BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Our Roost]

Hellbender, ? "we never used the F-1 NN cockerels in the breeding program either but the F-1 NN hens were used and covered with pure Australorp cocks".

I'm Dumb! TERMS,TERMS, TERMS. F-1 stands for what? Are you saying that you use the offspring hens to breed back to the breed of roosters used?

 

[Beer can]

I'm picking up a young trio of fibro NN/Cemani crosses soon, she is just waiting to be sure of their sex. I didn't like the idea at first, but the price was good and she lives not to far from me and I want some fibro black meat birds. The ones I'm getting she doesn't want, she's keeping all that hatch with the NN and these don't, something about her NN roo being 'bowtied'. Should be a good cross for my purposes, and I'm glad they don't have the NN. What I didn't know was NN lay good and make excellent meat birds and are somehow hardy even though they look like
they have mange.

 

[dfr1973]

What I didn't know was NN lay good and make excellent meat birds and are somehow hardy even though they look like
they have mange.

Good thing I had already set my coffee down before the page loaded ...!

 

[Our Roost]

gjensen, Why? I call it shoring up the foundation and strengthening 2 breeds to create a better utility breed. The percentage of transfering genetic traits and features can be minimal or gigantic gains depending on the unrelated or related parent breeds used. At least that would be my goal. That being said, I dont think some explorers have a clue of whats involved or the know how to go about it. I surely dont and am always seeking advice from mentors in the know on this subject. I give credit to those with ambition to change or create. The sad part is that they lack the scientific background or knowledge to do it. Lego blocks are fun to play with, but if you havent really made anything constructive, its time to put the blocks back in the box.

 

[gjensen]

gjensen, Why? I call it shoring up the foundation and strengthening 2 breeds to create a better utility breed. The percentage of transfering genetic traits and features can be minimal or gigantic gains depending on the unrelated or related parent breeds used. At least that would be my goal. That being said, I dont think some explorers have a clue of whats involved or the know how to go about it. I surely dont and am always seeking advice from mentors in the know on this subject. I give credit to those with ambition to change or create. The sad part is that they lack the scientific background or knowledge to do it. Lego blocks are fun to play with, but if you havent really made anything constructive, its time to put the blocks back in the box.

Our Roost, it is not clear what you are asking why to. I am assuming that you are referring to where I asked the poster why, or maybe where I suggested that they will not accomplish their stated goals using what they suggested.

The rest of the post is to general to respond to. If there is something specific that you want to discuss, I can attempt to respond intelligently. I think that I know where you are going, but I do not want to start by going in circles. I have made that mistake on here before.

 

[DesertChic]

I'm picking up a young trio of fibro NN/Cemani crosses soon, she is just waiting to be sure of their sex. I didn't like the idea at first, but the price was good and she lives not to far from me and I want some fibro black meat birds. The ones I'm getting she doesn't want, she's keeping all that hatch with the NN and these don't, something about her NN roo being 'bowtied'. Should be a good cross for my purposes, and I'm glad they don't have the NN. What I didn't know was NN lay good and make excellent meat birds and are somehow hardy even though they look like
they have mange.

I don't know what you mean by "fibro" but I LOVE my little NN flock! The "bow tie" is a fluff of feathers on the front neck of the NN. SOP prefers no or absolute minimal bow tie but I think most NNs have them. And yes, they make excellent meat birds. Mine are only 6 weeks old now and I'm amazed by how densely meaty my cockerels are. As @gjensen has said, not having to devote so much nutrition to feather development helps the NN to devote more to its overall development.


Here's a couple of my NNs. The one in front is a pullet with minimal bow tie, and the black barred cockerel behind her has a sizable bow tie.

 

[Tammylr]

I don't know what you mean by "fibro" but I LOVE my little NN flock! The "bow tie" is a fluff of feathers on the front neck of the NN. SOP prefers no or absolute minimal bow tie but I think most NNs have them. And yes, they make excellent meat birds. Mine are only 6 weeks old now and I'm amazed by how densely meaty my cockerels are. As @gjensen has said, not having to devote so much nutrition to feather development helps the NN to devote more to its overall development. Here's a couple of my NNs. The one in front is a pullet with minimal bow tie, and the black barred cockerel behind her has a sizable bow tie.

I think the NN are so darn cute! I love strange looking creatures. How quickly do your birds hit a good weight for processing? What age?

 

[bramblefir]

My hatchery Welsummer is a decent, but not great, layer. She took an 8 week vacation from Nov-Dec, was slow to start in the first place, and averages 4 eggs/week. Her eggs are easy to count because they're all that terracotta shade typical of the breed. This is her first year as a hen and I'll be finding a new home for her once the new pullets reach POL. She doesn't have much to recommend her physically and the dulcet tones she produces belies her true ancestry (peacock x donkey). The cockerels that came with her were all culled at 13 weeks.

If you have all those breeds of hens and want to cross them then you might as well do so and grow out the chicks to see which mix you prefer. All of those breeds should be bigger than a Welsummer though.

 

[bramblefir]

The fibro means they are fibromelanistic like a Silkie. Black skin and all that.

Beer can - So they're almost like Showgirls, but useful?

 

[DesertChic]

I think the NN are so darn cute! I love strange looking creatures. How quickly do your birds hit a good weight for processing? What age?

I love them too! I now find them absolutely beautiful and they have fantastic personalities. As far as processing is concerned, I really don't know. This is my first experience with NNs, but I can tell you that at 6 weeks, my largest cockerel already weighs 1.5 pounds.