Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[finnfur]

The SOP vs. production is a mute point. It is not an either/or, but a both/and. It is simple really. The process and the rhythm. It is not "too much" etc. It is only a matter of developing a seasonal rhythm by which you select your birds. There is no reason (excuse) to neglect either. It only requires putting our money where our mouth is and developing our own rhythm.

Dittos Brother George , You got to get the rhythm to have eggs all year.
LOL - Sounds like a sermon doesn't it

Leslie
Precociousness ??? There ya go throwing them big words on us non college people.- Yep they can feed themselves.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Dittos Brother George , You got to get the rhythm to have eggs all year.
LOL - Sounds like a sermon doesn't it 

Leslie
[COLOR=333333]Precociousness ??? There ya go throwing them big words on  us non college people.- Yep they can feed themselves. [/COLOR]

You assign me thousands of pages of reading then tease me for being literate-ish?

Sheesh.

While you're here ... and since we're working on the same line ... have you noticed much difference in vigor between chicks in your flock. How does that show up? All my chicks seem so similar for so long.

Also, I know you like fried chicken. Can you cull your Delawares early enough to call them friers? What do you base your first cull choices on?

 

[fowlman01]

Notice I referred to experience with production livestock, not exhibition livestock. I grew up on a production livestock farm, in a rural region populated by families whose incomes were solely dependent on productive farms, not hobbyists willing to feed 100% of their culls for a year and a half before they picked their 1-10% of breeding stock. I am still appalled and flabbergasted by the wastefulness tolerated amongst exhibition poultry hobbyists.

Just my opinion,
Angela

the show people I know don't keep a lot of extra birds around. They know how to cull earlier in the process. There all kinds of people showing these days but most of the successful poultry breeders don't go online so there is no accurate accounts of how they manage their flocks. The good ones are very efficient. Having a good eye for poultry is something that not everyone has. ..even people who judge chickens. There is a lot to be learned from the old timers that don't go online. Seek those successful breeders out and I think you will find that they are very efficient , usually don't need to raise a bunch of birds unless it is a complex color pattern. They are also not interested in a pretty bag of feathers. When I judge I feel every part of the bird and if it is lacking the physical attributes the APA Standard calls for the bird is not going to do well in the show.

Walt

 

[finnfur]

You assign me thousands of pages of reading then tease me for being literate-ish?

Sheesh.

While you're here ... and since we're working on the same line ... have you noticed much difference in vigor between chicks in your flock. How does that show up? All my chicks seem so similar for so long.

Also, I know you like fried chicken. Can you cull your Delawares early enough to call them friers? What do you base your first cull choices on?

Gee ! I thought it worked out good - now if I want to know something I can just ask you .

Not hatching this year because of a move but past hatches seem to be equal . If they don't appear to have "vigor" I cull them the first week.

Fried Delawares ? - this is certain its not 33 weeks - don't ask.
Someone posted a link with ages and culinary uses recently - I read them and seem to be reasonable.

As you know this line is slow maturing but I think it will change with generations of selections. Cull early at fry stage for anything you know your not going to retain for a breed forward. "rex wing" heavy marking small size , wrong type,brassiness etc etc. . That includes pullets as well once you attain your egg flock size. even they should be close to your best,

To paraphrase Bob - Just keep kicking the can down the center of the road and KISS

 

[gjensen]

There is much that makes a bird productive (or not) that cannot be judged in the hand. It is up to the breeder to evaluate his or her birds more fully. A good judge can evaluate a good bird in the hand, but it is the breeder's job to evaluate that bird in the pen. We cannot depend on judges to tell us whether or not the birds are productive, or fit for breeding.

The points I found most deficient in some exhibition birds has been the size of the eggs, point of lay, and length of lay. Length of lay involves a few points. I have also found some to be oversized and excessively feathered. Both of which do inhibit the line's ability to produce, and their efficiency.

To include selecting for characteristics that make a bird more or less productive does include a seasonal rhythm. They are not all realized at one point in time. They are revealed along the way. A layer is not fully evaluated until she is through her first laying cycle, and winter.

ETA: I did say SOME exhibition birds etc. on two points, not to include them all. I should have added that they are often not far off, all together, but that those points have been neglected over time.

 

[hellbender]

If you presume 75% you'll be close. It might depend on the age of the bird, though. I've never processed a very young bird. You don't lose much in feathers, and you can eat most of the rest. I tend to remove excess fat as I don't enjoy that much. I use the necks and giblets. I scald & peel the legs/feet and use those. I haven't brought myself to use the heads, but those are usable. If the female bird has egg yolks I can use those, too. I might get more than 75%.

Lots of farms sell feet and other parts at a pretty good price.

We love chicken feet and as a matter of fact, we like duck feet even better. I know it's not for everyone but.....

 

[DesertChic]

We love chicken feet and as a matter of fact, we like duck feet even better. I know it's not for everyone but.....

I told my son I was going to figure out how to cook chicken feet as part of our dinner instead of just using them for stock. He got this horrified look on his face and told me very bluntly he'd be eating at a friend's house that night.

Teenagers can be so much fun to mess with.

 

[hellbender]

I told my son I was going to figure out how to cook chicken feet as part of our dinner instead of just using them for stock. He got this horrified look on his face and told me very bluntly he'd be eating at a friend's house that night.

Teenagers can be so much fun to mess with.

I know eating poultry feet may sound like a bad joke to some folks but they really are good and good for you!!!

 

[Sunflowergirl]

I told my son I was going to figure out how to cook chicken feet as part of our dinner instead of just using them for stock. He got this horrified look on his face and told me very bluntly he'd be eating at a friend's house that night.

Teenagers can be so much fun to mess with.

 

[hellbender]

This recipe is one hundreds of delicious ways to fix chicken feet. People miss out on a lot of good fixins'!