BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[ejcrist]

I ordered Hutt's Genetics of the Fowl from Amazon a while back- it's a reprint of the 1949 book, worth every penny.

Sounds like you like it. I read mixed reviews on it. At first I was going to get it but then I saw the books written earlier and found they had the info I was looking for. Does your book cover mostly breeding for physical characteristics or does it talk about breeding in general, the inbreeding coefficient, etc.? I'd still like to get Genetics of the Fowl if it has good info in it. So you'd recommend it I take it, correct?

 

[DesertChic]

I ordered Hutt's Genetics of the Fowl from Amazon a while back- it's a reprint of the 1949 book, worth every penny.

Agreed!

Sounds like you like it. I read mixed reviews on it. At first I was going to get it but then I saw the books written earlier and found they had the info I was looking for. Does your book cover mostly breeding for physical characteristics or does it talk about breeding in general, the inbreeding coefficient, etc.? I'd still like to get Genetics of the Fowl if it has good info in it. So you'd recommend it I take it, correct?

It's more of a scientific analysis of genetic traits in chickens. It's by no means a casual read...much more textbook-like...but chocked full of invaluable information. If you really want to understand how to favor or eliminate certain genetic tendencies in your flock, you will find the information in this book well worth the investment.

 

[DesertChic]

I finally got some decent photos of my meat breeders from my last hatch. Ladies first!


Willa - Okay, not a great shot but she is the most notoriously camera shy bird I have. She weighed in at 4 lbs @ 16 weeks and is very solid. And she's a NN, so that's a real bonus. She's a NN/White Rock mix.


Senna - I'm loving her unique feathering pattern. She weighed in at 3.91 lbs @ 16 weeks. She's an Ameraucana-mix/White Rock and also now carries the blue egg gene. Bonus!



Haley - She came in at 3.63 lbs @ 16 weeks and is also an Ameraucana-mix/White Rock girl.

 

[DesertChic]

And now my boys:


Monty - weight in at 5.54 lbs @ 16 weeks and is really, really solid. I LOVE his coloring and he's also got a very tolerant disposition. He's also an Ameraucana-mix/White Rock.



Simon - He came in at 5.03 lbs @ 16 weeks and has far more breast meat than any of my other NN boys have had at this age. He's a NN/White Rock mix and again, very tolerant about being handled.

 

[DesertChic]

And my Bielefelder-mix project is also doing well. Only two girls so far, but they're really lovely birds in every way:


Gypsy - the elder sister.


Misha - the younger sister.

Both girls are the daughters of my favorite Biel hen that I lost to the heat this summer. Thankfully they're both just as chatty, sweet, friendly and charming as she was, but are MUCH more heat tolerant.

 

[ejcrist]

Agreed!


It's more of a scientific analysis of genetic traits in chickens. It's by no means a casual read...much more textbook-like...but chocked full of invaluable information. If you really want to understand how to favor or eliminate certain genetic tendencies in your flock, you will find the information in this book well worth the investment.

Ok, cool. Sounds like it's right up my alley and a good addition to the small library I have going. Thanks for the details.

BTW, your birds look exceptionally nice. I like Monty the best. Is his last name Walsh?

 

[DesertChic]

Ok, cool. Sounds like it's right up my alley and a good addition to the small library I have going. Thanks for the details.

BTW, your birds look exceptionally nice. I like Monty the best. Is his last name Walsh?

LOL! Actually, "Monty" is his last name. His first name is "Full".

 

[jbkirk]

Maybe some are imprinting due to be handled, hand fed and petted as chicks? This article has a paragraph about male birds.... http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/Bottle-raised%20males%20can%20be%20very%20dangerous.pdf

After reading about that topic so often here on BYC, I've noticed most of the posts involve young males that were handled or hand fed as chicks, folks describing them as affectionate, gentle, babies, etc. that turned to attacking their owners upon sexual maturity. I have to wonder if a lot of it was a result of that early imprinting and resulting confusion. Maybe some cockerels are more prone to imprinting than others which could explain the varied results you are showing. It would be worthy of an experiment on deliberately ignoring male chicks during the formative months, no handling or hand feeding, etc to see if that tends to continue or if it's truly a line or breed issue.

I have to agree. We once had a ram lamb which was the king of pets, but when he got older was the nastiest thing ever!!!!

 

[ejcrist]

LOL! Actually, "Monty" is his last name. His first name is "Full".

Ya know you gave me an idea. I'm going to name my next rooster Montelius. But I'm just going to call him Monty or he might attack when I don't expect it. The one rooster I have now is named Hoss because he's a big boy. Believe it or not he knows his name too. I'll have three more before the end of the year is out so I'll have to think of names for them too. Cogburn came to mind pretty quick so I might go with that but I'll have to think about the last one. Let me know if you think of anything good.

I'm not big on naming birds but it's actually helpful when me and my wife are talking about them - it's a lot easier than saying number 67 and then having to think which one that is. We don't name them all because that's way too much for my small brain to remember but we do have names for a couple of them that stand out.

 

[Beekissed]

This was the inspiration for my current rooster's name....he loves his fermented mash.