BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[holm25]

There was one on another thread that lived to 11 months I think? Old enough to breed some hens and have chicks. He was apparently over 15 pounds and the size of the guys turkeys.... He jumped off of something about a foot off the ground one day, gave himself bumblefoot and died because of the infection and the weight he gained when he wasn't as active.

I had a two year old CX hen and my aunt had a 3 year old that got killed by a fox.

 

[DesertChic]

These are my only three boys from a breeder - the breeder does her work well, very consistent. I've kept all three, because they are so similar so far... I can tell them apart, barely, by looking carefully in full daylight. Hence the color leg bands...








- Ant Farm

Do you know if the breeder you got these birds from sells hatching eggs? I still shudder at the thought of chicks being shipped through the mail, but hatching eggs are fine.

Ever since I read about those broiler Silkies I've been toying with an idea....My outdoor garden area tends to get overgrown with our native grasses and even though most of my produce is grown in raised beds/troughs, I like to keep the ground around them clean. I had a thought a few weeks back of installing a small Silkie coop in the garden since those little birds can't fly up and devour the contents of the trough like my other birds can, but now I'm wondering if Silkie broilers would be a better way to go.

And....chicken math strikes again.

 

[miss heny]

plan on Possibly letting ours run in the orchard in the future

 

[holm25]

Do you know if the breeder you got these birds from sells hatching eggs? I still shudder at the thought of chicks being shipped through the mail, but hatching eggs are fine.

Ever since I read about those broiler Silkies I've been toying with an idea....My outdoor garden area tends to get overgrown with our native grasses and even though most of my produce is grown in raised beds/troughs, I like to keep the ground around them clean. I had a thought a few weeks back of installing a small Silkie coop in the garden since those little birds can't fly up and devour the contents of the trough like my other birds can, but now I'm wondering if Silkie broilers would be a better way to go. 

And....chicken math strikes again. 

Do you have a link so I could read about them??

 

[ocap]

Quote:
read about weeder geese to see if that might satisfy your need, my African geese have been looking for dandelion

 

[holm25]

read about weeder geese to see if that might satisfy your need, my African geese have been looking for dandelion

I highly hope you ignore this comment @DesertChic Geese are TERRIBLE! If you don't mind terribly noisy birds they are fine but if you like quiet I highly recommend you pass on geese and get the Silkies!

 

[ocap]

Quote:
I like the noise

 

[holm25]

I like the noise

What about the Poop and ankle breakers they make with their duck friends?

 

[ocap]

Quote:
the holes are not to my liking but the silkies were/are expensive hawk food and rarely get off the nest to free range, 5 broods in one year including sitting on frozen eggs in 5F January weather

 

[DesertChic]

read about weeder geese to see if that might satisfy your need, my African geese have been looking for dandelion

I highly hope you ignore this comment @DesertChic

Geese are TERRIBLE! If you don't mind terribly noisy birds they are fine but if you like quiet I highly recommend you pass on geese and get the Silkies!

My husband absolutely forbids me from getting geese. They terrify him.