BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Beer can]

Do you have your NNs?  I could perhaps provide you with a couple DC cockerels in the not so distant future???

Not yet, ordered to be delivered in May, we are leaving for Florida last week of April don't want any before that. Haven't seen very good reviews on Murray DCs, I had a DC pullet in a mix batch from Meyer's, she looked good and breasty meaty but small, predator ate her before I had a chance. Stromberg's has DC but I don't know how good they are.
lpatelski offered some of those awesome looking hybrids, wife said no live critters, we stay a night in NC. I might pick up hatching eggs from her but have to convince the wife, it's a couple hrs out of our way back up.
Just finished processing two red sussex cockerels, anemic breasts, just shy of 4lbs dressed, definitely a breed I'm not keeping. The pullets can stay for now, they're laying good.

 

[hellbender]

Not yet, ordered to be delivered in May, we are leaving for Florida last week of April don't want any before that. Haven't seen very good reviews on Murray DCs, I had a DC pullet in a mix batch from Meyer's, she looked good and breasty meaty but small, predator ate her before I had a chance. Stromberg's has DC but I don't know how good they are.
lpatelski offered some of those awesome looking hybrids, wife said no live critters, we stay a night in NC. I might pick up hatching eggs from her but have to convince the wife, it's a couple hrs out of our way back up.
Just finished processing two red sussex cockerels, anemic breasts, just shy of 4lbs dressed, definitely a breed I'm not keeping. The pullets can stay for now, they're laying good.

By all means...get young adult birds!!! Pizz on chicks, especially if you are traveling. I absolutely love the three that were shipped to me. Not even a bit shy, not noisy. The only place I can fault them is they won't roost but I can live with that....any that I breed from them WILL roost. lol

I need to specify...I'm totally pleased with the birds tat Linda shipped to me! Great birds and unbelievable service!!!

 

[Mini Meat]

Quote: I got my DC's from Strombergs. I got 25, they were fairly inconsistent in size and pattern but I did get a few that I feel are good to move forward with. I am not breeding to SOP and a smaller but proportionally meaty bird is fine with me.

They are a bit small or at least seem that way because they are hard feathered and not puffed up like some other breeds. Then... you pick them up and they are little meat bricks. I know I posted it before but...

This is my best hen

 

[holm25]

Ya well mine was on the road today and if my rooster keeps chasing her to try and flog her she might have to go unless I can build her own pen with another turkey but I don't really want to have to worry about them with diseases spreading to the chickens and stuff and plus I am more of a chicken person

Honestly. I have no issues with my turkeys and chickens together. No diseases except for they can get blackhead in overly wet places.

 

[Mini Meat]

This is a truck box that I have repurposed as storage. I plan to remove the broken whatever the heck that is when time allows, But in the mean time...



Some one has decided it is a great place to lay. Good news is, it is my favorite hen, who I have decided to call short-wide.
I was going to wait until I got the breeding pens built but since I know she hangs with and gets covered by my #1 rooster, I figure i'll go ahead and put them in the bator. 9 Eggs total. I may have to go see if my daughter wants to hatch anything.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Honestly. I have no issues with my turkeys and chickens together. No diseases except for they can get blackhead in overly wet places.

Well that's good because I have one but I don't have wet places anywhere

 

[cyborg]

I've got some dorkings here that I'm trying. They have made no attempts at brooding thus far. They have been laying a couple months. I have birds the same age on eggs right now. My guess is that they fall under the occasionally go broody category. Might go broody sometime up in the summer, when my others are raising their second brood. I always heard Cochins were good broodies. I never had any that successfully raised chicks. About the only thing that they seemed to get right was the quit laying part. Made a lot of noise, pooped on a lot of nice eggs, no chicks.

Ditto on the Cochin's. Their eggs are a little small, too.

 

[varidgerunner]

For a chicken that gets so big, it takes them a long time to do it. They don't exactly lay early either. I guess it's all that hard work growing feathers on their feet that holds them back. I got some nice growth on some cochin crossed on a naked neck. Wasn't worth feeding those lazy things just to make that cross though.

 

[Beekissed]

Beekissed what lovely broody hen pictures! I have a fencing question for you- it looks like you've lined wire fence with the plastic (Is it Benner's?) mesh. What size of mesh is the wire? Is the plastic fence just to keep chicks in, does it keep weasels out? We have the odd weasel here it's the predator I fear the most.... I have some 1/2" by 1" wire mesh, it's hideously expensive so I'm looking for effective alternative fences for my outdoor mobile tractors and coops. Thanks.

All my fencing material is just designed to keep chickens in and not so much to do with predators. I have two dogs that live on wireless systems around the coop area for that purpose, so the only predator that really gets past them is a black snake and I've yet to see a place they can't get into. Mothballs usually keep those out at chick rearing time, so even that is a pretty easy fix.

Most of the plastic fencing I have used is either the green plastic 2x2 on the cattle panel coop, or deer netting in the breeding/brooder pen to keep chicks in.

Y'all just don't know the luxury of keeping chickens without having to worry about predator proofing....it's such an easy life with chickens when you take out that one factor. It gives a dog a great outdoors life of freedom and it gives him a job to do...both things make for a happy dog and a happy flock. I'd recommend it.

 

[Mini Meat]

All my fencing material is just designed to keep chickens in and not so much to do with predators. I have two dogs that live on wireless systems around the coop area for that purpose, so the only predator that really gets past them is a black snake and I've yet to see a place they can't get into. Mothballs usually keep those out at chick rearing time, so even that is a pretty easy fix.

Most of the plastic fencing I have used is either the green plastic 2x2 on the cattle panel coop, or deer netting in the breeding/brooder pen to keep chicks in.

Y'all just don't know the luxury of keeping chickens without having to worry about predator proofing....it's such an easy life with chickens when you take out that one factor. It gives a dog a great outdoors life of freedom and it gives him a job to do...both things make for a happy dog and a happy flock. I'd recommend it.

Yup, I got along for years like that. One dog had to be put down for old age, and the second younger dog held down the fort for several more years. She to, got old. She was not able to keep things secure and my flock of 30 was down to 2 in one night.

I blew it by not getting another dog right away. I like it when my dogs are about five-six years apart. This way you will have one dog, in it's prime, all the time.