My chickens are shrimps...

[seminolewind]

We have Cackle and Privett chickens. Health wise there's no complaints. For the most part they are laying and doing what they should do. They look like their breeds, I'm sure just hatchery quality but that's all we are looking for. Temperaments (minus one rooster who no longer resides here...) they are all pretty good. The Privett chicks have always been more standoffish, we blame ourselves for not handling them as much as our first group. All in all, no complaints BUT...

THEY ARE SHRIMPY! Seriously, if other chickens ever saw our chickens, they would laugh at them. We didn't really notice it until we went to visit our local FFA and saw their chickens. It's like comparing Chihuahua's to Great Danes...seriously. Their silky was the size of our standard girls. We are feeding them the same feed they use. The only difference is we did let ours free range once old enough (but still fed them). Could it be that they are hatchery stock? Could the free ranging played a factor? It doesn't matter once it's all said and done, we aren't that worried about it but I was wondering if there's really that much difference between hatchery stock and private breeding. My husband said something about trying to get a few of their chickens but we can have 2 for every 1 of theirs space wise!

I have only gotten birds from Meyer and Hoover, and they were all nice size. You could always email them and ask them what they have that doesn't run small, LOL

 

[SlipsWife]

Our Privett chicks are 2 red sex-links (that we purchased at our local TSC). They are laying machines and often produce really nice large eggs, rarely take a day off. We really thought they were 'average size' until we saw the others. Our 2 bantams are also from Privett but of course, I wasn't really counting them in the comparison.

Then we have 2 turkens and 2 partridges from Cackle that were part of our Surprise. We also had kept (and no long have) a few Polish and others from them. Our Polish were tall and lanky, when you picked them up it was like you weren't holding anything but feathers. Not sickly, no health issues, just lean. When we first got our turkens they were the same size as our bantams, to the point I started looking to see if they sold bantam turkens but they caught up with the other guys.

I will try to get weights on them. They might fall in the 'normal' range that the hatchery has for them but compared to the FFA chickens they are so small. I wish there was a way to get weights on theirs.

As far as for eggs, which is the main purpose we got them for, we aren't worried about their weight. The biggest issue is now we are trying to decide how to manage our flock (how many to keep from the new guys we get this spring, how long to keep them, etc.) and the thought of processing them and not getting much out of the deal is a little frustrating after seeing how much bigger they could be.

We feed Dumor, started with chick starter and then moved to laying crumble (they don't like the pellets, its like the pellets were to big). We started giving the occasional corn for them to scratch and just recently added a block to the coop but they were all mature before we started adding extras. We do feed table scraps at times for treats. The FFA told us they are feeding the same feed but use pellets because they use a deer feeder to feed. I'm happy with the health of our chickens, just a little embarrassed if anyone who knows anything about chickens were to come over and see them they would laugh at ours!

 

[SlipsWife]

I have only gotten birds from Meyer and Hoover, and they were all nice size. You could always email them and ask them what they have that doesn't run small, LOL

LOL We had 2 jersey giants from cackle (both hens) that I regret selling. They were very stocky compared to the others. That being said, they were 1/2 the size of the other chickens we saw. I seriously have chicken envy! (don't get me started on the turkeys...)

We aren't in an area that has many options for personal breeders so I'm pretty much 'stuck' ordering from hatchery. If we weren't looking into starting to possible process a few for meat the size might not bother me as much (as long as no one in the know ever came by and saw them...lol). Eggs are our main reason to have them, and we do enjoy them too!

 

[Vamvakas]

I gotta agree with BGMatt on this one. Years back I used to order from hatcheries and I ordered bigger breeds like Black Giants, Australorps, Wyandotte's, etc... And none were ever big like what they stated on there website, so I thought maybe it was that certain hatchery so I tried another with same results.. Finally said forget this and did research found a great breeder with a good reputation and my birds are biggest I ever owned.

 

[Michael Apple]

SlipsWife, bigger most certainly does not mean better. I bought white Rocks from a "master" breeder who won the Stockton PPBA show some years ago. Not knowing what I know now, these birds looked large and impressive then. I came to find out later they were larger than average. They were large, clumsy birds that all died in a 2 year period, were poor layers, and certainly not because of poor husbandry, improper diet, or mixing with other birds. There are people, out of ignorance or personal agenda, that will claim all hatchery birds are inferior to birds coming from private breeders. There are good hatcheries and bad ones. There are good private breeders and bad ones. I can say I've never received bad stock from Privett, but have from some other hatcheries. Much depends on the parent stock, nutritional program of breeders, but other factors play a part such as what time of year chicks are ordered, and the distance/time in shipment. Early stress on chicks can compromise much including growth. Not feeding birds properly for those first 9 months of life can also make a difference in the end result at maturity.

 

[seminolewind]

If you want really big Jerseys, Wynette has the line that I got huge ones from. (eggs).
Funny story, I brought a BO hen home for the neighbor from a swap. She laid an egg in my car. After a day in the fridge, I decided to incubate it. I got a rooster. He was the puniest BO rooster I ever saw. He looked stunted, in fact he may have been from having real bloody coccidiosis at one time. At about 8 months old, he grew into this giant rooster, big and round. Awesome rooster, lost him to Marek's.


The giant BO is in the back. The rest are 8 month old Jersey roos. 5 roos getting a snack from my Granddaughter at 9 years old
Sorry for running off topic!

 

[SlipsWife]

SlipsWife, bigger most certainly does not mean better. I bought white Rocks from a "master" breeder who won the Stockton PPBA show some years ago. Not knowing what I know now, these birds looked large and impressive then. I came to find out later they were larger than average. They were large, clumsy birds that all died in a 2 year period, were poor layers, and certainly not because of poor husbandry, improper diet, or mixing with other birds. There are people, out of ignorance or personal agenda, that will claim all hatchery birds are inferior to birds coming from private breeders. There are good hatcheries and bad ones. There are good private breeders and bad ones. I can say I've never received bad stock from Privett, but have from some other hatcheries. Much depends on the parent stock, nutritional program of breeders, but other factors play a part such as what time of year chicks are ordered, and the distance/time in shipment. Early stress on chicks can compromise much including growth. Not feeding birds properly for those first 9 months of life can also make a difference in the end result at maturity.

I've thought of the bigger doesn't mean better...one of the biggest reasons we've been happy with our girls is they seem healthy and have been laying good. Well, there's a couple of exceptions to the rule on being good layers but nothing major...I thought owning chickens was going to be pretty cut and dry...there's more to this than I thought.

 

[popsicle]

I wasn't aware that the competition at FFA was so stiff in their poultry shows that the kids had high quality show birds from excellent breeders. I can't say I know a single FFA kid that wouldn't get his birds at the feed store--maybe it's because I'm in cattle/sheep country.

Seminolewind, thanks! I eventually want some "real" Jersey Giants.

 

[Michael Apple]

I've thought of the bigger doesn't mean better...one of the biggest reasons we've been happy with our girls is they seem healthy and have been laying good. Well, there's a couple of exceptions to the rule on being good layers but nothing major...I thought owning chickens was going to be pretty cut and dry...there's more to this than I thought.

Yes, SW. There is much to this and learning is a part of the journey. No end to that. Many strides in science have happened since backyard poultry became popular again in the 60's and 70's. Keeping birds healthy, and providing for them is what gives us years to appreciate them and what they provide for us.

 

[SlipsWife]

I wasn't aware that the competition at FFA was so stiff in their poultry shows that the kids had high quality show birds from excellent breeders. I can't say I know a single FFA kid that wouldn't get his birds at the feed store--maybe it's because I'm in cattle/sheep country.

Seminolewind, thanks! I eventually want some "real" Jersey Giants.

The best part is...they don't actually show chickens in our local FFA anymore. It has something to do with the winning birds being butchered/processed at the shows right after showing? I'm not sure where their chickens originally came from or how long they've had them. We were to shocked at their sizes to ask questions

(and we were there for other reasons).