Meat Bird+ Project: Delaware/New Hampshire/Barred Rock

[canecutter77]

I'll be retiring soon and need something to obsess over.

Going to try the following: small flock of hens - Delaware, New Hampshire, and Barred Rock, 4 each.

Delaware and New Hampshire breeding stock will initially be from chicks or hatching eggs from heritage breeders who have been selecting for fast growth and size.

Barred Rock will be chicks from hatcheries.

Going to breed and select for:
1. Fast growth
2. Size/weight (relatively speaking) - fryers by 14 to 16 weeks.
3. Carcass
4. Temperament
5. Egg Production

Planning to alternate between two roosters, Delaware and New Hampshire, to breed as follows:

Delaware x Delaware - over time upgrade Delaware hens and roosters per selection criteria; butcher all else
Delaware x New Hampshire - produce Indian Rivers cross, butcher both hens and cockerels; maybe sell pullets if they are decent egg producers. No experience with these.
Delaware x Barred Rock - not sure what this will produce, investigate hens for layers and cockerels for meat. Sell pullets if they are good egg layers and butcher cockerels; otherwise butcher all. Abandon this cross if growth goals are not achievable. Would want this cross to lag the others in growth rate by no more than three weeks.


New Hampshire x New Hampshire - over time upgrade New Hampshire hens and roosters per selection criteria; butcher all else
New Hampshire x Delaware - Sell red sex link pullets for layers, butcher cockerels
New Hampshire x Barred Rock - Sell black sex link pullets for layers, butcher cockerels. Abandon this cross if growth goals are not achievable. Would want this cross to lag the others in growth rate by no more than three weeks.

Opinions, Comments?

 

[FunClucks]

Check out Freedom Ranger hatchery New Hampshires - they've optimized these for meat, and they lay pretty well. Decent size eggs (need to be selected for large egg size), very nice weight/carcass, decent growth rate. They have a number of other lines that might be worth a look also. I have a few threads on here where I've documented how this strain has worked for me.

Sounds like you've got a great plan! Wishing you best of luck!!!

Unless you've already done it, the tricky thing I see is finding good stock.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll be retiring soon and need something to obsess over.

Congratulations, an excellent place to be. And yes, you will need to stay busy.

Delaware and New Hampshire breeding stock will initially be from chicks or hatching eggs from heritage breeders who have been selecting for fast growth and size................. over time upgrade hens and roosters per selection criteria; butcher all else

I strongly agree. Ruthlessly select for your goals.

Barred Rock will be chicks from hatcheries.

Not sure what you hope to gain by doing this? I could see a gain in egg production but no other advantages as they are hatchery stock. Sex links are only in the first generation, after that you cannot use the offspring to continue making sex links unless you maintain separate father and mother flocks. I don't see that in your plan. By selective breeding you should be able to develop your own line of fairly good meat birds in a few generations but the first few years they will be all over the place as you are breeding hybrids. You will be retired and having fun. Nothing wrong with experimenting, I enjoy doing that. But to add these will require even more bookkeeping and facilities to manage breeding. To me the Barred Rock complicate it.

Going to breed and select for:
1. Fast growth
2. Size/weight (relatively speaking) - fryers by 14 to 16 weeks.
3. Carcass
4. Temperament
5. Egg Production

I'd combine one and two to read size/weight at butcher age. That's probably what you mean anyway. It doesn't matter how much they grow after butcher age or if they grow and then slow down. I'm probably getting nitpicky here, at butcher age is probably what you mean.

Planning to alternate between two roosters, Delaware and New Hampshire, to breed as follows:

Delaware x Delaware - over time upgrade Delaware hens and roosters per selection criteria; butcher all else
Delaware x New Hampshire - produce Indian Rivers cross, butcher both hens and cockerels; maybe sell pullets if they are decent egg producers. No experience with these.
Delaware x Barred Rock - not sure what this will produce, investigate hens for layers and cockerels for meat. Sell pullets if they are good egg layers and butcher cockerels; otherwise butcher all. Abandon this cross if growth goals are not achievable. Would want this cross to lag the others in growth rate by no more than three weeks.


New Hampshire x New Hampshire - over time upgrade New Hampshire hens and roosters per selection criteria; butcher all else
New Hampshire x Delaware - Sell red sex link pullets for layers, butcher cockerels
New Hampshire x Barred Rock - Sell black sex link pullets for layers, butcher cockerels. Abandon this cross if growth goals are not achievable. Would want this cross to lag the others in growth rate by no more than three weeks.

Keeping this many different breeding groups is going to take a lot of recordkeeping, weighing, and observing, let alone a lot of breeding pens and such. It is your hobby and your obsession, do as you will. Have you figured out what your facilities will look like?

You mention selling Indian River pullets if they lay well. How will you know that unless you keep them through a laying cycle. Keeping them that long may require extra facilities and extra expense to properly evaluate them.

Have you considered what will happen with the next generation? It is to be expected that your goals and management techniques will change as you gain experience. So be flexible. Learn as you go. And try to enjoy it.