Culling Dual Purpose for Meat

[Smuvers Farm]

After reading about ralphie's toads I kept a CX hen back.. got 3 roos and 1 hen out of her last fall and she passed before laying in the spring... The 1/2 cx hen is the worst layer..double yolks, or porous or yolkless.. 1 roo I have been putting over br or bjg mixes.. those sons are about 1/2lb heavier (5-6 1/2 Lbs dressed 16wks) than my br mixes (4 1/2-6 lbs dressed 16wks) and it is in the breast meat.... the BJG mixes( 6-7 3/4 lbs dressed 16wks) are bigger than the cx mixes

How long are they living? Are you seeing any issues, like with the Toads have/had been having?

 

[Molpet]

The four 1/2 cx hatched out halloween 2016.. so far all are good.. one boy is to big to get on the roost most nights ..4 ft up... The 1/4 do not have the fast growth, but I guess that is why they are healthier.. some of the 1/4 hens and bigger than the hatchery BJG and some are the size of a BR...
I have a cockerel from this year hatch I kept because he was the only one that grew faster than the rest..I think he maybe from the 1/2 cx hen and roo... brother/sister... mentally he is different LOL... he was afraid of his brothers and would run and hide when they tried to chest bump.. at first his gait wasn't right but that has straighten up. He is in with his dad and 15 hens.. his dad tolerates him and several hens are taken with him.. he is just a back up...

 

[aliciaplus3]

Ah ha! I found it. It took me FOREVER. I was looking for a PDF file, but it is a .doc instead. I had to convert it to a PDF though. It was too big of a file as a .doc

I have a copy printed out in my flock records binder and I was going to type it out for you, but the pictures REALLY help me see what needs to be done.

Basically, if you have good starting stock (ideally with a rooster not directly related to your hens) you can do closed breeding.

thank you for the picture

 

[lazy gardener]

To OP: I find more value in selling extra pullets than eating them. I can get $10 - $15 for POL pullets, depending on the breed. I also move out some of my older, but still laying hens to make room for the new crop of pullets. My personal mind set is that a layer is worth more as a layer than she is in the crock pot. Selling off extra layers will buy a few bags of feed. I do process my cockerels.

As for breeding forward for increased carcass size: I have done Pioneer aka Dixie Rainbow, and been pleased with the size and growth/quality of them. The DR makes a good layer as well. Second generations of DR cockerels maintain their massive size, even when they are sired by an EE. (see avatar roo). I have not held over a DR cockerel b/c I don't want to subject my layer flock to being bred by such massive roos!

 

[aliciaplus3]

I have quite the backyard mix going on... nothing near as controlled as the cartoon. I started with 3 roosters
1x Rir
1x white leghorn
1x Cuckoo marans

and many hens
2x delaware
2x dark cornish
many Golden Sexlink
1x Rir
5x white leghorn
4x ee
6x turken
4x welsummer
2x new hamshire red

i
I really like the Rir roo's offspring he tends to throw nice docile birds of both genders. the cuckoo marans mix hens have been good layers of Dark Brown eggs, slightly aloof but not aggressive, I did not keep any of the roos. the White leghorn cross boys were intolerable by 14 weeks but the girls are ok and good egg layers. I have kept one rir mix roo and one that looks like a delaware that have very docile and good temperaments. so far I have yet to find one of the cukoo marans roos that I couldn't live without, but they were decent eating! I am not a great record keeper. I keep the ones I like and eat the ones that annoy me, if I cant look at a roo and go "wow what a great bird, he has so much to offer in (meat, eggs)" then he doesn't stay. I had hatched several ee roos that were just nutts so became good soup. I don't want to lose my egg production so I am splitting my flocks in half some for better meat production and the others for more eggs. I recently received an unknown white roo that is 14 pounds, I was told he was a white leghorn but I am about 100% sure that is incorrect..... I am hoping that he can add some size to my meat lines though..

 

[aliciaplus3]

To OP: I find more value in selling extra pullets than eating them. I can get $10 - $15 for POL pullets, depending on the breed. I also move out some of my older, but still laying hens to make room for the new crop of pullets. My personal mind set is that a layer is worth more as a layer than she is in the crock pot. Selling off extra layers will buy a few bags of feed. I do process my cockerels.

As for breeding forward for increased carcass size: I have done Pioneer aka Dixie Rainbow, and been pleased with the size and growth/quality of them. The DR makes a good layer as well. Second generations of DR cockerels maintain their massive size, even when they are sired by an EE. (see avatar roo). I have not held over a DR cockerel b/c I don't want to subject my layer flock to being bred by such massive roos!

I did run into the position of selling some of my POL pullets this last year and did ok.... I even found a guy that took several roos.

 

[Rye]

The problem I have had in the past with POL pullets, is I never got my money back. It cost me more to feed than the $10 I got in return at sale. Today I might be able to get a little more for a pol pullet and I grind my own feed now, but I still don't see much profit gained.

Depending on breed and when your birds come into POL; my heritage chickens average 40lbs of feed consumed by 16 weeks using my numbers over the years. That's 1/3lb per day while on range. Sometimes it's less, sometimes it's more. This is my average reduced to 16 weeks, so may not be exact, but ballpark for sure.

 

[lazy gardener]

My summer time feed conversion rate is usually .18#/bird/day (adult birds) I ferment my feed. While I may not make a profit by selling a POL pullet, the cash in hand is better than the cost of a dressed chicken at the store. Granted, home grown meat is not subjected to the chemical and bacterial soup, nor the factory farming. So, therefore, home grown is a better environmental choice. However, I really can't see killing a bird who's got lots of laying potential. The last group of hens I "sold", I practically gave them away. But, they went to a family who clearly could benefit from having them.

 

[Subsistence Farmer]

Since we raise 4 batches a year we only need to save layers from one of those batches to rotate breeders. We cull cockerels at 16 weeks leaving one just in case we need a new rooster. If no job opens he's taken at 6 months for cock au Vin (a house specialty). Small hens are taken at 14 to 16 weeks as fried or fricasee. We like fried at 1 1/2 pounds to 1 3/4 pounds. We cull by size and age, the chickens will look ready.

The rest of the hens are raised to 20 weeks when either they are sold or taken as roasters and stewers. I like helping out newbies and those maintaining stock for selling eggs and sell at 10 to 15 dollars per bird. Usually, though, all the birds are taken for the table. Have sustained a Barred rock line for 7 or so years now with a few fresh rooster infusions from other backyard breeders.

Hope this helps, we produce about 100 birds a year, 2 a week for the table and replacement breeders.

We've been breeding Barred Rocks and have hatched our first batch of Delawares last month, where we hope to breed and maintain in the same way in a separate flock.

 

[aliciaplus3]

I have ordered several new breeds for February, just hatchery stock but breeds I do not have atm. Barnevelder, buckeye, white laced red cornish, dark Cornish and australorps so that should be interesting just 5 of each.