Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[NanaKat]

For those visiting the remote idea of the suggestion to breed out the bad traits in hatchery stock birds while breeding in the good.............. well now thank you all for giving me my first big hard belly laugh of the year. I think you would have a better chance finding a diamond in a goats A33, yeah that hard. As I am sure Walt will help attest to the fact that there are way too many factors involved for even a seasoned professional to try such a folly. But once again thanks for the laugh and BTW ya'll can pinch yourself and wake up from your dream now.

Yeeeep.  

Here's teaching photo array, just to help educate.  Photo number one is an average, perhaps, slightly below average, hatchery grade RIR.  Your chances are pretty good, actually, of getting a few cockerels that look just like this.




You could "work" with this stock until you're 95 years old and quit and you're not likely to succeed in doing a whole lot.  

Next, I will show my own cockerel, about the same age as the bird above.  He's far, far from SOP, but he would not get DQ'd, and there is a possibility that with a few more years of work, we can save this old line.  If we can?  Great.  It not?  I'm done.  I don't have decades to give to the project.


  


Finally, here's bird that only requires a faithful keeper.  He's got it all working, shakin' and bakin'.    I may just go ahead and get some eggs from the owner of this cockerel, because I don't have absolute confidence I can improve my own line.  I want to get a start on a "no-miss" RIR line.  Hope that makes sense, given my age.


  


Hopefully, these side by side kind of photos help people better understand what we're talking about.  Blessings.

Wow that last rooster is a looker! is the hen to his left one of your hens or your friend's ? She has a nice full body type...I like her look.

 

[IvyMaeWilliams]

Okay, Fred, that series of pictures you put up has me convinced. Wow. I'm going to show that to my husband to help explain the difference to him.

 

[al6517]

Nana................... your dropping some serious names there, Bo's stuff is always on the upper echelon of his breeds, Carl knows his Cochins and his advice should be heeded, he is also a fan of pulling butt feathers on the Vents of cochin roo's and pullets.

 

[stonykill]

I keep reading of this short breeding season. Someone forgot to tell my roosters the breeding season was short

 

[JeffOeuf]

If you want to come over next week, I will be home. I will give you a trio.

I don't know what to say, Kathy. I'm overwhelmed. Unfortunately, I'm not ready. I need to build some pens in my barn before I have any housing for them. Can I get a rain check for a couple weeks? And, while I have your attention, could you give me some guidance on how to set up a pen for a trio? I've got a corner of my barn that I'm going to dedicate to the project. I can put in a pop door and a run outside, my question basically is how much space would be ideal for a trio, and then also a brooder for the next pen over.

 

[JeffOeuf]

It is also best to try your best to keep worthwhile breeders seperated if possible and not just group them up only during breeding season, there are other parameters to keep in mind that sole free range flock owners cannot accomplish. You can't have your cake and eat it too, well you can but it's a big hassle to do it right.

Al,

Could you elaborate? What's wrong with letting them run together when not collecting eggs?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Wow that last rooster is a looker! is the hen to his left one of your hens or your friend's ? She has a nice full body type...I like her look.

No, that is NOT one of my hens and that is a huge part of our challenge. I don't have the right hens, right now, to fix our pretty fair cockerels and level out this bunch. The hen brings a lot to this breeding equation, believe me. I'm gonna push the genes on this old line and get Bee to help me push some o'er 'er in the hills. We've got to get some things to surface. The genes are there, it's just a matter of pushing for it. And the greatest enemy of all? Time. That is not something I'll commit to for 10 years. Too many finished birds out there with eggs/chicks available. But I'm a fuss budget about RIR traits for performance and personality.

I know that shocks everyone.

 

[al6517]

Quote:


I just don't like having my prime breeding stock intermingle with the riff raff, there are still an awful lot of things that can happen to good breeders when left to the devices of flock dynamics. Good foundation breeding stock IMPO should be cared for seperately for a variety of reasons, it's just a personal and professional choice as most good breeders harbor the same opinions, not all but most depending mainly on if your prefered breed is easily replaced.

 

[NikkiMiChickie]

I bet they were real impressed.  A lady who knows how to yank guts out of chickens is probably not the honored guest on most people's party list.  

I haven't gotten around to finding another hatchery for CX yet this year...I wasn't real happy with the last type I had...too short in all ways.  Took longer to grow out, which I don't mind, and they were all very vigorous but they were about half the size of the chicks I had gotten at a TSC~who doesn't seem to know WHERE their chicks come from.  So, the search continues. 

I'll look around and cruise the meat thread to see if anyone has a line on some better birds.  Mine were a good price but, in the long run, that's like a hatchery...you get what you pay for, in this case. 

Believe it or not, my friends at work know just how "into" chickens I am. They're egg customers and are interested in my meatie project as well, but know I'm new to it and a little concerned about the processing. Their excitement was genuine, believe it or not. I'll tell them you're the gut yanking pro and see what they say They're city folk! LOL
Thanks for the meatie advice - I have read about your last batch of CX as well as Bruce's (I think it was him.... Where's he been anyways?) and I know you we're both disappointed with the slow growth. Keep us all posted if you find a nice strain out there...

Some places do get better Cornish X meat bird stock than others do..................... last year was terrible for some reason with an above normal amount of people getting sub par meaties in alot of ways. Growth was off, type was off, condition was goofy. my first thought was the almighty hatcheries are up to their old tricks again and trying avoid having the eggs sent in from outside of their own operation, by concocting their own hybrids.

I I am not personaly a fan of the FR they grow much slower and not as big not to mention meat quality. The FR does however fill a niche market for those wishing to let their meaties forage/free range, thus growing slower, the Granola heads like the FR for these reasons and the whole goofy Organic thing.

Thanks, Al. As far as the ranging, I intend to do what Bee did with her last batch of CX meaties and encourage them to forage as well. If that makes me a granola head, then so be it I had granola for breakfast this morning as a matter of fact! LOL. I had read about the FR's slower growth rates but nothing (memorable, anyways) about a difference in meat quality or taste.

Okay, Fred, that series of pictures you put up has me convinced.  Wow.  I'm going to show that to my husband to help explain the difference to him.

I did just that! Same with Fred's heritage BR photos, compared to my poor hatchery BR. My "RIR" is awfully similar to the ugly first bird, except she's a hen. My husband actually suggested that I look into breeding the "nicer birds" as he called them. I feel I need a little time with the hatchery birds first, but may be looking for a trio or some chicks in the spring. We'll see. The DH just doesn't get all of my yapping on and on about quality, but a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say

 

[delisha]

As long as you are working on RIR..Can you tell me what you know about Gary Underwoods lines..please