BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[AnthNDacula]

My ten month old Wyandotte capon on the smoker:

Now that is much more what I think it should look like. And you are right...there was no layer of fat on the grocery store "fakon". The meat was very... enlarged but with minimal fat. I thought it was odd looking, but I'm glad you brought it up. After seeing your capon I'm craving real meat. At least I've got 10 old hens I can butcher in the near future for some stew and chicken pie.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Hi guys, just wanted to come out of lurking regarding super yummy chickens. Last year I hatched out some Trader Joes fertile eggs, giving me some very sweet layer girls. I had my White Bresse rooster cover these girls and the resulting cockerels were SO GOOD. They were probably 4 or 5 months old and though they were a little chewier than a store bought chicken, they were still reasonably tender when I roasted them. The taste was less "duck meat like" than a pure Bresse, but still had a great flavor. They were freakishly fast growing too, I'm assuming from the commercial genetics side. Just something to try if you have a heritage meat breed and a Trader Joes near by.

Trader Joes is a grocery store, right? They sell fertile eggs? Were these eggs white or brown? - I'm guessing they'd be either red sex link type or white production leghorn layer breed?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You're guessing right.
They could be any color because they don't all come from the same farm. They source eggs locally (somewhat).
Trader Joes in my city don't carry fertile eggs. The package has to say "fertile eggs" on it.
Also, check the Julian date on the carton so you'll know how old the eggs are.

 

[Our Roost]

Some dual purpose birds can make the best cross breeds and a tasty meat bird. I have some hefty blue orpingtons that are not all feathers. They can be brought to the table in about 16-18 weeks. Average weight at that age is about 4-5 lbs for a hen. A cockerel provides a lot of breast meat and makes great soup using the rest. I have plans to cross breed with some neiderrheiners next spring.

 

[ronott1]

Trader Joes is a grocery store, right? They sell fertile eggs? Were these eggs white or brown? - I'm guessing they'd be either red sex link type or white production leghorn layer breed?

The ones we get in California are not sexlinked. TJ's says that the hens are hyline white and the roosters are hyline browns. There is no silver or barred so not sexlinks.

They do make something like an austra white. They are egg laying monsters!

You're guessing right.
They could be any color because they don't all come from the same farm. They source eggs locally (somewhat).
Trader Joes in my city don't carry fertile eggs. The package has to say "fertile eggs" on it.
Also, check the Julian date on the carton so you'll know how old the eggs are.

TJ's does not have fertile eggs everywhere, only where they have an egg farm close enough for shipping.

 

[CrazyTalk]

You're guessing right.
They could be any color because they don't all come from the same farm. They source eggs locally (somewhat).
Trader Joes in my city don't carry fertile eggs. The package has to say "fertile eggs" on it.
Also, check the Julian date on the carton so you'll know how old the eggs are.

The Martins (same company as Stop&Shop, Giant, etc) near me sells fertile eggs too - so it may be worth checking places other than Trader Joes. They're not with the rest of the eggs though - they're in this weird little part of the store near the beer.

 

[AnthNDacula]

This new marketing scheme for fertile eggs is interesting. All the testing I've read about says fertile and infertile eggs are the same nutritionally, but if there's a demand someone will step up to fill it. It's certainly a nice opportunity for small chicken raisers to play with but I'd like to know more about how the producers are marketing them. Are these eggs "cage free", "free range", or "pastured"? What kind of price are they bringing?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The Martins (same company as Stop&Shop, Giant, etc) near me sells fertile eggs too - so it may be worth checking places other than Trader Joes. ...

So true. Some organic type or farmers markets may have them. While my TJs doesn't carry them, Whole Foods does. Still they take too long to get to the store to be viable.

... They're not with the rest of the eggs though - they're in this weird little part of the store near the beer.

That's interesting.
I just left the nearest Farm & Home store to get chicken feed. Their organic feed is about 2 aisles away. No wonder they don't sell enough to keep it fresh.

This new marketing scheme for fertile eggs is interesting. All the testing I've read about says fertile and infertile eggs are the same nutritionally, but if there's a demand someone will step up to fill it. It's certainly a nice opportunity for small chicken raisers to play with but I'd like to know more about how the producers are marketing them. Are these eggs "cage free", "free range", or "pastured"? What kind of price are they bringing?

Some people will only buy fertile eggs. Some will only buy white eggs. Some will only buy brown eggs. There's no difference in any of those if they were all fed the same.

The US has very weak regulations for labeling, thanks to lobbying by the ag industry.
This is a cage egg operation - one of the better ones I might add.


This is a cage free operation




There is no legal designation for 'Free Range' or 'Pastured'.
That is up to the producer but almost anyone can claim that.

Normally, free range only requires that the birds have outdoor access which is usually a small door that all the birds can't egress and ingress each day nor is there any pasture once they get out to the porch.

 

[alisar]

They do make something like an austra white. They are egg laying monsters!
TJ's does not have fertile eggs everywhere, only where they have an egg farm close enough for shipping.

Austra whiteish egg laying monster is correct, the TJ girls were daily layers of a large light brown tinted egg. The personality is attractive too, very docile. Hatch rate is poor though from store eggs, out of three dozen I got a dozen to hatch, which ended up be mostly cockerels. But at $2 something a dozen and an empty incubator it's a fun experiment. There is a thread here on BYC regarding hatching supermarket eggs.
The one of the pullets from the TJs covered with the Bresse lay a giant football of an egg. So big I'm always worried about her getting them stuck!

 

[ronott1]

Austra whiteish egg laying monster is correct, the TJ girls were daily layers of a large light brown tinted egg. The personality is attractive too, very docile. Hatch rate is poor though from store eggs, out of three dozen I got a dozen to hatch, which ended up be mostly cockerels. But at $2 something a dozen and an empty incubator it's a fun experiment. There is a thread here on BYC regarding hatching supermarket eggs.
The one of the pullets from the TJs covered with the Bresse lay a giant football of an egg. So big I'm always worried about her getting them stuck!

I hatched 2dz from Trader Joes and 2dz from Whole Foods. The Whole Foods eggs were fresher--5 days old according to the Julian date on the carton. The Trader Joes eggs were 9 days old.

I was able to set 45--three were cracked and I hatched out 33. Not bad for store eggs!