BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote: Noooooo.... but that doesn't keep me from wishing and planning. I was just playing with the calendar the other day, regarding the timing for the hatch of chicks from my own Naked Necks (planning for January) vs. receipt of the S&G type NNs in late February. I'm going to have a LOT more chickens for a little while.

Can you share your cooking method for the muscovy? I have one in the freezer I need to cook, and hadn't landed on what method would be best.

(Go chickies!

)

Quote: Yeah, I hate doing it as well. Earlier in the year I had a cohort of about 12 pullets right at POL that I had to put down because one of them died from what turned out to be avian leukosis (which in retrospect she got from her mother). They were the very first chickens I had hatched myself from my own eggs. The whole group was either exposed in egg from mother or reared from day one with one of them, and there was a risk of them being heavy shedders of the virus even if they survived, so after a lot of reading, and speaking with the poultry pathologist who did the necropsy... I decided to cull them all. I had allowed myself to get very attached to them, and I cried the whole time I was culling (which I REALLY don't do at all when culling usually). It was very sad for me, still upsetting when I think of it because of the circumstance, I guess...

- Ant Farm

 

[FaerieChicken]

Are you marking them all with leg bands or some other method? The chick down will change, and very quickly!

I had initially marked all with leg bands, but some fell off! But only 2 were non meat project birds anyway and they were 2 of the black ones!

 

[BlueBaby]

I do @dfr1973! I still have lot's of room for new projects over here. I have 3 1/2 acres to play with! lol

 

[FaerieChicken]

I think that quite a lot of us will be busy building new coops pretty soon!!!!

I'm working on a Cochin coop right now! Lol

Ooooo dedicated breed coops....... I like that idea.

I wish my DH was a contractor or had the skill to build things. We have breeding pens, pretty big too, but they are not the greatest design without any closed in area, and tarp for roofing with the chicken nesting houses being refurbished dog houses!

 

[FaerieChicken]

Yeah, I hate doing it as well. Earlier in the year I had a cohort of about 12 pullets right at POL that I had to put down because one of them died from what turned out to be avian leukosis (which in retrospect she got from her mother). They were the very first chickens I had hatched myself from my own eggs. The whole group was either exposed in egg from mother or reared from day one with one of them, and there was a risk of them being heavy shedders of the virus even if they survived, so after a lot of reading, and speaking with the poultry pathologist who did the necropsy... I decided to cull them all. I had allowed myself to get very attached to them, and I cried the whole time I was culling (which I REALLY don't do at all when culling usually). It was very sad for me, still upsetting when I think of it because of the circumstance, I guess...

- Ant Farm

That is awful, I can't imagine all that time, energy and excitment being wasted! You did yourself a favor though I am sure. Keeping it from being passed on to the next gen if they survived. Did the mom that raised them have it or the Original Layer mom?

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
The Cream Legbar chicks in the group were from 3 mothers, but I didn't keep them sorted out (they tumbled out of their different baskets int he incubator after hatching). In addition, they were raised together in the brooder (brooder raised, not by a chicken mother), along with some Naked Neck aloha chicks, and so were exposed early. It wasn't until the chicks were 2 weeks old that Paula (one of the CL mothers) suddenly died. I did a necropsy, thought it was Mareks, but wasn't sure (should have just gotten an official necropsy then). I decided I didn't have it in me to cull 26 2-week old chicks, so I let them grow out (in their own pen) and started to have hope. Culled all the boys (wasn't planning to keep any), and then, right around POL, one of the pullets dropped dead. Knew to get an official necropsy this time, and drove her to the Texas A&M poultry location in Gonzales, TX. Had a long talk with the pathologist there (I'm a human pathologist, so we spoke the same language). He called me the next day, and her findings were classic for ALV, NOT Marek's. He sent photos, and it was exactly what I had found in her mother.

I read a LOT of articles, before just admitting that I needed to cull them all before any substantial contact with the rest of my chickens. It was the right thing to do, but it was still a sad experience.

I finally ate two of them about 2 weeks ago - I pulled them from the freezer and put them into a pressure cooker with seasonings and water and made the most amazing soup I have ever had. I'm glad for that - seems right somehow. They had a very good life, and a humane death. It was just a very discouraging experience. All part of keeping chickens, though.

After all, if I want to "cull hard" for a trait or feature, I don't have the room or housing for that to mean anything other than freezer camp.

- Ant Farm

 

[Beer can]

What age and weight do you process at? I have some mix roo/BJG chicks that are 11 weeks old.. I had read 8-9 months old for JG, thinking the unknow mix daddy may help it be sooner.

one of the 4 roos started trying crowing yesterday LOL ...way to little to eat and he is the one I was thinking to keep.. although his daddy is not happy about another roo crowing.

Process the same as any other, they still have the meat, they're not 'anemic' or whatever on muscle or meat, just bigger boned and taller than the others, and haven't reached their 'potential', just like any other bird for that matter (none have reached their potential when culled early). I'm not a authority on this, quite new to the breed but I super like them. First batch I culled and predators, mostly pullets down to two, had three cockerels, kept the best one, gave my brother the second cause he wanted a 'good rooster' and they are the best as far as temperament, ate the third big (maybe seven months?), like a small turkey. Second yr only have three more pullets to add, didn't hatch enough. Hatched mostly cockerels which is what I wanted for capons but just couldn't do the deed, hopefully I can bring myself to do it next time. Of all I culled they were about 3-4lbs dressed, both naked necks and giants same age don't remember how many weeks should keep better records just know they were crowing and breeding and ate too much, culled to bring down the feed bill$.

 

[Beer can]

75?!!!! I m getting there, I have more than 50. I will need to cull hard for egg laying ability, but culling hens....... ugh that's very difficult. I don't even name them. This breeding stuff is harder than I thought! They all seem to have at least one interesting characteristic worth keeping......... aaaaarrghhhh

It sucks, but if your not selling eggs (I don't) cull down to the specifics you want. Started with fifteen naked necks, down to five. I culled most of my naked neck pullets and some of them already had eggs in them, ugghh, but I culled for small or no bowtie, see what hatches out of the three I kept, and two cockerels. Makes it a little easier when you think of the feed bill savings compared to your own feed bill IMHO. I put over thirty in the freezer this yr, need to do about eight more to get down to just breeding stock, just have to wait a little bit cause a few are the kids favorites with names......they will 'die of old age'.

 

[FaerieChicken]

The Cream Legbar chicks in the group were from 3 mothers, but I didn't keep them sorted out (they tumbled out of their different baskets int he incubator after hatching). In addition, they were raised together in the brooder (brooder raised, not by a chicken mother), along with some Naked Neck aloha chicks, and so were exposed early. It wasn't until the chicks were 2 weeks old that Paula (one of the CL mothers) suddenly died. I did a necropsy, thought it was Mareks, but wasn't sure (should have just gotten an official necropsy then). I decided I didn't have it in me to cull 26 2-week old chicks, so I let them grow out (in their own pen) and started to have hope. Culled all the boys (wasn't planning to keep any), and then, right around POL, one of the pullets dropped dead. Knew to get an official necropsy this time, and drove her to the Texas A&M poultry location in Gonzales, TX. Had a long talk with the pathologist there (I'm a human pathologist, so we spoke the same language). He called me the next day, and her findings were classic for ALV, NOT Marek's. He sent photos, and it was exactly what I had found in her mother.

I read a LOT of articles, before just admitting that I needed to cull them all before any substantial contact with the rest of my chickens. It was the right thing to do, but it was still a sad experience.

I finally ate two of them about 2 weeks ago - I pulled them from the freezer and put them into a pressure cooker with seasonings and water and made the most amazing soup I have ever had. I'm glad for that - seems right somehow. They had a very good life, and a humane death. It was just a very discouraging experience. All part of keeping chickens, though.

After all, if I want to "cull hard" for a trait or feature, I don't have the room or housing for that to mean anything other than freezer camp.

- Ant Farm

So not know who was whos offspring is why you had to cull the whole brood? Also, you say they all brooded together, so its contagious?

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
It's a very long story involving reading several scientific papers, but the punchline is that if chicks are exposed to ALV before about age 4-8 weeks, they become tolerant, and their immune system does not recognize it. So that even if they do not die a terrible death with tumors all over inside, they shed lots of virus that could then expose other chickens at high levels...

Edit to add: Avian Leukosis Virus - yes, contagious, and also transmitted in the egg.

- Ant Farm