BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Fire Ant Farm]

On another note, I continue to watch that "reprieved" cockerel and look at his body carefully. The more I look at him, the more I can recognize the asymmetry, which I did not pick up before (that's one disadvantage of having a large group of birds - you risk missing something because of all of the other birds milling around).

So I will cull him next weekend. But I choose to look at this as a blessing - I was originally going to just process him along with all the rest as a group of cockerels I couldn't keep. This way, I learned a lot about wry tail (which I had never seen before), and got more experience in observing this sort of defect.

(Yeah, I'm a silver lining type of gal...

)

- Ant Farm

 

[NanaKat]

 
I don't know how soon or even if dad (Hellbender) will be back on line but I will be picking him up from the hospital on Wednesday, provided everything continues as now.  We appreciate all the good wishes and good will expressed, both on the threads and by PM.

                                                                                              Jason



ETA:  My sister now sees why I'm putting MY foot down regarding the use of brood hens.  We had a plethora of these gals, including 3 Cahnteclers go broody and Ariel shoved eggs under everyone.  I can see the advantage of the brood hen for some folks under certain conditions but we simply are not set up for them, at least not in my opinion.  

We have bunches of little chicks chasing after their mammies all over this place and while it does free up brooders and removes a bit of labor, it also takes away all control over the situation.  A couple of the Chantecler gals are overly protective of their broods and will shin-flog humans and jump all over the dogs that protect the flock during the day.  This will be the last 'year of the broody'around this place, except for perhaps one or two if Ariel just wants to play around with them.

We are using the ID numerals that dad got from Linda and in my opinion, they are perfect.  We're in the process of snagging each brood and banding them, couple broods at a time in the evenings.  Also adding an extra digit for the hens that are especially good moms for future reference...just in case.

So glad to hear he's coming home! Give him a big hug from me!

Mama hens can be pretty hard to deal with. I was lucky with my last one, Mama Lily, because I'd already gone through a hatch with her and she knew I meant her no harm. After 3 weeks of raising the babies she was ready to leave them and started laying eggs again. I've got one more hen sitting on eggs due to hatch this week, and Dolly Mama is NOT tolerant of me at all. This is her first clutch and I'm hoping she'll chill out over time, but I'm definitely missing the control of using an incubator. 

Glad Hellbender is on the mend and coming home soon.

Marking those good mothers is a good idea....when you have so many. In a brood pen, those over protective mothers often settle down.

I've been really fortunate to have so many broody hens hatching selected eggs simultaneously with incubator hatches. Giving incubator chicks to great mother hens to foster along with their clutch has freed up a lot of chore time and insured the chicks will receive good care and teaching.
A floor pen or large cage works for a bonding time....usually three days is sufficient.
One way to help keep control is Toe punching the hen's chicks and the incubator chicks before they go on the ground has been effective for me.

I band at the first juvenile cull and rely on a clean toe punch...need to be sure that hole has not sealed before the chicks reach the floor. A good pair of tweezers when toe punching is very useful.

Hens are still going broody on me...6 Cochin hens on the floor in their coop sitting on only 3 eggs...and I have five in the hen house cages sitting on eggs I've given them. Three incubator hatches left.

All chicks have been adopted so far...I am feeling this has been a "good year of the broody"

 

[hellbender]

Glad Hellbender is on the mend and coming home soon.

Marking those good mothers is a good idea....when you have so many. In a brood pen, those over protective mothers often settle down.

I've been really fortunate to have so many broody hens hatching selected eggs simultaneously with incubator hatches. Giving incubator chicks to great mother hens to foster along with their clutch has freed up a lot of chore time and insured the chicks will receive good care and teaching.
A floor pen or large cage works for a bonding time....usually three days is sufficient.
One way to help keep control is Toe punching the hen's chicks and the incubator chicks before they go on the ground has been effective for me.

I band at the first juvenile cull and rely on a clean toe punch...need to be sure that hole has not sealed before the chicks reach the floor. A good pair of tweezers when toe punching is very useful.

Hens are still going broody on me...6 Cochin hens on the floor in their coop sitting on only 3 eggs...and I have five in the hen house cages sitting on eggs I've given them. Three incubator hatches left.

All chicks have been adopted so far...I am feeling this has been a "good year of the broody"

Another surprise to me. There's been a 'chick-napping'. A Chantecler hen stole two chantecler chicks from a DC brood hen yesterday. I didn't mention it earlier because I wasn't sure it was going to stick.

The DC has a mix of pure Chant. chicks and mostly DC/chant. hybrids, totaling 9 from eleven eggs. The thieving hen just sort of belly upped to the chicks and their broody mama and began finding food for the chicks. I don't think the chicks nor the hen knew they were of the same breeding ....if they're that smart, I'm getting rid of all chickens. Has anyone else seen anything so crazy as that? I thought the Chat. hen would grow tired of them and they would begin to chirp for the DC hen that brooded them but as of 5pm they were all just as yesterday. Both hens even bedded down on the floor, under the nest boxes and weren't more more than 4 feet apart.

Something else has surprised me. All these chicks have been out and about...from 2 to 7 days. We've had some very cold weather here over the last two days, down to 31 degrees F this morning with a stiff breeze. All these chicks come out with their mammies...pick and dig and act like it's 85 or 90 degrees out. I've only noticed some of them bedding down under the hens once or twice during the days and for no more than a half hour.

I have to wonder about out 'hot-house' chicks that need to be kept very warm for so long. Just makes no sense. I've learned so much from this little broody adventure but I'd still be afraid to start incubated chicks off at less than 85 degrees, that's were we have always started them rather than the prescribed 95...

Sorry for being so long winded to day. I'll be sure to curb myself in the future.

Jason

 

[Beekissed]

That's the beauty of broodies....tough as nuts chicks that are healthy, strong and vigorous. Now that you've seen that, you may want to start using a heating pad brooder for chicks....they act much like they do with a mama, running under it to warm up and they still don't have those high temps in the brooder. More natural way of brooding chicks if one doesn't have a broody hen.

Dropped down to 32* here last night~ and I'm sure y'all up there were much colder~.... one of my broodies has her brood out in the woods each night, whether it's freezing cold or the rain is pouring, those little chicks are out in the weather. They are a week old and were hatched out there, have been living out there ever since.

I stopped trying to manage broodies this year....I got tired of fighting them when I moved their nests, trying to get them in from the weather and wild to the nice, dry maternity ward, trying to move them from the coop to the broody pen, etc. From now on they brood where they started and take care of their own broods wherever they wish. I'll provide the place and they are free to access it but I'll not be moving anymore broodies here and there, trying to keep them safe and such....not a one complied with the move, no matter what measures I took.

Got another hen out in the woods somewhere sitting on a nest and I have no idea where she may be, so she's going to take care of her own chances for survival and that of her chicks too. One thing can be said for the "leave them alone" method....any survivors are genetics I want to perpetuate.

 

[cyborg]

Quote: Move to the desert! I worry more about keeping them cool enough! Our temps lately have been 55-ish at night, about 100 during the day.

 

[gevshiba]

Another surprise to me. There's been a 'chick-napping'. A Chantecler hen stole two chantecler chicks from a DC brood hen yesterday. I didn't mention it earlier because I wasn't sure it was going to stick.

The DC has a mix of pure Chant. chicks and mostly DC/chant. hybrids, totaling 9 from eleven eggs. The thieving hen just sort of belly upped to the chicks and their broody mama and began finding food for the chicks. I don't think the chicks nor the hen knew they were of the same breeding ....if they're that smart, I'm getting rid of all chickens. Has anyone else seen anything so crazy as that? I thought the Chat. hen would grow tired of them and they would begin to chirp for the DC hen that brooded them but as of 5pm they were all just as yesterday. Both hens even bedded down on the floor, under the nest boxes and weren't more more than 4 feet apart.

Something else has surprised me. All these chicks have been out and about...from 2 to 7 days. We've had some very cold weather here over the last two days, down to 31 degrees F this morning with a stiff breeze. All these chicks come out with their mammies...pick and dig and act like it's 85 or 90 degrees out. I've only noticed some of them bedding down under the hens once or twice during the days and for no more than a half hour.

I have to wonder about out 'hot-house' chicks that need to be kept very warm for so long. Just makes no sense. I've learned so much from this little broody adventure but I'd still be afraid to start incubated chicks off at less than 85 degrees, that's were we have always started them rather than the prescribed 95...

Sorry for being so long winded to day. I'll be sure to curb myself in the future.

Jason

I have 3 turkey hens that are raising chicks/poults. They are in an outside pen with dog houses. 2 hens get along great but they chase the 3rd out to the edge of the pen, the babies go to any of them, even the outcast hen. She always has a few that bed down with her at night. I tried to take her out of the pen, but she threw a fit, so as long as no one's getting hurt, I'll leave them. One interesting thing about the outcast, she continued laying eggs throughout brooding and is still laying. She'd like to sit again. She even tried stealing her egg back from on top of a dog crate were I laid it while I was feeding.

 

[bramblefir]

I butchered out 2 of the 3 Pekin ducks on Sunday. Both ducks were very similar in weight, 3# 2oz and 3# 3oz. They were probably in the 5# range at butchering and would have been bigger if I'd kept feed in front of them all the time.

I cooked one up using Alton Brown's Mighty Duck recipe yesterday. It was really good. We ate about half of it last night and the leftovers are making for some tasty lunches. The duck fat that rendered out is going to have a hot date with some red potatoes here in just a few minutes when the oven is done preheating.

 

[ronott1]

I butchered out 2 of the 3 Pekin ducks on Sunday. Both ducks were very similar in weight, 3# 2oz and 3# 3oz. They were probably in the 5# range at butchering and would have been bigger if I'd kept feed in front of them all the time.

I cooked one up using Alton Brown's Mighty Duck recipe yesterday. It was really good. We ate about half of it last night and the leftovers are making for some tasty lunches. The duck fat that rendered out is going to have a hot date with some red potatoes here in just a few minutes when the oven is done preheating.

Now I want to raise Ducks!

 

[NanaKat]

Since we had the skinning discussion earlier in the week...thought I'd post this rooster butchered today. He was 10 months old and was destined for the freezer. He decided to flog me today...not the typical Wyandotte behavior. So besides being a good laying flock, you can see the Wyandotte make a meaty carcass....with giblets weighed in at 4 pounds.


Displayed on a small cookie sheet, he looks really big.
Brining him tonight and will roast in the slow cooker with veggies and bacon as the skin. Probably put garlic, onion and celery in the cavity.
There was quite a bit of fat along the back and under the skin. nice healthy organs.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I butchered out 2 of the 3 Pekin ducks on Sunday. Both ducks were very similar in weight, 3# 2oz and 3# 3oz. They were probably in the 5# range at butchering and would have been bigger if I'd kept feed in front of them all the time.

I cooked one up using Alton Brown's Mighty Duck recipe yesterday. It was really good. We ate about half of it last night and the leftovers are making for some tasty lunches. The duck fat that rendered out is going to have a hot date with some red potatoes here in just a few minutes when the oven is done preheating.

Awesome!!! I am a huge Alton Brown fan (I just made his Churn Baby Churn #2 ice cream this evening). And yes, you're making me want to raise ducks as well...

Since we had the skinning discussion earlier in the week...thought I'd post this rooster butchered today. He was 10 months old and was destined for the freezer. He decided to flog me today...not the typical Wyandotte behavior. So besides being a good laying flock, you can see the Wyandotte make a meaty carcass....with giblets weighed in at 4 pounds.


Displayed on a small cookie sheet, he looks really big.
Brining him tonight and will roast in the slow cooker with veggies and bacon as the skin. Probably put garlic, onion and celery in the cavity.
There was quite a bit of fat along the back and under the skin. nice healthy organs.

Very nice! I got my current Naked Necks from Ideal, and the rooster that I selected as the main flock leader has a rose comb - I suspect he may be part Wyandotte... He's a pretty big boy. (I wish his libido would slow down - I really need to make some aprons for his hens...)



- Ant Farm