Bresse Chickens

[BCMaraniac]

They are so cute!!! And who cares? It's what you want to do that fits with your plans and preferences. Cover your eyes, because I am going to cross Marans with my Bresse....so there...I said it.....

. I say one pullet, one cockerel. The pullet on the bottom picture.....lol...

 

[alisar]

Bresse x Marans? Talk about meat birds! Mmmmm.... sounds so good!

 

[BCMaraniac]

That what I was thinking......meat!!! I caponize too, so I can grow them out longer and bigger. See my avatar? He is one of my capons....a Lavender Orpington over a BCM hen. At 29 weeks, he weighed 9 pounds. That was 3 weeks ago.

See his pale comb, but all of his rooster feathers? The comb is how you know that he is a full capon

 

[chiqita]

Bresse x Marans?  Talk about meat birds!  Mmmmm.... sounds so good!

Lol. I tried that the breese were better and bigger.

What I am doing is going for size and vigor. After that I'm looking for Fertility. Clovis my rooster is big and fertile. So I'm watching the hens to see who is laying the most and who's eggs are hatching the best. So my view is.
*see who is maturing fastest (my problem here is records! I'm a slacker)
*see who has the most edible bodies. (So we are not eating the buffet but the wimpy is right now )
*see who is laying the most reliably. My goal is at least 5 eggs a week. I'm hoping to get that for at least 2 years but we will see.
*see who is friendly.
If I was doing this bigger I would watch feed conversion but I'm not big enough to help there.

My focus is true dual purpose. I don't think these birds are destined to be show birds so I'm not too worried about sop myself.

The biggest thing we could do for the breed is have a feeding and finishing standard. That is what makes a gourmet product repeatable. There is imo a base difference in taste but the finishing makes the difference the same way kobe beef tastes different then a generic waygu beef. Waygu has a noticeably different taste but is not the amazing taste kobe is.

 

[ronott1]

Lol. I tried that the breese were better and bigger.

What I am doing is going for size and vigor. After that I'm looking for Fertility. Clovis my rooster is big and fertile. So I'm watching the hens to see who is laying the most and who's eggs are hatching the best. So my view is.
*see who is maturing fastest (my problem here is records! I'm a slacker)
*see who has the most edible bodies. (So we are not eating the buffet but the wimpy is right now )
*see who is laying the most reliably. My goal is at least 5 eggs a week. I'm hoping to get that for at least 2 years but we will see.
*see who is friendly.
If I was doing this bigger I would watch feed conversion but I'm not big enough to help there.

My focus is true dual purpose. I don't think these birds are destined to be show birds so I'm not too worried about sop myself.

The biggest thing we could do for the breed is have a feeding and finishing standard. That is what makes a gourmet product repeatable. There is imo a base difference in taste but the finishing makes the difference the same way kobe beef tastes different then a generic waygu beef. Waygu has a noticeably different taste but is not the amazing taste kobe is.

I was thinking something similar the other day. They are not the prettiest things but boy are they:

Hardy
Fertile
easily hatch-able
Tasty
good egg layers

Who cares about those funny looking wings?

 

[Arielle]

If anyone is interested about production traits the ALBC has some good guides: http://albc-usa.etapwss.com/images/uploads/docs/ALBCchicken_assessment-1.pdf

It's not great but a good start

Thanks for posting this link for everyone. Don was responsible for restablishing the buckeye breed and creating the ALBC line. He use rotational breeding methods and does not follow the trio method of breeding. He significantly improved the growth rate of the buckeyes, adding a whole pound to the boys, and eventually this line was released to the public.

Don writes articles for the poultry magaizines, too.

Following the rotational method requires little record keeping. Toe punch the chicks at hatch. With 3 pens that is 3 codes. Select breeders from each group.

 

[call ducks]

Hey,

For those who will be selecting for size- size of chickens is not everything. In selecting a meat bird growth rate (how fast the chick develops) is very important. You can have a 10 pound cock but it took 25 weeks to reach that weight it would not make it in any of my breeding programs

 

[piglett]

Hey,

For those who will be selecting for size- size of chickens is not everything. In selecting a meat bird growth rate (how fast the chick develops) is very important. You can have a 10 pound cock but it took 25 weeks to reach that weight it would not make it in any of my breeding programs

you bring up a good point
i guess keeping good records of when each batch of chicks hatched would be good to do
i find that tough to do when i am setting eggs every week for months at a time

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I was thinking just this yesterday. need to know the hatch date of each bird or group of birds. Boggles the mind.

As for growth rate, it can be a matter of progress like any other trait. And time of year hatched according to some on the heritage thread. Some discussion that birds hatched later in the year do not grow the same rate as those hatched earlier in the year. Not sure why. Generally know the progression of a particular line and select from there.

Call bird-- you are referring to breese specificall y right??

 

[call ducks]

Quote: You can use some cheap legbands to place around chicks feet - or toe punches both quick and painless ( I prefer a combo of metal leg and wing bands). The thing about selecting for growth rate is you can cull every four weeks (or more often if you wish) for growth and you really only need to have rough idea of age (+/- a few weeks should not make much of a difference).

Quote: I was thinking just this yesterday. need to know the hatch date of each bird or group of birds. Boggles the mind.

As for growth rate, it can be a matter of progress like any other trait. And time of year hatched according to some on the heritage thread. Some discussion that birds hatched later in the year do not grow the same rate as those hatched earlier in the year. Not sure why. Generally know the progression of a particular line and select from there.

Call bird-- you are referring to breese specificall y right??
Personally I think it has a lot to do one how the chicks are reared not the time of year - That's just what I think.

I was not discussing bresse in weight if that's what you are asking? This could be applied to any breed. You would just adjust target weights for the different age groups.