SOP Breeders: How many to hatch yearly and pen sizes?

[Tbird84]

So, I will be starting this year on actively breeding to standard on a couple breeds. When beginning, how many should I be looking to hatch yearly to give me the best to select from? We have 6 breeder pens (8x22ft ea.) and a large run (approx. 20x60ft. Planning to use for growouts) in the works. We have two brooders planned but unsure on size they should be. Recommendations?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Rule of thumb is you'll get a good quality (breeder) bird in ten hatched. You'll get a show quality in every hundred.

Obviously mileage varies as to the quality of birds and choices made in mating. But the numbers is why many old breeders suggest you start with one breed. See how it goes before jumping in both feet with multiple breeds. Trying to do too much wont do justice to each breed and you have to get some test runs in on your facilities to see just how many birds you can max out in it.

I'm at 40 to 50 hatched a year. That's about what I can do. Building a new coop this spring and plan on that growing closer to one hundred. Pulled on a second variety but same breed this past weekend. Being the same breed allows me to cross when the need to certain attributes arise in one variety. Doing such things means a generation or two moving it back to proper variety color. But you get the idea. I'm small and after four years with one variety pulled on another of same breed. Can do this only because I'm expanding facilities this spring.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Let me put it this way. You can maintain a flock with few hatches but once it starts going south on you you must immediately put out a hundred or more to find the next breeders. You don't need to put out mass chicks every year. So in this way you could work hard on one breed and maintain others. Round robin it as to need. I'd still keep the number of breeds down at first. Honestly would not try more than two. Put some years notches on your belt and see how it goes.

Other thing to keep in mind is your going to want to hold onto best breeders for years. You'll be backcrossing to them and may need to use to pull back a needed attribute and so on. Housing of multi generations takes space. They wont always be in the breeder pen but you wont want to cull them either.

 

[Tbird84]

This is perfect information! Thank you! This will definitely help me with estimates and what to (sort of) expect.

 

[Sleepytime]

I raise as many as possible that I have the time and money to care for. The advice to do no more than 2 breeds when starting out is accurate. Learn the SOP for your breed backwards and forwards and be very critical on your choice of breeders. Although, no bird is perfect, you want to start as close as possible. Try to offset any problems in one bird by choosing a mate that is strong where the other is weak. Don't breed anything that has a defect that is severe enough to be a DQ (example: split wing or crossbeak). While color is important, work on correct body structure first. "You have to build the barn before you paint it." Keep detailed records. Mark your chicks so that you know who its parents are. You need to know your best crosses as well as those that aren't producing what you want. Feed your breeders the best you can afford and keep them as healthy as possible so that they'll have good, strong chicks. I'm strictly small time and normally hatch no more than 100 or so. I don't have as large a choice of birds that I'll show and keep as breeders. I usually end up with one that's a stand out. In my breed (modern game Bantam), I can expect 2 good seasons of egg laying from my hens before the numbers laid drop way down. Because of that, I try and hatch every egg I can from my best hens. I have several incubators-one large cabinet one if I have a lot of eggs and some small tabletops if there are only a few or if the cabinet is full. I'm sure there are more things to mention but gotta run and feed everything. I'll post more if I think of anything.

 

[Tbird84]

Thank you! I really appreciate the sage advice. I have to run and feed everything too. My old mare is snorting at the fence as I write this. Lol.

 

[Mosey2003]

As many as you can feed and house.

I had planned to try to hatch 60 this spring, but finances and time and housing constraints have me whittled down to 30. I hope to be able to single mate and see if one pairing gives something better than the others, in which case I'll run another batch come late fall.

 

[Sleepytime]

As many as you can feed and house.

I had planned to try to hatch 60 this spring, but finances and time and housing constraints have me whittled down to 30. I hope to be able to single mate and see if one pairing gives something better than the others, in which case I'll run another batch come late fall.

I know what you mean. When I bought my first pair of moderns, I got about as lucky as anyone could get. I got the pair near the end of breeding season and only hatched 3 chicks-2 males and 1 female. That lone female won 2 best of breeds and 1 reserve best of breed the next year. She became the foundation of my Birchen line. I still have her even though she no longer lays eggs. So, although you have a better chance of hatching a winner if you hatch a lot, it's not impossible to hatch a good one from a small group.

 

[Mosey2003]

That IS some luck!!! I hope to be lucky, too. Regardless, I'll get an idea of what I have going on, anyway. I hope, lol.

 

[Chickenaddition]

@Tbird84 Thanks a ton for asking this question. I too am planning for later this year to start a breeding program. I was going to start with one breed. And I was going to go small and slow as that's about as much as I can handle. I guess if I might add in a few basic questions. From how many sources would you get your starting breeding group? Or am I overthinking it on diversity of the gene pool. Sorry to hijack the thread.