BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[DesertChic]

Yeah, I think 'patience' is where I lost the battle on the wings! The first one took me about 2 hours to kill, skin, gut, and part out. The second took about 1.5 hours and the third took about an hour... I'm thinking that I am just not using the right method. I'm using the sort of 'take off the coat' method where I open the skin from neck down to tip of keel and pulling off the skin like I was taking a baby out of a snow suit or onesie.

I'll see if I can find a YouTube or something for a different method as I losing the wings just hurts!

The first time I ever processed one of my birds it took me 1.5 hours, and that was with plucking. Since then I've been able to trim off time, but it's taken a lot more practice. On a good day, with one of my NNs, I can process the whole bird in about 20 minutes, but it often still takes me up to an hour, which frustrates me. The first bird I skinned instead of plucked took only 30 minutes, but it was a young bird and easy to skin. The older they get, the harder it gets, so now I usually just pluck because I like the flavor of older birds. Using a scalpel rather than traditional knives helps for me, but it can still be a time consuming process.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Oh this is interesting. I have heard so many opinions on the subject.

 This is Judge William White Broomhead from page 72 of his 1939 book,

 "Poultry For the Many" . Judge Broomhead was a Judge for the Sussex Club

and later went on to edit at least one edition of the British Poultry

Club Standards. He also became President of the British Poultry Club.
 
"The Fertilisation of Eggs.—There occurs the question of col-

lecting the eggs. How soon after the male has been introduced will

the eggs be fertile? If the hens are in lay the eggs can be relied

on about a week after mating, although if the birds are on the

point of laying, the first egg will probably be fertilised.

Another problem difficult to solve by novices is whether eggs

are fertilised day by day, or at one time. This question arises

if the male in the breeding pen fails in his duties and another has

to be substituted—how long will it be ere the second male leaves

his impressions?

Some authorities state that eggs are fertilised day by day, and

that those laid directly after the introduction of the second male

will contain his germs. Others, however, affirm that more often

than not the majority of the ova attached to the ovary at the time

of the coitus are fertilised—which, however, is impossible.

The question is one that requires a wealth of detail to be

answered, hence it cannot be dealt with in this book. These facts

may be stated: The length of the oviduct in an adult fowl seldom

accommodates more than six eggs at one time.

The oviduct is disconnected with the ovary except during

ovulation; hence the male elements must of necessity fertilise the

female contribution or ovum in the oviduct and not in the ovary.

Therefore, since the oviduct can accommodate six eggs, and of the

six one might be equipped with a shell, we are bound to arrive at

the conclusion that five eggs are likely to be fertilised at once.

If, however, a fully shelled egg is occupying the cloacal pouch

of the oviduct when copulation takes place, the spermatozoa usually

fails to gain access to the oviduct, and thus might be wasted.

When changing the male, therefore, let at least a week elapse ere

keeping eggs as from the second mating."

It has been found that the sperm remains in the hen can in fact fertilize eggs well after the removal of the rooster... there is still a debate about how long to wait before introducing a new male if you are carefully tracking your breeding. Some folks don't wait at all claiming the new sperm will win the fertilization game, but honestly this conflicts with 100s of years of breeder observations especially where performance was valued over creating birds with the exact same look, some folks wait a week others as long as a month or more. If knowing 100% for sure the sire is important than the waits tend to be longer.

There are many different ways to breed, ways of tracking and so on... some folks will only pair birds to be 100% sure about parents, others do 1 rooster to related sister hens, others do flock breeding 1 rooster to many hens which may not be related to produce many fertile eggs but unless you can distinguish the eggs easily you will have trouble knowing which hen contributed her 50% to the chick.

So breeding ideas will boil down to your needs, what works for you, but the sperm remains viable for up to a 3 to 4 weeks based on the science stuff I have read, hens can also expell sperm to help determine the father.. thus a hen can reject or make fertilization difficult if she dislikes the male. The hens DNA decides sex of chick as well, birds are opposite mammals in this respect.

Not an expert, just stuff I have picked up in trying to better my understanding of chicken math....

 

[Molpet]

It has been found that the sperm remains in the hen can in fact fertilize eggs well after the removal of the rooster... there is still a debate about how long to wait before introducing a new male if you are carefully tracking your breeding. Some folks don't wait at all claiming the new sperm will win the fertilization game, but honestly this conflicts with 100s of years of breeder observations especially where performance was valued over creating birds with the exact same look, some folks wait a week others as long as a month or more. If knowing 100% for sure the sire is important than the waits tend to be longer.

There are many different ways to breed, ways of tracking and so on... some folks will only pair birds to be 100% sure about parents, others do 1 rooster to related sister hens, others do flock breeding 1 rooster to many hens which may not be related to produce many fertile eggs but unless you can distinguish the eggs easily you will have trouble knowing which hen contributed her 50% to the chick.

So breeding ideas will boil down to your needs, what works for you, but the sperm remains viable for up to a 3 to 4 weeks based on the science stuff I have read, hens can also expell sperm to help determine the father.. thus a hen can reject or make fertilization difficult if she dislikes the male. The hens DNA decides sex of chick as well, birds are opposite mammals in this respect.

Not an expert, just stuff I have picked up in trying to better my understanding of chicken math....

I had a hen expel the seaman today in front of me.. and it was the roo I wanted her with

 

[Kassaundra]

I had a hen expel the seaman today in front of me.. and it was the roo I wanted her with

Maybe get him some chocolate to give to her?

 

[Molpet]

Maybe get him some chocolate to give to her?

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

I had a hen expel the seaman today in front of me.. and it was the roo I wanted her with   

Well you can pair her to him in confinement and hope for some fertilized eggs, hope given time she changes her mind... or try AI. But yes hens can be picky and depending on breed such as some gamefowl breeds even hostile to males they dislike. The girls have ideas of their own on what makes a male sexy, you could give the boy a bit of a make over, try to bring out the red in his comb, shine up his feathers and legs, maybe hide treats for him to find to court his new lady with. Sounds silly I know but birds have great eye sight, and courtship behaviors, so it can't hurt to try.

Put the smooth jazz on...

 

[abbevilleoz]

Our first set of eggs from our white Jersey Giant cockerel over a CX pullet. The blues are Ameraucanas.

 

[dan26552]

Good luck oz

 

[abbevilleoz]

Good luck oz

Thanks Dan. These are my son's but I'm excited to see how they turn out.

 

[dan26552]

Thanks Dan. These are my son's but I'm excited to see how they turn out.

Me too.