I've reduced our flock down to just Black/Blue Silver Marans and Bresse, so that I could use the pen space to breed those better. I'll be splitting each breed into 3 groups for next season.
The last time we processed I had a first, a Marans the same weight as a Bresse! With age it can happen, but these were 16 weeks old. It took SO long to improve the Marans growth rate to get them anywhere close to useful at 16 weeks!
They're totally different shapes, the Marans is carrying the weight more in the thigh and the Bresse is carrying more in the breast.
When they say "Build the barn first" in relation to poultry breeding, they're talking about the structure and type. The meat needs a good place to lay, a frame to support it. Without it and the development won't be as desired.
Width/length/depth matter a lot. I see so many birds out there that aren't being bred towards their dual purpose intention for the breed and then it's no surprise that people complain about how little they are or how long it took them to grow.
After working on this dual purpose thing for the past 4 years, it's become apparent that it's breeding more than feeding. I've been experimenting with the feed/finishing too but the breeding seems to matter more.
The last time we processed I had a first, a Marans the same weight as a Bresse! With age it can happen, but these were 16 weeks old. It took SO long to improve the Marans growth rate to get them anywhere close to useful at 16 weeks!
They're totally different shapes, the Marans is carrying the weight more in the thigh and the Bresse is carrying more in the breast.
When they say "Build the barn first" in relation to poultry breeding, they're talking about the structure and type. The meat needs a good place to lay, a frame to support it. Without it and the development won't be as desired.
Width/length/depth matter a lot. I see so many birds out there that aren't being bred towards their dual purpose intention for the breed and then it's no surprise that people complain about how little they are or how long it took them to grow.
After working on this dual purpose thing for the past 4 years, it's become apparent that it's breeding more than feeding. I've been experimenting with the feed/finishing too but the breeding seems to matter more.