Foraging And Feed Effeciency Comparing Breeds

[Arielle]

I have been fermenting my feed for the last few weeks and since then I have been feeding noticeably less feed.
I was able to grow my sex link roosters out on half the feed that I did last year simply by management. last year I kept them in chicken tractors on pasture, this year I moved them in net fencing over an area that we kept cows in over the winter and there was a lot of compost and manure and they were able to glean a lot of their own food. I also fond it MUCH easier to move the netting a couple times a week then moving the same three 8X4 chicken tractors that I would other wise be keeping them in. I like crossbred chickens and their benefits, the only down fall for me is the fact that they are ''dead end'' birds.

Perhaps as in cattle , a three breed cross is reasonable. Or a two breed cross. Breed A x Breed B. Offspring bred to Breed A. Offspring bred to Breed B. And so on. Lots of good reason for cross breds. Unfortunately getting sexlinks is a challenge but can be done every couple of generations.

THe first box of chicks I purchased had 2 sexlink BOYS. So much for looking at the white spot for sorting. lol Over time a number of barred hens hatched out. All the barred hens went to the blue AM rooster. All sexlinked chicks from that mating

If you are raising the sexlinks for meat, how is the growth?? I would think a few other breeds would out produce a sexlink male that is bred for egg laying. What am I missing?????

 

[mymilliefleur]

Perhaps as in cattle , a three breed cross is reasonable. Or a two breed cross. Breed A x Breed B. Offspring bred to Breed A. Offspring bred to Breed B. And so on. Lots of good reason for cross breds. Unfortunately getting sexlinks is a challenge but can be done every couple of generations.

The first box of chicks I purchased had 2 sexlink BOYS. So much for looking at the white spot for sorting. lol Over time a number of barred hens hatched out. All the barred hens went to the blue AM rooster. All sexlinked chicks from that mating

If you are raising the sexlinks for meat, how is the growth?? I would think a few other breeds would out produce a sexlink male that is bred for egg laying. What am I missing?????

My sex links are a RIR X Bard rock, which are both really duel purpose breeds. The roosters are fast growing and large, and the hens are no shrimps ether. We have been cross breeding our cows, crossing our jerseys with shorthorn and got a very thrifty easy keeping cow, and then crossed her with Angus, etc.
The hatchery's will often throw in sex linked roos as freebies to get rid of them.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
My sexlink boys were in stead of the sexlink pullets I was supposed to get. Got a SSH as my freebie and sure loved him.

Sounds like the RIR and BR are not hatchery stock, but maybe breeder stock. Though the sons of my sexlink rooster are much bigger than dad, I suspect because the mother was rather large for an EE. I tried to find out her origins but didnt get very far. Really liked that girl.

 

[mymilliefleur]

My sexlink boys were in stead of the sexlink pullets I was supposed to get. Got a SSH as my freebie and sure loved him.

Sounds like the RIR and BR are not hatchery stock, but maybe breeder stock. Though the sons of my sexlink rooster are much bigger than dad, I suspect because the mother was rather large for an EE. I tried to find out her origins but didn't get very far. Really liked that girl.

My RIR Roo was hatched by a friend, and his parents were hatchery birds. my hens came from two different Friends, so their history is not known to me

. they most likely are hatchery birds though. I also used a couple of Dominique's as well.

 

[Beer can]

My RIR Roo was hatched by a friend, and his parents were hatchery birds. my hens came from two different Friends, so their history is not known to me

. they most likely are hatchery birds though. I also used a couple of Dominique's as well.

The last chickens I had before this group were Golden Comets when we moved to our house. They are a sex link, they are made from a Production Red male and the Rhode Island White female.
Supposed to be a super egger like the other sexlink hybrids, but I was not impressed. They were beautiful hens, but their egg laying wasn't that great, and then they started eating their eggs, then a bunch got sick and died on me, don't know why.

Before we moved I had 15 RIReds, probably production ones I ordered them through a local feed mill store, (they didn't have a big selection but they had Araucanas and I think they were the real deal, said tufted and rumpless blue egg layer).

Those RIRs were the egglayingist birds I have ever saw. Once they started they never stopped! 15 eggs a day every day for over a year (so I don't believe the figures the hatcheries give on egg production), and when they molted they took turns so I still had way to many eggs! I gave half the birds to my Grandma and still had too many eggs, but the dogs sure liked them!
I got four RIR roos from a local large farm stand/farm. I planned on keeping the best and giving my Grandma the next, those roos were HUGE.
She didn't want one though, said "I wont have any of that business going on in MY henhouse!!".
I thought I was going to hatch out some when one went broody, but nothing... Asked a guy at work that raises hundreds of chickens for selling eggs and he told me production reds have been bred for so many years for production they have forgotten how to raise little ones, they might go broody, but they wont do it right they have lost the instinct.
My fathers RIRs always raised their own, must have been heritage bred. I recently found a site, Dick Horstmans, and he has both kinds of heritage RIRs straight comb and rose comb like we had when I was a kid. And says his birds will set and are good mothers. Probably don't lay as good though.

 

[southernmomma]

This thread got active!!

I hope it continues~ I've experienced a set back, am culling my small flock, and will be starting fresh again in the spring. I will look to here for thoughts and ideas!

M

 

[maranfarmer563]

Last spring I hatched out some Rhode bars a auto sexing breed. I ended up with 5 hens and 3 roosters. They are great foragers. Now I have to see how they lay through our cold Pennsylvania winter. Going to be 7 on Tuesday night.

 

[Beer can]

Last spring I hatched out some Rhode bars a auto sexing breed. I ended up with 5 hens and 3 roosters. They are great foragers. Now I have to see how they lay through our cold Pennsylvania winter. Going to be 7 on Tuesday night.

Rhodebars are a auto sexing breed that breeds true right? Not a one time thing? Boy their roos are amazingly beautiful!
Correct me if I'm wrong on this to, other sexlink hybrids like red sexlink do not breed true so are considered a dead end bird? Now I understand they might not be sexlinkable, but shouldn't they still be good egglayers? They still have the genetics, and we are not talking about tomato hybrids, or CornishX.

 

[maranfarmer563]

Rhodbars are auto sexing,so you can have for generations. The little pullets have chipmunk stripes. Nice big birds for eggs and meat. This is my first year with them.

 

[maranfarmer563]

Beer can,what town are you in? I grew up in prattsburgh, in the finger lakes, near Hammondsport. My first chicken was a leghorn I got for a dollar.