Hatching Breeds from Multi breeders

[janchilds]

I am looking to hatch out eggs. I would prefer to work with just one breeder but I am affraid that those who offer the largest breed selection are mass producing them. Or are they offering quality foundation stock? Any advice?

Breeds I am interested in include... Heritage RIR, Ameraucana (preferably blue), BCM, Ancona, and Light Sussex. I know it is a wide variety, maybe that's my problem. I guess I could hatch in two batches. I'm just concerned about timing if I buy from multiple breeders for one hatch. Again any advice would be helpful. Has anyone bought eggs from different breeders to hatch all at once?

Thanks!
Janet

 

[ga_goat]

You could mark the eggs , use seperate hatchers or 1 with dividers ( tall enough for them not to get over ) then get some bright nail polish and paint the toe nails on them to seperate breeders when they go to the brooder / pen , but above all write everything down as : green = breeder #1 black , breeder 2 ,, just a thought ,, toe nails would have to be checked and redone from time to time .

 

[ChickenCanoe]

ga_goat good gadvice. ha

cardboard dividers you can make in the hatcher and leg bands when they come out of hatcher. you can use colored zip ties when they're small since they'll need to be replaced soon.

 

[janchilds]

Thanks guys! I'm not as worried about get the chicks confused once they hatch. I was planning on buying all of one breed from one breeder... just wasn't sure, say, if I ordered 3 groups from 3 breeders at once, if that is workable. Getting them all in on the same day worries me. The easier option is to buy all/most breeds from one breeder, but I wasn't sure what quality they would be.

I am not looking to show the birds, I simply want to start a breeding program to raise my own replacements and maybe sell a few eggs/chicks along the way. If I am going to start this, I might as well get the best stock that I can. My ultimate goal is to have a flock that is true to their individual breeds while being good layers of various color eggs.

Janet

 

[scooby8863]

In my opinion, I think that some of the breeders with multiple breeds still have nice stock and still pay attention to the quality of their birds.
But' then again some of those mass producing breeders are strictly in it for the money and don't care one bit about what their birds look like.

I currently have 4 different breeds of bantams, but as I begin getting more serious into the breeding for show aspect of it, the more I begin to realize that I really need to narrow it down to just a specific breed that way I can really focus on their quality.

If it were me I would purchase birds from a reputable breeder of the specific breed that you want. The breeders that I have gotten birds from and learned A LOT from only raise that particular breed and they most certainly know the breed like the back of their hands and have really helped steer me in the right direction as I get deeper involved in my wonderful hobby

And for this I am very thankful!

 

[cmom]

I breed my own birds so I know what I'm getting or I get my eggs from local friends who also breed. I have Heritage RIRs. I do like to experiment so I crossed Delaware females with a RIR male. The female chicks look like the RIR with nice coloring and the males were while like the Delawares. Now I am going to cross my RIR/Del females with a RIR male. Maybe I'll get a Production Red. I also breed BOs and RIWs. I have had friends who have bought eggs from breeders and they were supposed to be Heritage RIRs but they were lighter in color than mine are, so I think you have to be very careful and look at the parent stock before you buy. Good luck...

 

[Arielle]

If you really want to be a good breeder, consider that your stock needs to come from several different breeders. ANd if you don't have both a hatcher and an incubator, just hatch one group at a time.

It takes a bit of searching to find good breeders; size of operation is not a reasonable indication of quality. Read, research,then take a chance.

GL

 

[janchilds]

Thanks! That brings up another question... I've been doing the research on top end breeders within my breed choices and don't mind buying good quality stock to get started. The goal of this was to become more self-sufficient hatching out my own chickens and perhaps selling a few along with way. Our main focus is egg production/ second is egg color. We have about 150 chickens now, mostly utility versions of the breeds I am interested in.

My hope is to keep a good roo out of each hatching along with breeding hens. How long before most breeders go out and bring in a new blood, or I guess really all you need is at least a new roo? I don't foresee separating by breed except maybe 2-3 times a year... the rest of the time they will be on pasture rotation as a group.

JC

 

[cmom]

As long as you are not breeding brother to sisters, if they are siblings then the chicks they produce may bring out undesirable traits in the chicks. All of my boys and girls are from different stocks so I'm not interbreeding.