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

[Beekissed]

Actually, I don't think you are too far off....until you get good at turning out the desired characteristics, then you don't get to eat so many mistakes. Then you have to get a few meaties on the side to fill out the freezer

(like myself) because the darn birds are performing so well and living so long that you have run out of culls. But then, I don't breed for sale or show, just for flock improvement, so it is probably different for the guys who are breeding all the time.

 

[coloradogal]

I have these and they are awful!! I thought ohhhh boy how neat this would be but no such luck the Inside of the plastic egg leaked in water and so you had half wet eggs that were squirting out the seems. Also these tiny little "Eggies" have like 4 tiny pieces per plastic egg.
I was a mad mad lady when I spent the time to try the out. I really thought it would solve my dislike of peeling eggs.

I hate these too.

 

[Beekissed]

For some reason I have spent my whole life not knowing that boiling eggs, fresh or not, was an issue for some people. Where have I been? Or rather...where have you all been??? I could have told you how to do this years and years ago.

 

[canesisters]

I know! Right?

 

[Beekissed]

That wasn't a put down...just a surprised observation. I figured all the threads about that was from city folk who didn't know which end of the chicken an egg came from, so I just ignored those threads...figured they could figure it out as soon as they took the diapers off their chickens so the eggs could actually come out and be eaten. But on this thread? I wouldn't have guessed that any of you all had such problems...maybe we should have made that a topic a long time ago.

 

[Fred's Hens]

We bred beagles for years and years. Even when I really, really like the dog and the *****, still, one pup in 20 was what we were looking for. The others were OK, but the real eye catchers, the real deal, with heart, smarts and nose is rarer than a lot of folks might think.

The past few years, we've been breeding chickens and I'd say it isn't much different. Last year we hatched out over 100 chicks. I'd say less than a dozen were what will go on toward the future of the program. That would be my first point, I guess. If you have specific goals, you have to hatch out a lot of chicks and be determined. It might take some time, as in, a few years (generations). We need all the roosters hatched for food and the hens for laying, so we don't dispatch a bunch of birds just to be rid of them.

I'm learning a lot by listening and paying attention to Fowlman (Walt) and Bob Blosi and Nyreds(Bill) and all others who post on various threads. I've so much to learn and I am enjoying the education. It is an aspect of chicken keeping that I find fulfilling and hope to "grow in" into the future. I now have the time to be able to study and commit to this.

I also now have my first starter line of true, rare, heritage fowl, something I wouldn't have messed with in my younger, more utilitarian days. Not too old or too stuck to learn new things.

* apparently, BYC won't let me say the word for female dog. hmmmm.....

 

[Beekissed]

Excellent post! Would you care to give some tips on how/what you do to determine a good breeding program? Days to leave a roo with hens, how many hens can he cover, how do you determine what to look for and how soon do those traits show up so that you can sort the wheat from the chaff? That sort of thing.

 

[MoonAngel12]

That wasn't a put down...just a surprised observation. I figured all the threads about that was from city folk who didn't know which end of the chicken an egg came from, so I just ignored those threads...figured they could figure it out as soon as they took the diapers off their chickens so the eggs could actually come out and be eaten. But on this thread? I wouldn't have guessed that any of you all had such problems...maybe we should have made that a topic a long time ago.

You know... I never thought about how a chicken lays an egg if it's wearing a diaper (I just figured out the whole diaper thing not too long ago when I saw a thread with pics).

 

[confused]

I haven't tried this myself but so many people around here are claiming that the best bedding for chickens is peat moss. The type you use on gardens. They say it eliminates smell and after it's first spread there's no dust. Also by mixing diatomaceous earth in it, you do away with lice and such like. I thought I'd maybe give it a try this winter.

 

[Beekissed]

For the OT chicken breeders: Can you give us your top 5-10 most important tips on breeding that you would want newbies to know?

Al? Walt? Fred? Anyone breeding the finest chickens they can out there?