response to losing 3. Have no idea how they will fit into my master scheme

 

[Our Roost]

8 Lf cochin eh? Whats the Lf stand for? I just read a facinating history concerning the original Chinese breed. I have 4 white cochins and will use them to outcross with my malines in the spring.

 

[ronott1]

8 Lf cochin eh? Whats the Lf stand for? I just read a facinating history concerning the original Chinese breed. I have 4 white cochins and will use them to outcross with my malines in the spring.

LF is large fowl. They are not banties.

 

[JRNash]

From the literature Ive read the Malines seem to be the PERFECT dual purpose chicken.

 

[JRNash]

Still looking around Hellbender

 

[JRNash]

At what age do you caponize

 

[Our Roost]

Dont believe that for a minute, just yet. The Malines is in a rare and critical state at present. We need some breeders with interest along with some fresh blood. I am very fortunate to have acquired a handful of these birds and had a very good hatch in small numbers this spring. The large fowl cochin, brahma and langshan were used in the creation of this breed along with a number of other european farm birds. It has a number of names based on region. I have the Belgian Malines or CouCoo Des Malines. Not sure if that is spelled right! Anyhow, I am outcrossing it with Cochins hens in spring of 2016 to add more fresh blood into the mix. Nothing will change as it is a parent bird.
The Malines is a slow grower and not a production meat bird but its table weight size and taste is worth the wait. The Malines has a tendency to spread fat juices throughout the meat making it more juicy and succulent. I call them my thumpers because they are so fat that when they run the ground shakes and thumps! Egg laying? A good sized cream colored egg that can be large to extra large. These birds are not real good nesters and most of mine are ground layers. They do not roost well and prefer the coop floor and bedding. Sometimes they crush their own eggs because they are so large and clumbsy. Now, did you say they are perfect? They are a relatively docile breed but at times a rooster can get a bit testy. Hoping when I outcross with the cochins their temperment along with some physical characteristics will improve. I really like these birds and shortly will call them American Malines!

 

[Beer can]

I was going to try my hand a capons with Meyer's fry pan special's. They are not like other hatchery fry pan specials that are leghorns, Meyer's are all large fowl cockerels , no leghorns or polish, all good dual purpose breeds, for .30 cents ea. They used to sell them in lots of 25, now you have to buy a hundred. So I figure I'll just hatch my own, I don't want a hundred in one shot, but that price is tempting.