Help with Pure Breeds

[Riocotesei]

If they are for you, mix whatever you like to make the layer breed you want

 

[walkswithdog]

Quote:
These birds have been specially bred for decades by people solely focused on production and part of that is to create two specific lines, one male and one female, their genetics are different. Every chick they sell from that line is a THIRD type of chicken. That third lays like a machine for two years, plays out and dies early.

Breeding the THIRD mutt type to itself, creates a fourth type of chicken that will NOT and can not breed true because it is a mutt. And for a few to several generations you'd have to take the few chicks that fit the "line'' you want to develop and cull all the others (figure 80-90 % of what is produced).

If you cull the birds out that do not fit your new goal for several to a dozen generations then you can indeed create a consistent type, then you would have created a breed. By the time you've done that for three or four years - creating a stable type has dropped the laying rate back down to that of any other NORMAL breed of poultry. Unless you create and maintain two lines, male and female ...and then you're doing exactly what the hatchery is doing... and it's of little value to recreate what already exists.

Some people who want meat breeds have successfully converted the Colored Broilers and Colored Rangers into flocks that are self-sustaining, that forage and reproduce and still kick out a food sized chicken in 12-14 weeks.

But that's meat.

If you want the highest rate of lay of any breed you buy what has already been developed - rather than spending half a decade recreating the wheel....

You can maintain two purebred flocks and cross them but it won't produce like the decades of custom breeding that the big companies have already done.

I like breeding my own meat birds and working on a custom mix for that. But if I wanted tons more eggs - I'd be buying from the big guys. It just makes sense.

I find for our purposes my mixed flock of BA and Rocks and soon delawares produces far more than I can use and I sell a good number of eggs. And I get to look at some gorgeous purebred chickens along the way, and a few nifty looking mutts as well.

 

[SportTees]

I believe a delware and RIR create a sex link but I don't know how well they lay?

 

[cybercat]

If you want to work with a pure bred chicken line and improve its egg production here is must read. http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/ALBCchicken_assessment-2.pdf

Few things to think of one must have land to do this for you need many chickens and must hatch many more and grow out to cull. You can do this on one acre of land and all the chickes will be in breeding pens 1 on 1 or 1 to 3. Then you need to have the grow out pens for you have to wait till they lay to see what you want to keep. It takes a few years to improve hatchery stock to the SOP for a good pure line.

The fact of the matter is most hatchery chickens will produce 5 to 6 eggs a week. That is enough for anyone even if you are selling private. Your good pure bred will keep producing for years down the road with a drop down to 4 to 5 a week in the second year and from then it varies from breed and feeding.

 

[Katy]

The OP is in Israel, so he needs to check out what breeds are available to him there and what their import laws are.