BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Fire Ant Farm]

That's funny, there was barely any fat on this bird. Those diagrams must just be for breeds other than the commercial cornish! I've noticed that my dark cornish are getting a bit tubby. Now that they are 9 months old they definietly need less food than the red sex link crosses. I've started feeding more low- cal squash- they love spaghetti squash!

I believe they are general diagrams for all avian species, indicating body condition (including companion birds).

Sort of an indication of how off kilter this body configuration is...

- Ant Farm

 

[bnjrob]

I can't speak from experience but I believe the secret is to brine the bird before you cook it.

Brining works great. I've never had a bad bird when I brined it. I just can't believe my family didn't tell me that they weren't completely happy with the birds until after I gave them a number of them and they had told me they liked them. I've even told my family to brine the birds but they won't. My mother is a horrid cook, always has been, and she hates to cook, so brining is just more work that she doesn't want to do. I feel like I wasted perfectly good birds on them that I should have just kept.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Brining works great. I've never had a bad bird when I brined it. I just can't believe my family didn't tell me that they weren't completely happy with the birds until after I gave them a number of them and they had told me they liked them. I've even told my family to brine the birds but they won't. My mother is a horrid cook, always has been, and she hates to cook, so brining is just more work that she doesn't want to do. I feel like I wasted perfectly good birds on them that I should have just kept.

Yeah, family........

..........we've had relatives dump real maple syrup we've given them, because they preferred the fake pancake syrup- as well as throw out real honey because it crystallized (something I guess the fake "honey" from the grocery stored doesn't do. )

 

[NanaKat]

I wanted to show off my new "used" incubator. While I wont be hatching all the eggs it will hold at one time, I'm collecting 12 to 16 eggs each day and each tray holds 90 eggs. Looks like my hatching schedule will be picking up.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I wanted to show off my new "used" incubator. While I wont be hatching all the eggs it will hold at one time, I'm collecting 12 to 16 eggs each day and each tray holds 90 eggs. Looks like my hatching schedule will be picking up.

Mind. Blown.

 

[NanaKat]

I wanted to show off my new "used" incubator. While I wont be hatching all the eggs it will hold at one time, I'm collecting 12 to 16 eggs each day and each tray holds 90 eggs. Looks like my hatching schedule will be picking up.

Mind. Blown.

Mine too...never dreamed I would ever own one this size. Traded a butcher calf for it. Today, Hubby helped me deliver the calf and pick up the incubator. I spent the afternoon, scrubbing and cleaning the trays and inside. I have been running two Hovabators to incubate and one Hovabator as a hatcher.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Mine too...never dreamed I would ever own one this size. Traded a butcher calf for it. Today, Hubby helped me deliver the calf and pick up the incubator. I spent the afternoon, scrubbing and cleaning the trays and inside.
I have been running two Hovabators to incubate and one Hovabator as a hatcher.

I'm considering getting a Hovabator to use as a hatcher - have you been pleased with it?

- Ant Farm

 

[bluejean55girl]

breeding plan for starting A and B line for myself in bielefelders


I copied and pasted the below. I'm the newbie just setting bielefelder eggs into incubator tomorrow, doing research yesterday, today, tomorrow, etc... sandy

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newbie question: bielefelders

I've gotten eggs to hatch from a flock that has 2 roos and 7 hens.

1. will all females look alike and all males look alike?

or could there be subtle differences in chicks due to having 2 roos as sires? (some chicks favoring one roo and some the other?)
(NOT the auto sexing part.. I understand about that.. grins)

parents are from 2013 import if that makes any difference.


2. what mating plan is good for this breed? I plan on keeping 2 roos, (not a 1 roo flock)

I do believe in line breeding

what mating plan(s) do others use?

3. just how inbred is this breed seeing as how young it is to the usa

4. about? how many actual birds/eggs were imported in 2011?

5. about? how many actual birds/eggs were imported in 2013?

I am looking forward to raising this breed and want to have a pro-active plan on how to best mate my future birds. I am studying old poultry books from the 1920's etc. on line breeding.

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I do understand about the sexing part.. that is what attracted me to start researching this breed to start with... lol

when you have 2 roos running together in the small (7 hen) flock setting.. are you able to guess which chicks might have come from which roo? would one group of chicks resemble each other over the other group sired by the 2nd roo?
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Quote:

 

[bnjrob]

Yeah, family........

..........we've had relatives dump real maple syrup we've given them, because they preferred the fake pancake syrup- as well as throw out real honey because it crystallized (something I guess the fake "honey" from the grocery stored doesn't do. )

Ok, dumping maple syrup and honey is way worse than just not using a chicken to its full capacity. Some people. eye roll.

 

[DesertChic]

Although its a nice carcass to cook up, I see the same thing that bothers me in my roosters. The pictured carcass has nice legs and thighs but appears to be lacking in breast meat. Huge breast bone with not much meat attached. A lot of rooster breeds carry weight but not in all the right places. To me hens always have more to offer in the meat department, even though they are smaller framed. Not always, but one can expect a 50-50 hatch of roosters and pullets at birth. A rule of thumb from the data? You just can't have that many roosters running around and we either sell them, eat them, or put them in the soup pot! A few people out there prefer to raise roosters because of the fact they do indeed offer a bigger carcass. Some roosters offer up a very fine meal and some breeds support that thinking. I myself have 2 breeds of roosters that when raised to the right age and weight provide a very tasty bird with plenty of meat. our efforts do not go unwarranted. I wish you well in your efforts.

Increased breast meat is most definitely one of my goals, and I agree that's one area that's lacking on this bird, but since I only hatched the eggs out of curiosity I'm actually pleasantly surprised by what I got and see it as a starting point for more. The Australorp mother is most definitely and egg layer with the layer frame, and while my Biel father is a very large bird (11 lbs), he's not as meaty in the breast as I would like...but I see potential if I cross him with my White Rocks, a few of my Naked Necks, and maybe even some Dark Cornish down the line.