Keeping records on your chicks?

triplebfarm

In the Brooder
10 Years
Mar 22, 2009
20
0
22
Sweetwater, Tennessee
How many of you keep records on your chicks? And if so, what type of records do you keep? I try to keep records on our chicks, but my wife thinks its a waste of time, do you agree or disagree?
 
I am hoping to keep records. I also would like to band mine but not sure what to use.
I would like to do some planned breeding to improve my flock and want to breed the birds I like. With (hopefully) 30 birds of one breed I want to be sure o keep them straight.
 
farrier! :

I am hoping to keep records. I also would like to band mine but not sure what to use.
I would like to do some planned breeding to improve my flock and want to breed the birds I like. With (hopefully) 30 birds of one breed I want to be sure o keep them straight.

Check out this link for bands and toe punching. Might give you some ideas.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=126202
 
I think it's a good idea especially if you are planing on raising your own. I kept records on mine from the time I got them as chicks till they had been laying for a couple of months and then I got lazy.
There are a lot of people on here that keep detailed records of their chickens.

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We keep detailed records of our chickens. When we buy new ones, how many eggs they lay, how many we sell, what we spend in feed, materials and equipment. My son raises them and sells eggs for his SAE FFA project, so he has his record book and then we also have records at home.
 
My daughter keeps a record book similar to what Michelle describes. It is just a day planner someone gave us - with 5 or 6 lines for each day. Enough room to record eggs, sales, any illness or broodiness. I think that most anyone can maintain something that is simple (and near the refrigerator
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Oh yeah, especially a calendar near the fridge! Just jot down number of eggs collected and number sold, then at the end of the month we total them up. I keep my book on a shelf nearby too. I think it is interesting just to see how much the price of feed has went down since we started just last fall!
 
I keep a loose record (if it were up to hubby it would be more formal
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).

I have a ledger book that I keep monthly tabs on what eggs I sold, what chicks I hatched, what chicks/chickens/ducks/etc... sold and what I've bought - feed, bedding, babies, egg for hatching, etc....

The eggs sold is pretty much the same as eggs hatched, cause we don't use very many for ourselves.

It helps me to figure out how much everything is costing me, and how much profit (HA!) I'm making.

it also tells me (the egg selling part) whose turn it is to get the phone call to come get eggs.

meri
 
farrier! :

I am hoping to keep records. I also would like to band mine but not sure what to use.
I would like to do some planned breeding to improve my flock and want to breed the birds I like. With (hopefully) 30 birds of one breed I want to be sure o keep them straight.

Triplbfarm, farrier, and EweSheep , gonna outline a breeding system for ya.

First, band or tattoo all your best fowl. Think about what you want to accomplish. If you want to breed strong stock from your present birds and NEVER have problems with inbreeding, such as mental or physical defects, here`s how. Start with your best cock and your best hen. Pen them together and feed them a good breeder ration. Worm them and make sure they have no external parasites. Breed these and hatch your chicks. At the appropriate age, sellect your best pullet and your best cockeral. Breed the cockeral to his mother and the pullet to her father. Continue in this manner for six generations. What you should have at this point is the best pullet and cockeral from the original cocks side and the same from the hens side. Then, start all over again, putting the two families together, as in the best pullet from the cocks family to the best cockeral from the hens family. Breeding in this manner you should be able to have top notch fowl for longer than you live and never have to add an outside feather. Hope I explained it easy enough to understand. Best of luck.......Pop​
 

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