Meat Bird Project - Delaware, White Rock, Dark Cornish

[Ulladh]

@Dlmillion you are a similar boat to me, my chicks won't be matured before our end of the longer days! We won't likely get the winter you guys do, we rarely get snow anymore.

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

I was just talking with my wife about that as well, I told her I thought ours were smaller due to stock but she mentioned it could be temperature as well. I'm sure that has a lot to do with it - there's no need for normal chickens to gain a bunch of weight in FL, but in the north it's necessary to keep their body warmth constant.

 

[Ulladh]

That and time spent not eating, possibly relevant but I doubt wpuld affect your day length in florid? With sheep so guys shear even late summer again to keep the sheep eating and growing, as once pregnant ewes stop growing. So if they're warm and panting, they're not eating. So weather is possibly a factor?

I know I'm dreading shorter days due to the fact my chocks "turn off" now about 7. Once I keep the light on they're on again and acting normal

 

[Kiki]

That and time spent not eating, possibly relevant but I doubt wpuld affect your day length in florid? With sheep so guys shear even late summer again to keep the sheep eating and growing, as once pregnant ewes stop growing. So if they're warm and panting, they're not eating. So weather is possibly a factor?

I know I'm dreading shorter days due to the fact my chocks "turn off" now about 7. Once I keep the light on they're on again and acting normal

In what area do you live?

 

[Ulladh]

Ireland

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

Today we had a scare, and definitely an eye opener. We had this hurricane blow through, and with that my back yard flooded a bit and eroded under the mobile coop (the part with some sand so they can dust bathe). Well we couldn't account for 4 chicks this morning. I was very upset, I let them down and they were gone because of that. But I was also somewhat relieved to find that 3 of them were the smaller ones. Still though, lost meat, right?

Then we came home from the store, and I saw one standing outside the mobile coop. I got excited thinking she came back and couldn't get back in. I placed him inside and then counted all that were inside - all 32 of them were there! Very cool to see them all, made my day for sure. They must have crawled back in the way they got out.

I immediately moved the tractor to higher ground and placed boards where the lowspots may occur. And I separated out the biggest ones (most of them the keepers) and put them in the biggest pen with the most space underneath to get out - they are all too big to get under it, and I also placed a 4x4 and 2 2x4s around the edges to block them and predators.

Back to business, I weighed them today - I have things to do tomorrow and Saturdays are easier for me to get out there with my wife assisting. And we weighed them right before the 4 were missing. So here are the numbers that we got, minus 2 of the Dels, the smallest Del cockerel and the second largest, and 2 smaller WR pullets.

3 days 1 week 2 weeks 3 weeks 4 weeks 5 weeks 6 weeks 7 weeks
DC 61.8 (g) 84.4 168.4 269.2 373.2 504.4 678 747
growth - 137% 200% 160% 139% 135% 134% 110%
DEL 60.1 80.6 150.4 221.4 295.5 398.1 563.5 675.1
growth - 135% 197% 147% 133% 135% 142% 120%
WR 68.8 100.6 209.6 328.25 452 598.3 853 983
growth - 146% 208% 157% 138% 132% 143% 115%
WR (younger) 65.7 97.7 205.6 330.2 459.3 608.2 723.8 -
growth - 149% 210% 161% 139% 132% 119% -

Biggest Smallest
WR Cockerels 1130 810
DC Cockerels 889 555
DEL Cockerels 863 ?
DEL Pullets 840 478
WR (younger) C 930 738
WR (younger) P 770 536

The White Rocks Cockerels are still the leaders and then some. My younger white rock cockerels are still bigger than the 2 other older breeds. The Dels have pretty large pullets and have become very friendly, some of them are the easiest to pick up for sure. The Dark Cornish are easy to pick up, but you have to corner them - they are very calm in the hands, and feel like hot softballs, super compact. My wife thinks they are the smallest until I weigh them out and show her how heavy they are in the hands. The biggest WRs are fairly easy to pick up, but again you have to corner them. Pretty calm once they're picked up though, they seem nervous still but they don't fight. I'm going to start picking them up more often and working with them. I'm likely also going to separate them out into a separate coop and let them out to free range for a few hours every morning. That will make it easier to form a bond with them, and also easier to weigh.

Like I said, Saturday mornings will be when we weigh them going forward. It's just easier for us, and it will put it back on a weekly basis going forward.

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

I'm also thinking that I will keep the largest 2 WR roos for a while. I will also keep the largest DC cockerel, DEL cockerel, 3 DEL pullets and 3 WR pullets.

I will have to do some selective breeding throughout to get some quality heritage breeds (or at least the hatchery version of them, not necessarily show birds) and quick-growing, tender and flavorful meat birds.

Here are the likely combinations that I will do with the first few hatches: (PLEASE NOTE: these are just my thoughts and journal entries for me to go back to in a few months, year, etc. I don't expect everyone to even look at this, let alone try to understand it. I'm just jotting down notes the way that it makes sense to me...)

WRC1 x WRP2 = WRCa1 & WRPa1, 2 and 3

WRC2 x WRP1 = WRCb1 & WRPb1, 2 and 3

DELC1 x DELP1 = DELCa1 & DELPa1, 2 and 3

WRCa1 x DELPa1 = WRxDELPc1, 2 and 3

DCC1 x WRP1 = meat birds, no further breeding

DCC1 x DELP1 = meat birds, no further breeding

DCC1 x WRxDELPb1 = meat birds, no further breeding (and my guess is this combination will eventually be the biggest hybrid meat bird)

WRCb1 x WRPa1 = WRCc1 & WRPc1, 2 and 3

WRCa1 x WRPb1 = WRCd1 & WRPd1, 2 and 3

At this point I will need to get fresh bloodlines in for each breed, this way I'm also getting the benefits of the biggest and best from another hatchery- the top 3 lines plus DC. (I've read that the best results come from getting the new blood from AS FAR AWAY AS YOU CAN GET from the first hatchery.) I will likely do the same combinations for getting better quality purebreeds from the second batch, then start intermingling the 2 groups for a larger, faster, SuperBird! Then do it again, and again, and again until I've got a superior table bird that is the request of all guests. (again, one can dream!)

 

[Ulladh]

You definitely have it well thought through. Just wondering then are you going to wait until next spring before you begin breeding to see their full potential or if it makes a differences on fertility where you live? I just returned from a weeks holidays and wow what a difference a week makes! I couldnt get over the size difference but not sure if they're growing at full potential due to the poor protein levels, again something Ive tried looking into around here.

I also asked about white rocks, and it seems it is an american breed, using a forum here In Ireland nobody had really heard or had them, the guy asking too had somehow got eggs through from the states as well! I still reckon we have them but they're the commercial breeders so unavailable to the public.

Maybe if we can get away with it ship some eggs to each other? Dont really want a letter from your border control though!

Just curious but are you finding then the sexong done by the hatchery is still correct? No mix ups? I think I am able to tell mine now, as the size difference is showing through. I will likely lose 2 birds, one is still a runt and the other that hurt its leg back, never healed properly, it is still growing well but wont breed.

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

You definitely have it well thought through. Just wondering then are you going to wait until next spring before you begin breeding to see their full potential or if it makes a differences on fertility where you live? I just returned from a weeks holidays and wow what a difference a week makes! I couldnt get over the size difference but not sure if they're growing at full potential due to the poor protein levels, again something Ive tried looking into around here.

I also asked about white rocks, and it seems it is an american breed, using a forum here In Ireland nobody had really heard or had them, the guy asking too had somehow got eggs through from the states as well! I still reckon we have them but they're the commercial breeders so unavailable to the public.

Maybe if we can get away with it ship some eggs to each other? Dont really want a letter from your border control though!

Just curious but are you finding then the sexong done by the hatchery is still correct? No mix ups? I think I am able to tell mine now, as the size difference is showing through. I will likely lose 2 birds, one is still a runt and the other that hurt its leg back, never healed properly, it is still growing well but wont breed.

I think we are going to start the second generation as soon as they are mature enough, likely around the end of the year or first few weeks of January. I'm not terribly concerned with their "full" potential, just "full enough", i.e. around that 16-20 week timeframe. The biggest at that time should be the fastest-growing, which is what I'm trying to breed into my table birds. And yes, a week makes a HUGE difference!

I would not be against sharing some eggs, if we can make sure the police don't come knocking on our doors for something that silly.

As for the sexing, they were not completely accurate. I ordered 5 males and 5 females for both Dels and WRs. I believe I only got 4 male Dels. And of the second batch (younger WRs), they said it was 5 males and 6 females, but again only 4 males. But that's fine, I needed more WR females.

I'm sorry you're likely going to lose 2, that's a shame. It's really tough to see that, even when you know they're not going to make the cut eventually anyhow.

 

[Ulladh]

That's awesome that your birds will be breeding then. Do you get roughly the same length of day light then?

Yeah your cops are a little more intimidating than ours!

More girls is never a bad thing! Might be interesting to get a few more chicks next year to see and even get different blood in?

It definitely is a shame, always is when you've ambitions for breeding. I may keep 2 quads with these and my current. One or two of my existing line aren't what I'd want tbh. I hope to breed better. Even try and source more as some English guys have access to French birds