Dual purpose chicken

[BreanneRN]

Did you check out the lady in Florida web site? She has more than Delwares.

Yes, I did! She has beautiful birds! I would be happy with anything she has, wish I had known about her before I ordered from the hatchery... Unfortunately, she stopped taking any orders in January... So, I guess that would have to be next year... Unless she just has extras, but all her birds are so nice. Thanks so much for that link. Just wish she wasn't so far away. Florida to California is a long flight. I am tempted to put in a mixed order of anything extra she has. Not that my hatchery birds are so bad exactly, but I can see from the pictures that hers would have been a definite jumpstart. She stops producing when the weather gets hot and that's about now for both of us. Her colored egg layers look like the best, too. Only thing missing that I ordered this year are the Cochins I needed to hatch turkey eggs next year.

 

[Mosey2003]

That's a good sign, not hatching when it's hot. Hatchability goes way down once it heats up, I'm always leery of people that will ship hatching eggs in the summer.

 

[BreanneRN]

Yes, I think I will maybe order from her next year, she really has some beautiful birds, could add some superior genetic diversity to what I have this year (which isn't all that bad or anything). She doesn't seem to have any Buckeyes though... Where did you find those? Her colored egg layer collection looks pretty awesome. I know one fellow who said his granny wouldn't have anything but Dominiques, another old Heritage bird, and they were dual purpose. I am not so much interested in early maturity as as "the nice plump meaty body type". Don't want to be stuck with just scrawny roosters to eat! (When the grid collapses and all).

 

[ijon]

The woman that has the Buckeyes lives near Lansing Mi.

 

[ijon]

Some pictures of my Buckeyes at six weeks

 

[BreanneRN]

They are beautiful! I see a speckled sussex influence in there?

 

[ijon]

Thank you, Her adult birds have such deep color it’s unbelievable.

 

[Mosey2003]

I just started culling my Good Shepherd Barred Rock males this week. I'd say they're 18-20 weeks old. Averaging 3.5lbs skinned without the neck. Nice looking carcasses, more breast than previous hatchery birds, good glob of fat in the cavity. Skinned because they have a ton of pin feathers right now. If I wanted to wait for those to finish, they'd probably be ~5lb roasters. I'm pretty happy, just gotta decide if it's worth feeding them twice as long as a broiler, considering I can hatch more for "free."