This weekend I am going to move my birds around in preperation for my crosses that I would like to try in an attempt to find a good DP hybrid. When I decided which breeds to get initially, I chose all breeds for potential good meat bird characteristics. I would like one of these crosses to result in a bird that will reach 4-6 pounds in 14-16 weeks. Here is what I am planning:
Speckled Sussex roo over Buckeye hens - My SS roo is a good sized roo. He took awhile to get there, so I'm concerned his genes may slow down my goal weight in time frame I'm hoping to get. Both the SS and Buckeyes have a nice square body type so it should be a nice looking table bird. The Buckeye hens I am using where selected by using the ALBC performance evaluation as they where developing, so they will bring quick growth and good body type to the cross. Buckeyes have a larger breast than other DP's, so I'm hoping that trait carries over in the cross.
Buckeye Roo over SS hens - Not sure about this. My Buckeye roo is a 12 pounder, but the SS hens are on the small side. I did this to see how the reciprical cross compared, and it made for an easy place to put the opposite genders left after above cross w/ out making a new pen. This cross may come into play down the road if I decide to do a cross with the hybrid. My SS lay more eggs than the Buckeyes.
Dominique roo over Buff Orpington hens - This will be an interesting one. The Dominique roo I am using is very, very large, and he and his brother where the biggest the fastest when they hatched last year with all my other breeds. I butchered his brothers at 20 weeks, and they where close to 7 pounds dressed. They had nice big leg quarters, but lacked breast meat. The BO leg quarters are my favorite chicken to eat. IMHO there is nothing better. The problem is very slow development. I processed some roos last Fall at 20 and then the rest at 24 weeks. The 20 weeks ones weren't very meatie, but by 24 weeks where decent. The hope is for the Dominiques quick growth will carry over in this cross. Both have the size I'm looking for, just not the time frame.
I am very excited about this project. I am going to feed all of them the same feed I use for my Cornish X's (23% protein) and give them as much of it as they can eat. It is going to be a challenge keeping all these properly identified so i can see which cross is the best. If things go well, I may hold back some of these for an additional cross next year. i need to figure out the whole F1, F2, ect.. thing. It would be really cool to come up with something that is successful and sell them in the future. I have put a lot of thought into this from the very beginning of getting chickens. I don't like the fact that I have to buy Cornish chicks to get a meatie bird. I know no matter what I cross it won't be as prolific as the CX, but I want to get something that is a little quicker to develop than just a purebreed DP.
Any comments or suggestions about any of these crosses would appreciated and willfully accepted.
Speckled Sussex roo over Buckeye hens - My SS roo is a good sized roo. He took awhile to get there, so I'm concerned his genes may slow down my goal weight in time frame I'm hoping to get. Both the SS and Buckeyes have a nice square body type so it should be a nice looking table bird. The Buckeye hens I am using where selected by using the ALBC performance evaluation as they where developing, so they will bring quick growth and good body type to the cross. Buckeyes have a larger breast than other DP's, so I'm hoping that trait carries over in the cross.
Buckeye Roo over SS hens - Not sure about this. My Buckeye roo is a 12 pounder, but the SS hens are on the small side. I did this to see how the reciprical cross compared, and it made for an easy place to put the opposite genders left after above cross w/ out making a new pen. This cross may come into play down the road if I decide to do a cross with the hybrid. My SS lay more eggs than the Buckeyes.
Dominique roo over Buff Orpington hens - This will be an interesting one. The Dominique roo I am using is very, very large, and he and his brother where the biggest the fastest when they hatched last year with all my other breeds. I butchered his brothers at 20 weeks, and they where close to 7 pounds dressed. They had nice big leg quarters, but lacked breast meat. The BO leg quarters are my favorite chicken to eat. IMHO there is nothing better. The problem is very slow development. I processed some roos last Fall at 20 and then the rest at 24 weeks. The 20 weeks ones weren't very meatie, but by 24 weeks where decent. The hope is for the Dominiques quick growth will carry over in this cross. Both have the size I'm looking for, just not the time frame.
I am very excited about this project. I am going to feed all of them the same feed I use for my Cornish X's (23% protein) and give them as much of it as they can eat. It is going to be a challenge keeping all these properly identified so i can see which cross is the best. If things go well, I may hold back some of these for an additional cross next year. i need to figure out the whole F1, F2, ect.. thing. It would be really cool to come up with something that is successful and sell them in the future. I have put a lot of thought into this from the very beginning of getting chickens. I don't like the fact that I have to buy Cornish chicks to get a meatie bird. I know no matter what I cross it won't be as prolific as the CX, but I want to get something that is a little quicker to develop than just a purebreed DP.
Any comments or suggestions about any of these crosses would appreciated and willfully accepted.
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