Eggs for food vs eggs for chicks...sound off please

[cmom]

Why male? I am working to understand hybrids and genetics yet

There is a thread on BYC explaining the different crosses with charts. I have done some experimenting. My crosses have been SC Rhode Island Red male with SC Rhode Island white females (Red Sex-Links) and RC Rhode Island Red male with RC Rhode Island White females (These all had Rose Combs but different colors). SC Rhode Island Red male with Delaware females (the males looked like the Delaware and the females looked like a Rhode Island Red) and a Delaware male with Rhode Island Red females (all chicks looked like the Delaware). Rhode Island Red male with Barred Rock females (Black Sex-Links).
These chicks both turned out to be females from my Rose Comb RIR male and RC RIW females. The middle picture and the one on the right are the same bird.

 

[Beccazon]

Yup def a sex link roo ...just wait.. he's gonna keep changing.

Not much. He is the one that was first to be separated and the one to get the roo jail built to begin with. He is a monster. Not gonna be around long...just til I get my stump built!

 

[RoosterML]

I am
absolutely trying this!

It works really well for us. Don’t forget the bag pulled up the bottom of the cone to catch everything. When done I hose everything down followed by spraying with a water/bleach solution and I let that solution dry in place and have no issues with smell or flies after.

 

[Madie'sOddFlock]

Figured I would add in, even though obviously many others have.
1.) There's really no need to seperate the roosters even when you're not breeding. You can eat fertilized eggs(you shouldn't be able to tell the difference).
2.) My laying hens are no different than my breeding hens. I just feed them layer pellets, although in the winter when I start incubating they're still on the corn and black oil sun flower seeds we use to supplement their feed. I've had over 50% hatch rates and I've only incubated from our hens twice(possibly 3 times). Usually I incubate from my aunt's hens which, truth be told, aren't as well cared for, and still do fine.
Nearly all of our chickens(101 or so...) are free ranged, we have one group of 21 which includes 5 roosters and they've done well so far. The rest are either pullets who are still cooped up, or the big flock which has 42, 4 of which are roosters. It's not always the best set up, but we went from 30ish chickens to 150ish from 6 incubations.

 

[Beccazon]

Figured I would add in, even though obviously many others have.
1.) There's really no need to seperate the roosters even when you're not breeding. You can eat fertilized eggs(you shouldn't be able to tell the difference).
2.) My laying hens are no different than my breeding hens. I just feed them layer pellets, although in the winter when I start incubating they're still on the corn and black oil sun flower seeds we use to supplement their feed. I've had over 50% hatch rates and I've only incubated from our hens twice(possibly 3 times). Usually I incubate from my aunt's hens which, truth be told, aren't as well cared for, and still do fine.
Nearly all of our chickens(101 or so...) are free ranged, we have one group of 21 which includes 5 roosters and they've done well so far. The rest are either pullets who are still cooped up, or the big flock which has 42, 4 of which are roosters. It's not always the best set up, but we went from 30ish chickens to 150ish from 6 incubations.

That's a lot of growth! Very cool! And thank you for input! Doesn't matter how many already posted, I love all the points of view and ideas to ponder! So basically you use the same chickens for both uses and just incubate when you want more? That seems to kind of be the trend for anyone not exclusively using their gals for eggs to eat.

So mine should work out well now then that I have all together...7 gals and one fine roo. (Who is still doing a very nice gentlemanly job of overseeing his ladies).

On another note, do you concentrate on any specific breed/s?

 

[newshound]

We had fall hens that all laid first eggs in the coldest time in January!! Every day! It wasin the teens outside and they werein a small starter coop, crazy birds.

They can mate at any age. As for what age is best? I prefer over a year. I want to see consistent production of large eggs without any health problems. I want to see good temperament and good growth with no health issues from my roosters as well.


Spring is best, around April. That's the point of highest fertility. Because of our shorter summers, though, I like to shoot for chicks as late in the year as I can manage. They usually won't begin laying in the fall if I hatch them in the spring, and if they haven't started laying in the fall, they won't lay during winter, so I'll have wasted 1-3 months of feed before I get eggs in the spring (assuming they would have begun laying at 5 months.)


I prefer to establish a permanent flock rooster. Less mess with the pecking order that way. With seven hens, I would leave it at one rooster.


Up to a month.


Nah. Roosters don't usually affect egg production (if they affect it for the worse, they're stressing your hens and shouldn't be kept anyway) and fertilisation doesn't affect taste. Unless your weather regularly remains at 100℉, and you don't gather eggs for days at a time, I see no reason to keep the rooster away from his flock.

 

[newshound]

I wouldnot putmore than one rooster with the hens, my experience, cock fighting is not pretty. I had two that grew up together, they got along till about 8 months, kept changing dominance, then both wanted to kill each other AND me all the time. I have a nice rooster now, I think adding another would make him mean. He is 1 1/2 to2 years and takes good care of the hens.

 

[newshound]

My good roo, Lobster.

I wouldnot putmore than one rooster with the hens, my experience, cock fighting is not pretty. I had two that grew up together, they got along till about 8 months, kept changing dominance, then both wanted to kill each other AND me all the time. I have a nice rooster now, I think adding another would make him mean. He is 1 1/2 to2 years and takes good care of the hens.

 

[Beccazon]

My good roo, Lobster.
View attachment 1870787

Beautiful boy! Yah I only have the one now. Had 3 from my spring straight run purchased chicks. If I had some 100 chickens, I wouldn't worry as much. I've seen them pair off and keep their own flock of gals in that many but my 7 certainly shouldn't have more than their Pride

 

[newshound]

He has 12 girls and I have 8 new ones, but one with them is a roo... so he tries to fight with that one through the cage! He wants all the girls....The new roo is pretty, I need someone to take him.

Beautiful boy! Yah I only have the one now. Had 3 from my spring straight run purchased chicks. If I had some 100 chickens, I wouldn't worry as much. I've seen them pair off and keep their own flock of gals in that many but my 7 certainly shouldn't have more than their Pride