BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[ronott1]

Hello Again, today, Ron,
And what sized eggs does one get from your home made hybrids at maturity? Inquiring minds want to know…
Again, my best to all,
Neal, the Zooman

Hi Neal,

I just weighed one from yesterday; it is 71G. They are big eggs for such little chickens.

We call the Amelias after Amelia earhart because they are very good at flying.

 

[bramblefir]

A few pictures from the farm today:

Chickens doing what chickens ought to be doing - digging in the muck pile for goodies.


The horrid little Polish cockerel on the left side is going on a dinner date in March. The SS Hamburg cockerel on the right is staying as a breeder.


The other cockerel staying is a Black Langshan. I had two other Langshans, but this one had the widest pelvic spread as well as being heavier and feeling more solid. The other two were taller and leaner.

 

[1zooman12]

Hi Ron,
Wow! 71 grams eh? If my math is correct that is just barely, or is it just precisely 2!/2 ounces? That exactly makes such an egg a jumbo. That is big for any chicken! And a blog or two ago you stated that your hybrid Crested Cream Legbar X Crele Penedesenca hens lay lots of eggs as well. Might one assume that this is more than 300 per year? If all these particulars are accurate this makes the bird a super chicken especially if there is enough weight on a particular bird to be invited to the table, so to speak. So what color are the hybrids' eggs? Might the deep rich chocolate brown be dominant in this instance? The things one learns in this blogosphere are fascinating and seemingly limitless.
When I got to the part at which you stated that you named them after Amelia Earhart because of their expertise at flying, that rocked my funny bone for quite a spell. Maybe it is because her flying acumen became troublesome enough for her to possibly get lost. Her reputation for flying skill went into the dumpster when she was lost for all time. And it did not improve any when it was disclosed she was in the company or another really great pilot, Fred Noonan, if I remember correctly. More than half a century ago one of my mentors, Kennedy Roberts Ludlam told me that he had dated her for a short time only to be out done by his older brother, George Ludlam who dated her for an even longer period. So Noonan either won or lost the contest depending upon whether one considers tying up with Amelia a gain or a loss considering that he apparently died alongside her. Each having lived to a ripe old age, no doubt the young Ludlam brothers came out much better!
Neal, the Zooman

 

[hellbender]

Hello Again, today, Ron,
And what sized eggs does one get from your home made hybrids at maturity? Inquiring minds want to know…
Again, my best to all,
Neal, the Zooman

I'm sorry...which hybrids? I have a few things going on now.

 

[hellbender]

I'm sorry...which hybrids? I have a few things going on now.

OOps...I see you are talking to another Ron...lol

 

[ronott1]

Hi Ron,
Wow! 71 grams eh? If my math is correct that is just barely, or is it just precisely 2!/2 ounces? That exactly makes such an egg a jumbo. That is big for any chicken! And a blog or two ago you stated that your hybrid Crested Cream Legbar X Crele Penedesenca hens lay lots of eggs as well. Might one assume that this is more than 300 per year? If all these particulars are accurate this makes the bird a super chicken especially if there is enough weight on a particular bird to be invited to the table, so to speak. So what color are the hybrids' eggs? Might the deep rich chocolate brown be dominant in this instance? The things one learns in this blogosphere are fascinating and seemingly limitless.
When I got to the part at which you stated that you named them after Amelia Earhart because of their expertise at flying, that rocked my funny bone for quite a spell. Maybe it is because her flying acumen became troublesome enough for her to possibly get lost. Her reputation for flying skill went into the dumpster when she was lost for all time. And it did not improve any when it was disclosed she was in the company or another really great pilot, Fred Noonan, if I remember correctly. More than half a century ago one of my mentors, Kennedy Roberts Ludlam told me that he had dated her for a short time only to be out done by his older brother, George Ludlam who dated her for an even longer period. So Noonan either won or lost the contest depending upon whether one considers tying up with Amelia a gain or a loss considering that he apparently died alongside her. Each having lived to a ripe old age, no doubt the young Ludlam brothers came out much better!
Neal, the Zooman

Nice Story about Amelia!

The eggs are Green because the CCL has the blue egg shell gene. Blue is dominant over white. The Brown egg coating gene is dominant so the blue egg shell with a dark brown coating gives the egg an olive green color.

They lay as well as my best layers so they would be in the 250+ range for egg laying.

Yes, they like to fly but they are chickens! so they do not fly gracefully. They can get up fairly high though.

 

[Heron's Nest Farm]

Nice pair!

I too have not liked my Polish birds. They were never friendly. Just never got them again.

I look forward to everyong posting their breeding projects for the year,

 

[LemonMeringue]

I guess I've officially started our breeding specifically for meat. I am limited on space and volume. So I can only have a rooster that is quiet. I now have one that is a Malay. Not show quality or anything. But he has thick legs and a wide stout frame.

I am going to try hatching out some chicks from my Cuckoo Marans hens that are hefty hens that lay eggs that are large to jumbo. I also have 2 hatchery Dark Cornish. Hatchery yes. But they aren't pigs and they are just at about 10 months and look and feel like a nice chicken dinner. I also have one lone EE that is nearly as big as the Marans. Out of all these the Marans lay more eggs than the others. I am just going to hatch from these early spring and see if any that we want to keep. If not we can just eat dinner, lol.

I also do have one older Buff Orpington pullet. Not sure if I want to use her. They are just pigs! Messy and eat a lot. Wasteful.

I did want to use a couple of White Plymouth Rocks that we have, but I've found they both have traits that I am not going to breed from. So they are slated for the pot.

We have some chicks started that we may use for next year. Olive Egger, Blue Copper Marans, More Orpingtons (will have to see if they are like the others), RIR and RIR/Buff Orp cross.

The main challenge I see in the next couple of years is that everything will be breeding back to the Malay if we hatch more. The only other option I see is finding someone near us with a rooster that has desirable faster growing traits. Maybe some of my pullets/hens I hatch out could go have a conjugal visit to get us some fertile eggs. Lol!

Basically it will be a melting pot breed of mutt chicken.

 

[bnjrob]

Basically it will be a melting pot breed of mutt chicken.

If they meet the majority of your expectations and needs, that is what counts.

 

[LemonMeringue]

If they meet the majority of your expectations and needs, that is what counts.

They will taste like chicken. Check