Hatchery vs Breeder Thread, Post your pictures and comparisons!

[kathyinmo]

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Thank you very much. I went through growing out many many roosters before I finally got the one I wanted. Delawares are a tough breed to get SOP quality.

 

[blackclownfish16]

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He asks for other pro's & con's. Not just pics. And I think for those who have yet to get a bird they should hear from others experiances. Not just take one's word as the truth.

Yes to all of the above!

I was just looking to start a thread about the differences and comparisons. I definitely don't want any misunderstanding about my pros/cons. Those are just common (more than 3 breeders/chicken owners) traits that are put forth whenever I discuss chickens with them. As anybody can see all these Breeder birds are beautiful and well bred. Lets see if we can hatchery pictures now. I do not nor does anybody have all the answers or facts but with the help of BYC we can continue to broaden our knowledge and experiences.


NotAFarm are the hatchery birds the two on the right and the hen between the rooster and other hen? All are awesome looking, I just love the contrast of laced birds but I've never got any because I just know I would want to start yet another project haha.

 

[NotAFarm]

Yes, you are absolutely correct!

The breeder hens are directly above and below the corn can (favorite treat!!) The other three hens in the pic are hatchery, the front on the right is from Mt. Healthy via TSC and the other two are from Schlecht hatchery. I have another Schlecht hen not in the pic.

Here is my first hand experience (which is limited so I'm no expert and not claiming to be) my breeder birds (which were "culls" from his show flock) are large, beautiful, impressive birds. My hatchery girls are smaller, have less impressive lacing and I only kept the ones with rose combs. There were some from both hatcheries that had single combs (a DQ for Wyandottes). My roo is a great guardian of his girls but never bothers me at all. One of the hatchery roos a friend took got aggressive and is now stew (others already went to freezer camp). The breeder girls are very consistent in size, shape and lacing (a tribute to many, many years of hard work on the breeder's part). You can see the hatchery ones vary in lacing/color and their shape. One looks very "leghornish". I'll try and get pics of what I'm talking about. My hatchery girls out lay the breeders by FAR. Healthwise, I lost one of my breeder girls in May due to an infection caused by internal laying. My remaining hen is broody now for the second time (after breaking her twice during the cold in Jan and Feb). Hatchery girls are all doing fine and have shown no interest whatsoever in setting a clutch.

The bottom line for me is...........I wanted a heritage breed that I could use as my laying flock and by doing that would help keep that breed alive. I have discovered over the past year that Silver Laced Wyandottes are not that breed unless I want to keep a flock that is not representative of the breed according to the Standard of Perfection. To keep them to SOP, I will not have the "homestead" flock I had envisioned. The goals are too diametrically opposed. So, instead of replacing my hen I lost, I rehomed my roo last week and put my broody to work hatching some BR turkey eggs. I now have Auburn Javas and Icelandics, neither of which is in the SOP, but are historic breeds nonetheless. These will become my two separate projects. The SLW girls will stay and be the laying flock and the "incubator", each serving those purposes very well. Someone else mentioned that breeders of old would not "put up with the lack of production" but many show birds are not there for production, they are works of art. Many are the products of years and years dedication by breeders whose passion it is to keep these beautiful birds from becoming a thing of the past. What do you want out of your birds? Your goals may be different than mine and that's why there are so many different kinds of chickens. That's why there always have been and always will be. That is the bottom line for me.

 

[lildinkem]

Okay, then let's get back on track
Here is what Meyer sold me as a Black Jersey Giant. He is no Giant. And after breeding him his som throws Ameraucana.
Needless to say, I won't go on about my disapointment. Lets just say this is not a good start for me and my purchases of Hatchery quality. Now on the same token many purebred breeders introduce new blood from outside the variety they are working with. BUT, they tell you what is going on.


A hatchery Black Jersey Giant
What about his conformation? lololol
Makes you wanna to go out and get one don't it? lololol

 

[Morgan7782]

I have 4 hatchery birds and 1 bred bird. I like hatchery birds because they are easy to find, the feed store here has a good selection. I have had wonderful experiences with all my hatchery birds and use Belt and Welp Hatcheries. I think a few hatchery pro's are: Production, and hardiness with laying through winter and such. Price, you don't pay a ton of money for a bird that you don't intend to show, and personality, all the hatchery birds of all breeds I have are wonderfully friendly girls. I have 1 Barred Rock pullet, 2 Wyandotte pullets and 1 Easter Egger pullet all from hatchery. I am not into looks personally, I am more into a good personality rather then flashy flawless appearence. My Dark Brahma was a bred bird, her previous owner bred and hatched her own personally, and she is beautiful but a little more skittish then the hatchery girls. I also expect my hatchery Barred Rock to lay before the Brahma, even though she is a good month or so younger. Here are some pictures! All of them are pullets.

Joon - 15 week old Barred Rock (hatchery)
Munk - 15 week old Easter Egger (hatchery)
Phoebe - 11 week old Blue Wyandotte (hatchery)
Butternut - 11 week old Splash Wyandotte (hatchery)
Monica - 5 month old Dark Brahma (breeder bird)


Monica

Butternut

Joon

Phoebe

Munk

If you are more into pet quality and don't care so much about looks or beauty I reccomend hatchery birds, the one's I have are just great!

 

[loverOFchickens]

Interesting topic. You hear it mentioned a lot but the visuals are just so much clearer than words.
I thought I would mention that some breeds or varieties are worse at hatcheries than others. Brahmas are usually bad because the feather type just doesn't work. Breeder Brahmas are so much fluffier. On the other hand I had some Hamburgs from McMurray that where given a thumbs up by a judge. Probably some of the worst breeds to try to buy from a hatchery are the blue egg layers the longtails.
But you have to watch what breeder you buy from because sometimes you just get 2nd or 3rd generation hatchery birds. Try to stick to breeders who are recommended by someone who knows their stuff. Great stuff, keep it coming!

 

[bhindes]

The hen in the first pic I purchased from the fair. I am not sure if she is a hatchery bird or not, but the roo in the pics is only 3 months and he is from show quality stock. Plus the link below is my show quality hen. I plan on showing her next year.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/62417_192.jpg

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/62417_204.jpg

http://s853.photobucket.com/albums/ab91/bhindes/Silkie Hen/?action=view&current=Skye5.jpg