Cage Diagram Added - Opinions Please (Poll Added)

[iwannabachicken]

Thread Originally Titled "Breeding White Rocks - A Bunch of Questions "

I plan on breeding white rocks and increasing their production and product qualities. I don't have any chickens yet, but here's my plan:

Buy 100 pullets and wing band them. I will keep weekly records on their growth. When they get to be 18-20 weeks old, I will move them into individual cages to track each individual hen's egg production...which leads me to my first question:

1) How big are White Rocks? (Like height, width, etc.) I am trying to figure out how I'm going to build an individual hen cage (I've already looked at some ideas for quail breeder pens/cages and it has given me some good ideas), but I need to know the dimensions of the bird so I can build a cage large enough for them. The last thing I want is to spend money and time on building a cage to find out it's too short or not wide enough for the bird!!

So for each egg the hen lays, it will be weighed and graded based on shell quality and that information will be recorded in each hen's record. I'm thinking every 5 to 10 eggs, I will crack the egg open and grade it that way. (All other eggs will be sold through the farmer's market/work/and if I can't sell eggs I will just take them to auction.)

Any bird that gets sick is culled and sold at auction or will be processed.

Then when the birds turn 1.5 yrs old, I will buy probably 50 cockerels or so and raise them and select the top 5-15 based on growth rates and butcher the rest or sell them at auction. Then when the hens turn two years old, I will review my records and the most consistent layers with the best growth rates will be selected for breeding--probably only the top 25% of the hens will be used.

The first batch of chicks produced will all be wing banded, weighed weekly, and then butchered and carcass quality is determined. (I want to breed for increased breast as that is what I like to eat the most! LOL) Records will be kept and each hen and roo's breeding quality is determined and then only the top 10-15% of my hens will be bred again and then the next batch of chicks will be kept for breeding. And this leads me to my next question:

2) How many fertilized eggs can a hen produce per year if I'm incubating the eggs? I would like probably at least 10 fertilized eggs per hen to determine her breeding abilities, and then I'd probably like more from my 2nd batch of chicks...if it's possible.

And then my third and final question...

3) Do you see any flaws in my breeding plan? (Other than it might be labor intensive and expensive!) Should there be anything else I select for or keep records on?

Well...maybe not my final question:

4) Are there any individual hen record sheets? Or can someone help me develop one to keep track of each hen and what I want to record?

Sorry if this post was so long and if you got this far...thanks for reading it!

 

[iwannabachicken]

Here is my individual chicken cage plan. Each hen has a sheltered area that is 1.5 x 1.5 ft that is 1.5-2 ft tall. Their caged/outdoor area is 1.5 ft tall and is 1.5 x 2.5 ft. That gives each hen 6 sq ft total. Each hutch is separated into eight cages and the entire thing is 4' wide x 12' long x 5' tall. My original plan was to have them on the ground, but then I realized having them up higher would be easier on me to feed/water/collect eggs/clean up manure. The cages are accessed from the back and the plywood gets pulled down for two cages at a time. I plan on putting the cages on concrete or asphalt or something so I can easily hose off the manure into a PVC pipe attached to the solid ground on the side so that the manure can be transported to a compost pile.

Their waterers and feeders will be cage cups and I will just come along with a watering can and fill up their water and I will get a small scoop (like for coffee grounds) and fill up their feeders. I will then go around to the back of the cages and collect eggs.


What do you guys think? Anything I should change or add? I haven't figured out the materials needed for this yet, let alone the price to build one, but I will get back to you guys soon

 

[iwannabachicken]

I added a poll, so please vote

 

[iwannabachicken]

Just added up the cost and it comes to about $260 if you buy all new materials. Maybe I won't start off with 100 pullets if it's gonna cost me $3300 to build enough cages for everyone

Here's the breakdown of materials:

2 pieces of 4x8 plywood
11 pieces of 2x4x12
2 pieces of 2x4x8
3 pieces of 4x4x10
4 pieces of 2x4x10
20.5' of 1/2" x 3' hardware cloth
8 hinges
4 window bolts
24" x 96" steel corrugated roofing ($12.98 @ Lowe's)
1 gallon of exterior paint
plus a box of nails or screws
feeders/waterers/cage cups for each cage

 

[iwannabachicken]

anyone..?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

They appear to resemble home made battery cages like the big egg companies use. Not a fan of them at all.

 

[Kaitie09]

I had this whole long thing written out, but it deleted it, so I'm going to shorten it up.

First off, put the pens on the ground. with raised cages, you will get chickens with deformed feet and poo stuck in the wires. Their feces are big and thick, so they will not fall through like rabbit or quail poo. Second, you need to double the amount of room for each bird. Interior space should be 3-4 sq feet, not including a nesting box, with exterior 8-10 per bird. Also, consider breeding a rare breed instead of White Rocks. They are a dime a dozen. Heritage Rhode Island Reds are in need of people who want to better their lines, and they are great layers throughout their lives and a dual purpose breed. You can't get these guys from a hatchery, so you'd have to find a breeder. Finally, start small. If you choose a heritage breed, have the breeder pick out say, 25 pullets that show great lines. Then get 5-10 of their best roosters.

If you are adamant on White Rocks, you will still need to double the cage space. They are big birds (8-10 lbs).

Hens will have fertile eggs once they are mated to a rooster. as long as a rooster is with them and hes doing his job, you will have hatchable eggs.

Also, make sure to look into laws about breeding operations for your are. You will have to be NPIP certified and will most likely need a permit.

There are many people on here who have breeding pens, just look up the words in the forum search box and you will find a ton of posts.



ETA: I agree with the above poster, those plans look like battery cages. All you will get with them are sick birds with problems and disease spread quickly.