Breeding Suggestions for an Amateur....

[hdowden]

i like the silkie feathers and want to try and get silkie looking d'uccles. and i also want to breed frizzle feathering into the d'uccles but that will be some years from now to get what i want.

phinoxes have nice tails, i'm only into bantam breeds and since these come in bantam size i might get a few.

 

[greenhorn]

I'm not a chicken breeding genius but I know that you need quality stock before you start "making your own strain".

You can't start with inferior genetics. First you need to acquire the lines of chickens you think you will need to do this, then you will need to work those lines until you get birds that meet a certain standard.

Cross breeding before you have good lines to start with is putting the carriage in front of the horse.

First take the time to acquire top genetics and be patient. It will take way more patients to create the birds you want to than it will take to acquire the proper birds to start your project.

If you start with a good foundation you might have a chance but it does sound like a tall order. Good luck.....

 

[gjensen]

The best way to start is to start.

Do you have a place to raise them?

Do you have your pens set up?

Maybe you do. I am still working on my set up. It takes me forever to decide how I want everything (and a limited budget). I wonder if I will ever quit playing with it. If you don't, start putting it together.

A method to raise up the chicks, a few breeding pens, a house/yard/ run etc.

Once you get to a certain point and you still cannot source any good birds. Buy them from a hatchery. Buy 50, and keep two trios. While you are getting a generation or two under your belt, keep trying to source better stock. At least, in the mean time you have some experience and know something of the breed. At most, after a few generations you will have some birds that aren't that bad. If you make it that far, you will probably find someone to share some birds with a fellow enthusiast.

At your age alot changes. Who knows where you will be five years from now? You might not even be wanting to raise poultry. Then again, you might find a way to stick it out and get pretty good with it. Even people that have raised poultry for a long time, change breeds, projects, etc.

Keep in mind the cheapest part of keeping poultry is buying them. The feed, bedding, housing, maintenance, health care adds up and does not go away. Especially if you have a project and are breeding. Keeping a small flock is one thing. Breeding them is another.

In the mean time, have fun.

 

[Gresh]

Quote:
Well, I suppose it depends on the breeds you want. Cubalayas, though rare, are not as hard to maintain as, say, American Games or Shamos, which run a lot higher.

 

[Gresh]

Quote:
Thanks for your suggestions!

I've been thinking about starting out with IDEAL's Kraienkoppes because their original bloodlines were pure. There was talk that IDEAL was considering doping their Kraienkoppes, but I haven't yet read a source that says for sure that they began to. The only way I'll know is to find out.

My dad and I constructed a cheap chicken coop awhile ago, and I think that if I make a similar coop, but scale the size down and attach a run, I might be able to duplicate the process and thereby construct some breeding pens. I plan on buying like 15 Kraienkoppes from IDEAL and then culling very hard to get the best out of the stock. Then I plan on joining the SPPA to get a breeder's directory for better Kraienkoppe stock.

 

[cubalaya]

good luck. if kraeinkoppes are what you have decided, why not try sandhill preservation. theirs will be better than hatchery. not only have i had cubalayas, but i had some games and some irish games. i had a few kraeinkoppes too. i didn't pay that much for any bird that has been here.

 

[Gresh]

Quote:
Yes, I have been told that Sandhill's birds can be good for breeding once you cull hard enough. I would love to get some of their birds, but I am nervous about their system of ordering--mail order is a little risky, IMO. Not sure if they'd even get my order form. Someone told me it took them nearly a year to get birds from Sandhill. I would be willing to wait that long as long as I knew that I would get them--but Sandhill's system of communication just seems a little slow and nerve-racking for me. I would need some good testimonials about their system before I got serious about ordering from them.

 

[tadkerson]

Get yourself some inexpensive birds and develop your eye for the characteristics you want in your birds. Then when you have enough experience in crossing, hatching, and raising birds to adults, your will have developed a system that will help you when you are working with more expensive birds. In the mean time, you will have fun with the inexpensive birds.



Tim

 

[GotGame]

Quote:
Thats good advice. And if your new to poultry it will give you a lot of invaluable hands on info, on raising and caring for birds.

 

[orientphoenix]

Quote:
that looks like my rooster

I want to see pics..

sure, when i get my camera