BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Phill98]

Here's one of the reasons I'm seriously considering culling Monty - This is Andres, Monty's son, and he's even better than his daddy in form and disposition: He and his three brothers (18 weeks old) are now in their own bachelor pad so the girls from their flock can continue to mature to POL without harassment from the boys. Andres has a nice wide back, even more breast meat that his father (already), and still holds the record for growth rate among all of my own birds that I've bred, hatched and raised.

I will say my opinion.. I think he is a really, and I mean really goodd reason to cull Monty. Overall beautiful and big bird. Now this is my opinion, I love his size, comb, colour and the fact he is young. But I understand your struggle, especially since you have had Monty for a longer period of time.

 

[jbkirk]

Here's one of the reasons I'm seriously considering culling Monty - This is Andres, Monty's son, and he's even better than his daddy in form and disposition:







He and his three brothers (18 weeks old) are now in their own bachelor pad so the girls from their flock can continue to mature to POL without harassment from the boys. Andres has a nice wide back, even more breast meat that his father (already), and still holds the record for growth rate among all of my own birds that I've bred, hatched and raised.

Does he have a rose comb?

 

[DesertChic]

Does he have a rose comb?

Yep!

 

[Gorman Farm]

Here's one of the reasons I'm seriously considering culling Monty - This is Andres, Monty's son, and he's even better than his daddy in form and disposition:







He and his three brothers (18 weeks old) are now in their own bachelor pad so the girls from their flock can continue to mature to POL without harassment from the boys. Andres has a nice wide back, even more breast meat that his father (already), and still holds the record for growth rate among all of my own birds that I've bred, hatched and raised.

He is stunning...

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:

Here's one of the reasons I'm seriously considering culling Monty - This is Andres, Monty's son, and he's even better than his daddy in form and disposition:







He and his three brothers (18 weeks old) are now in their own bachelor pad so the girls from their flock can continue to mature to POL without harassment from the boys. Andres has a nice wide back, even more breast meat that his father (already), and still holds the record for growth rate among all of my own birds that I've bred, hatched and raised.

Andres is beautiful and looks impressive!

Your housing is totally different from mine, so in the end, you have to go with what works with your management. From the beginning, my best cockerels from my first group of NNs, Snape and Tank, did not get along with other males or each other (like, fight to the death), and I already had a Cream Legbar rooster who was also a solo dude with three hens in a separate well functioning family. So that sort of dictated my practice - I have multiple separate family groups with a male and several females in each, and they range in paddocks (that rotate based on condition of vegetation). I've been lucky so far that the three German New Hampshire roosters have mostly cohabited ok, they were raised together, are relatively calm by nature, and were separated from females early. But things are starting to get a little hairy this spring with them - as soon as I have the chicks from this spring grown out, I'll be rearranging the families and those boys will be given small families of their own and I can stop worrying that they will kill each other one day...

- Ant Farm

 

[DesertChic]

Andres is beautiful and looks impressive!

Your housing is totally different from mine, so in the end, you have to go with what works with your management. From the beginning, my best cockerels from my first group of NNs, Snape and Tank, did not get along with other males or each other (like, fight to the death), and I already had a Cream Legbar rooster who was also a solo dude with three hens in a separate well functioning family. So that sort of dictated my practice - I have multiple separate family groups with a male and several females in each, and they range in paddocks (that rotate based on condition of vegetation). I've been lucky so far that the three German New Hampshire roosters have mostly cohabited ok, they were raised together, are relatively calm by nature, and were separated from females early. But things are starting to get a little hairy this spring with them - as soon as I have the chicks from this spring grown out, I'll be rearranging the families and those boys will be given small families of their own and I can stop worrying that they will kill each other one day...

- Ant Farm

Yeah, my housing has been a bit of a mish-mash that we pieced together as the flock grew. If I could start all over again from scratch things would be much, much different, but this is what I have and since it's all paid for I'm not going to start over from scratch. And I envy you all that forage material. We actually had grass growing here for about four days. Now it's all brown again. Such is life in the desert.

 

[DesertChic]

Does anyone here have experience treating vent gleet? I just learned this term for what I'm seeing in my most stressed hens and I'm doing my best to treat them without medications, but it's a chore. I was just wondering what's worked well for others who've experienced the problem.

 

[Beer can]

Does anyone here have experience treating vent gleet? I just learned this term for what I'm seeing in my most stressed hens and I'm doing my best to treat them without medications, but it's a chore. I was just wondering what's worked well for others who've experienced the problem. 

Never heard of it so I read up on it.
I don't think I've ever had one with it. Though I did recently have my silkie/giant with frozen poop crusty butt. Took the scissors to her and did some major hacking, never seen such a poofy fluffy butt, it was like goose down once I got the frozen hunk off. She doesn't have silkie feathering but boy her butt was fluffy.
I'm sure you've already researched it but have you thought of trying Gentian violet?
I know that's what the doctor prescribed when one of our kids got thrush mouth from either long term strong antibiotics or maybe it was from one of the asthma medicines they were trying on her, don't remember, was awhile ago.
Hmm, reading up on gentian violet guess it's in blu kote.

 

[holm25]

Thanks for all the info on long spurs! I guess I don't keep roosters around that long. I get a group of pullets from them eat them and get a new one or keep one back that's the most distantly related to the hens. Actually now I will only use Buckeye roosters for my flock Roos. Best roosters I have ever owned. IMHO nothing can beat tear birds especially in this climate. Getting 3-4 eggs a day from 4 Buckeye hens ? Not bad?

 

[holm25]

Here's one of the reasons I'm seriously considering culling Monty - This is Andres, Monty's son, and he's even better than his daddy in form and disposition: He and his three brothers (18 weeks old) are now in their own bachelor pad so the girls from their flock can continue to mature to POL without harassment from the boys. Andres has a nice wide back, even more breast meat that his father (already), and still holds the record for growth rate among all of my own birds that I've bred, hatched and raised.

I agree with Turk on this subject. Although some may not have the room. But if you could i would keep Monty too. Then if you have a roo even better than Andres this fall cull Monty and keep Andres and the better guy.