BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[bramblefir]

Don't get to set in your ways because generally speaking the bigger the breed the slower they g.row.(to a certain point) Giants for example

Right, you have to keep your breed in mind when setting goals for culling. Like the Brahma was used for a roaster with an ideal butcher age around 6 months. It wouldn't make sense to butcher them out for a fryer at 14 weeks, just as it wouldn't make sense to raise a Leghorn out to butcher as a roaster at 6 months.

 

[lpatelski]

It is not my intention to leave anyone out. if you do not see your name, Quote me and add your name please. Rod-T, angry rooster, Mini Meat, Fire Ant Farm,Beer can, gevshiba, Kassaundra, ronott1,holm25 ,weavers rocks, AnthNDacula,CanadianBuckeye, RattlesnakeRidgeWV, DesertChic, X bluejean55girl, bnjrob,bramblefir, cpchicks, cyborg, jbkirk,Beekissed ,lpatelski We are all here... Now we just Need HELLBENDER to get better!

 

[Mini Meat]

Quote: I agree, each set of rules needs to be breed specific,but within that breed there needs to be standards set and goals to meet. Any crosses Imo, should surpass the goals set for the parent stock.

 

[DesertChic]

Lots of good ideas and info here, and I'm not ashamed to say that I plan on making note of your programs and plans to help me formulate my own. Right now I'm still in a breaking in phase. I started by just wanting some eggs, then expanding to meat, and I very impressed by beauty over other qualities. Now I'm slowly figuring out exactly what my goals really are and how best to achieve them. Thanks for all the input! I constantly learn from you guys!

 

[rottlady]

I am on my first group of Delawares. Obviously he chart for Cornish X won apply but it is great idea. The Delaware club has a spread sheet to encourage people to track weights so maybe someday we will have an accurate chart for the breed

 

[bnjrob]

There was a discussion in a group for Javas that showed me once again the differences that breeding selection and husbandry can have on birds. One person mentioned that they use their Javas for their farm business selling food. Apparently they decided to stop using their Javas for meat because they were not worth slaughtering until they were at least 9 months old and that wasn't economically viable for their commercial meat sales. But they did keep their Javas as the mainstay of their egg business because of how much better their Javas lay compared to their RIRs and Marans. Then I compare their experience with ours, when last year we butchered 6 month old cockerels that had an average dressed carcass weight of 5 lbs. Our birds don't lay as much as this other person's birds lay, yet we're able to butcher 3 months sooner than they were butchering and getting a decent carcass. Quite a bit of difference can be obtained when people learn how to breed and care for their birds to reach the goals they desire.

 

[Mini Meat]

There was a discussion in a group for Javas that showed me once again the differences that breeding selection and husbandry can have on birds. One person mentioned that they use their Javas for their farm business selling food. Apparently they decided to stop using their Javas for meat because they were not worth slaughtering until they were at least 9 months old and that wasn't economically viable for their commercial meat sales. But they did keep their Javas as the mainstay of their egg business because of how much better their Javas lay compared to their RIRs and Marans. Then I compare their experience with ours, when last year we butchered 6 month old cockerels that had an average dressed carcass weight of 5 lbs. Our birds don't lay as much as this other person's birds lay, yet we're able to butcher 3 months sooner than they were butchering and getting a decent carcass. Quite a bit of difference can be obtained when people learn how to breed and care for their birds to reach the goals they desire.

Yes!!! I believe that management style plays a huge roll in success but... you have choices... adapt your style/needs to the breed(s) you have chosen OR choose a breed to fit your style/needs and select for attributes that adapt your flock closer to what can/will do for them. I am working 'tword the latter.

 

[Beekissed]

Yes!!! I believe that management style plays a huge roll in success but... you have choices... adapt your style/needs to the breed(s) you have chosen OR choose a breed to fit your style/needs and select for attributes that adapt your flock closer to what can/will do for them. I am working 'tword the latter.

That's what I did and I think it's the easier choice in many ways...a breed that fits your goals, climate and flock keeping methods is so less stressful and enjoyable than trying to reinvent the wheel from a square block of wood. Quite a bit of carving to be done in that case and it can wear a person out...and it's wearing to even watch it from the forum. One wants to reach through the computer and shake a person as they lament their choices for years and say, "Well....choose another breed!!!".

I chose the Plymouth White Rock for many reasons, all fine qualities, but first and foremost my goal was to have a true dual purpose bird...a breed that lays very well and also grows much meat. As people tamper with the respective dual purpose breeds I often feel like the true dual purpose becomes lost to either one side or the other, so having a breed that manages to keep both in exceptionally good balance is very important to me. I'm too old and too laid back to want the challenge of reinventing the wheel or righting the wrongs of a breed that has slipped too far one way or the other on the dual purpose scale.

 

[lpatelski]

DOH 4/28/16 - picture journal 5/8/16 for #115
3/4 Dark Cornish (Bob-50%DC/50%WCR & Marion-DC)
day 10

 

[AnthNDacula]

Very nice chick Linda. Your work is always very inspirational.