INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Bill1234]

Are Brahmans a dual purpose breed.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I had the honor of a phone convo tonight with Robby from James Marie Farms, regarding their quail. Oh my, I cannot tell you what an intelligent man this is. I will receive my eggs next week, and am super excited to restart my quail with a proven line. He is to quail what Porter's is to turkeys Greenfire is to chickens. a Guru so to speak!
I know I was on the phone over an hour, and was happy I could clearly hear him (those who know me, I don't hear well)

Also surprised with a hidden turkey nest today, and another goose egg stash too! very weird year for the geese.

Dark Cornish and Lavender orp have resumed laying. Putting my lavender back with her fella and will resume hatching in a few weeks.

 

[Indyshent]

Are Brahmans a dual purpose breed.

Brahmas are dual purpose. They lay medium brown-to-pink eggs pretty well through the winter and are about impervious to cold. They're fluffy, pleasant and non-aggressive to boot. I have two Dark Brahma roosters and three hens (one dark, two light). They're huge but slow to fully mature. My light girls started laying before my dark girl, but a lot of that might be the hatchery. Both sexes are larger than other breeds. Industry hatcheries tend to average about 11-12lb roosters and 9-10lb hens, who make pretty good broodies and moms and can cover monstrous clutches. Now that they're past the brief attack-the-shoes stage, we haven't had any issues with their manly urges (except the crowing, which is quieter and lower than the Welsummer had been, but still way too often and loud for neighbors this close). Both boys are 2ft tall or taller, but are not as heavy as they're going to be.

If you're really wanting a meat bird, you should probably stick to the Cornish crosses which are far and away heavier than the Brahmas, who just take a long time to get where they're going.

 

[daskhan]

Y

Are Brahmans a dual purpose breed.

Yes

 

[Indyshent]

If you get a hatch, I want to hear it! That will sway my opinion on the BBs for sure.

Was hoping a RP tom could cover a BB hen without killing her or fracturing a pelvis or any of the other awful injuries turkey gals are pretty prone to. With Cornish cross hens, I've heard the extra huge breasts passes to the offspring, so I'm kinda hoping that precedent would hold true for turkeys too.

It's just hard to find a guy who could be happy in a suburban backyard with three ladies (especially should Vermithrax Pejorative rear her more spiteful side). She wasn't particularly great to our jake when he was injured. While we could cull her, I'd rather not. However, faced with the girls' enduring Hey! calls in the morning and their insistence on some manly company, well, I'm willing to give about anything a try. I love my girl-girls. Vermi is the smallest of the girls, but she's the most likely to give someone a deep-muscle preening.

 

[daskhan]

What's happening at racins this weekend?

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

What's happening at racins this weekend?

Processing day. Patrick hosts them every so often, you can go and learn, or bring your own birds and do hands on. He has a professional plucker, and several of us have got together before when he does it. His post is a couple pages back.

Quote:
Palm tom for sure would be a better choice, or a midget white tom. Both are smaller breeds, less weight on the hen. Bourbons, spanish etc are heavier and can go 30+ pounds at a year old.

 

[Bill1234]

Thank you Indyshent

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

@racinchickins @pbirdhaven and other turkey keepers... My bourbon tom is starting a hard molt. Looked in on them this morning, and oh my!! I almost thought someone tried to pluck him! Neck is bare and part of the breast has dropped feathers already. My question is if he is still going to be breeding? Hens are not moulting yet. Am going to watch eggs close to see if they are coming up infertile.

 

[chick rookie]

What age do cockerels fight each other?

The 3 males I hatched on April 12th (now 5 mo) are still together with all the hens. I have not noticed fighting or aggression (toward people or each other). My biggest deciding factor on which to keep will be temperament. Are there warning signs I can look for? Now that they are all crowing & mating the hens, will they start to fight each other? (Hatched together, so they already have a peck order.) Our last Orp roo was raised w/o competition. We got rid of him at 11 mo b/c I didn't trust him around the kids.

In order to have some selection, we kept 3. Trying to decide which roo (or roos) to keep. Specifically between the 2 orps. Bielefelder will stay unless he gives us a reason to go. Anyone with orps, please let me know what you think. (Camera was on diff setting, so colors are a little off.)


Roo#1
Faster to mature (crowed & mated early)
Nice round body & xtra shiny tail (I think he's more attractive)
Takes treats from our hands & offers treats to the hens (the other roos just gobble the treats)
Can pick up easily / never squirms
My daughter's fav
Crows more frequently - especially when we're outside with food.
Has a slight limp (not sure what he did), so I'm nervous that it might be a future problem as he gets bigger.











Roo #2
Nicer low-pitched crow
Very shiny feathers.
Long neck & not filled out.
More skittish / avoids people.
Squirms when we 1st pick him up.









Roo #3
Just started crowing, but infrequent.
Not good at mating hens / awkward & pulls feathers
Not as friendly as roo 1, but not as skittish as roo 2
Have heard good things about this breed
Worried comb will get frostbite easy - long thin tips

I vote 1 & 3.

Are Brahmans a dual purpose breed.

yes they are.