My Attempt at a Dual Purpose Heritage Flock

[Tre3hugger]

But how often do you plan to hatch? I could see you hatching the crosses pretty regularly so one breeding pen for them alone. I consider them a terminal cross as you will either sell or eat them, you won't be breeding them.

But what are your plans for the others?

That is the 1000000 dollar question! You are right about the crosses. I would like to hatch probably four batches of about 30 eggs per year. Hoping for 50/50 splits, this would meet my family's meat needs and gross me about 200 dollars if i sell the girls as babies for $3-4. I would like to hatch a lot less of the others, depending how much I like these first ones when they grow out. It would be cool to hatch 1 batch about 20 eggs of each breed per year to start, seeing if I can work toward larger NH roosters that grow quicker and better looking/broodier Delawares. I don't have much interest in showing right now, and don't need rapid improvement of the Delawares or NHs to make the nice crosses I want. So I think the first year I will focus mostly on trying to sell my extra girls and efficiently grow my meat crosses. A batch of each pure breed will give me some opportunity for improvement, toward my goals and the standard.

Are you planning a spiral breeding method to maintain genetic diversity? Do you plan on breeding your best and in a few generations go back to your sources for a new rooster?

I plan to line breed my best non aggressively, hopefully putting off my need for new genetics for a while while I get used to breeding. Is that reasonable?

How many incubators you need will be another thing. I'd be tempted to go with a minimum of two, one as an incubator and one as a hatcher. That way you could have a hatch a week.

I currently have a 22 capacity NR360 and a 7 capacity Brinsea Mini. I will likely just use them at the same time for crosses, and just the NR360 for pure breeds cause 22 would be a nice batch size for me. In the past I have just hatched in the incubator. I don't think a hatch a week is in the cards for me just yet.

Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge

 

[Ridgerunner]

I plan to line breed my best non aggressively, hopefully putting off my need for new genetics for a while while I get used to breeding. Is that reasonable?

That's how I'd do it, at least at the start.

 

[Tre3hugger]

That's how I'd do it, at least at the start.

 

[Tre3hugger]

I am definitely following this. Thank you. Completely different (and, superior, thinks I) approach to my own project. Glad you were able to start with the birds you wanted, and clearly did your homework in selecting the breeding lines.

Missed this post somehow. Appreciate your support! The birds, especially the NHs, are exceeding expectations. I look forward to weighing them in a few days and comparing them to my cornish x weight records just for fun.

 

[Tre3hugger]

Got some pics of the breeders first supervised free range today. I was planning on giving them free access to their yard and feeding in the tractor but their has been a hawk around. A large red tail that has already snagged several poor unsuspecting guineas. Anyway, here's some pics

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I just used this thread as an example of what to do for another poster considering a dual purpose, sustainable flock. Hope you don't mind. I both linked and credited.

Missed this post somehow. Appreciate your support! The birds, especially the NHs, are exceeding expectations. I look forward to weighing them in a few days and comparing them to my cornish x weight records just for fun.

 

[MysteryChicken]

The topic of dual purpose birds and sustainability come up a lot on this forum. After raising about 50 cornish x, and learning a few things about meat birds and processing, and reading threads by people like @U_Stormcrow I decided I am ready to sacrifice their quick growth for an option a little more sustainable AKA I DO NOT want to have to order meat chicks every year from a hatchery. So after having chickens on this property for 18 months and really evaluating my poultry needs and goals, I've come up with a rough plan for my IDEAL homestead flock.

The theory is: to raise New Hampshire Reds and Delawares. The NHs are Henry Noll line heritage "meat" birds selected for quick growth and favorable carcass. The Delawares are a Heritage line coming from a small hatchery, Art's hatchery, selected for STANDARD and egg production. A pure line of each of these will be kept. I will be selecting to the standard and for mothering abilities/egg production in the Delawares, and keeping mainly hens. For the New Hampshires I will select to the standard and for fast growth and favorable carcass. Keeping mostly roos. Now for the cool part...

When crossing these birds, a heritage cross, dual purpose sex link is born! I will keep the males as meat birds and sell the females as red sex link layers. I think people in my area, who are pretty conscious and local minded, will much appreciate having access to a guaranteed female laying machine that was produced from heritage birds in their area. I may even call them New England Homestead Hereos. This is my grand idea.

The Practice: So on 7/14/ 21 my birds hatched and I got them a few days later. I got 13 NHs and 13 Delawares, planning to keep about 12 for the breeding project and process the rest at 16 weeksish.

Fast forward almost six weeks and they are growing fast! The NHs are already very easy to sex. I separated out my NH roosters today so I can better observe them and make my selection for keepers based on how they grow out. I have 6 or 7 apparent roos and think I will keep 2 to start. Here are the biggest 3 as of now. I will likely weigh them at 6 weeks (Sept. 1st).
View attachment 2809810 Look at those comb/wattles for 5 weeks old!
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The Delawares are not so easily sexable yet. I grabbed what I think is 5 girls and a boy, but it is 50/50 right now. I'm sure I will shuffle them around a few more times before we are thru. Here is I think the male.
View attachment 2809814
And the possible ladies.
View attachment 2809819
You can really see the size difference in these. The NHs sure mature fast.
View attachment 2809820

View attachment 2809821

If you have read this far you deserve a medal! I will be sharing my experiences with these birds and what I learn from them in this thread.

Anyone else doing something similar and want to share results?

Any one else want to share how they set up breeding pens to keep groups separate for a project like this, I would REALLY appreciate it. That is what had been racking my brain lately.

Thanks for reading!

I'm starting a similar project next year, using: My old Project Wheaten Crele Orpingtons, Malays, Sumatras, Cracker fowl, American Game cross, & Easter Eggers.


The goal is to create a Predator Fighter, Duel purpose, Good Foragers, brown to pastel green egg layer that's also fancy, fast runners.

Calling them Rainbow Runners, since they're gonna be speedy long legged, long necked birds of any color with the barring pattern.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Should read @MysteryChicken 's thread on the Project Wheten Crele Orps, too. Orps can get big, and tend towards better than average maturity, so those are both plusses on the "meat" column of a good 2P bird. OTOH, they aren't famed layers, and put a lot of energy into feather development you may not need if you have a forgiving climate (most of the US). Not necessarily for how to make a good 2P chicken, just because its so damned interesting and informative.

...and adding EEs is a bit of Chaos - only for experienced breeders like Mystery. Beyond me (for now).

 

[MysteryChicken]

Should read @MysteryChicken 's thread on the Project Wheten Crele Orps, too. Orps can get big, and tend towards better than average maturity, so those are both plusses on the "meat" column of a good 2P bird. OTOH, they aren't famed layers, and put a lot of energy into feather development you may not need if you have a forgiving climate (most of the US). Not necessarily for how to make a good 2P chicken, just because its so damned interesting and informative.

...and adding EEs is a bit of Chaos - only for experienced breeders like Mystery. Beyond me (for now).

Easter Egger X Brahma has been the best for heavy large meat birds so far.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Easter Egger X Brahma has been the best for heavy large meat birds so far. View attachment 2813259View attachment 2813261View attachment 2813262

age?