Space managment with game breeds

[prariechiken]

Quote:
I'd have to disagree there. Several years ago got "asils", (use that term loosly) from a hatchery, they were far, far from the standard and were never really healthy birds (looked to be crossed with something like OEGBs or something), all culled. RIRs were nothing more than production reds at best. Cubalayas were ok, but would of needed several years of work in the pens to get them close to standard as well as them being duckwings instead of the Blue breasted reds ordered and extremely small for supposed standard size that was ordered. Moral of the story, do your research and then do some more research. Talk to actual breeders and network amongst those that have the breed(s) you are interested in raising. Remember, hatcheries may have decent birds, but they are concerned with quantity first, quality second. They don't get paid by quality of birds sent, they charge by the total sent. If you are just starting out, hatchery stock is great to learn from, but don't expect your order from a hatchery to thrust you into the winners circle as soon as the chicks are grown.... Good luck, and Cuban Longtails is a great contact to start with....

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
I'd have to disagree there. Several years ago got "asils", (use that term loosly) from a hatchery, they were far, far from the standard and were never really healthy birds (looked to be crossed with something like OEGBs or something), all culled. RIRs were nothing more than production reds at best. Cubalayas were ok, but would of needed several years of work in the pens to get them close to standard as well as them being duckwings instead of the Blue breasted reds ordered and extremely small for supposed standard size that was ordered. Moral of the story, do your research and then do some more research. Talk to actual breeders and network amongst those that have the breed(s) you are interested in raising. Remember, hatcheries may have decent birds, but they are concerned with quantity first, quality second. They don't get paid by quality of birds sent, they charge by the total sent. If you are just starting out, hatchery stock is great to learn from, but don't expect your order from a hatchery to thrust you into the winners circle as soon as the chicks are grown.... Good luck, and Cuban Longtails is a great contact to start with....

I think you missed the points that I made of the problems with disease. And that Ideal does not guarantee SQ, BUT they do guarantee that the birds are free from disease. Most backyard breeders cannot claim that. And also pointed out that many game birds are not available from hatcheries. Personally if they were I would work them up from there without fighting the diseases. The other option is buying from breeders isolating the stock, heat treating the eggs to kill off diseased eggs, and start over from there. The point I am driving home the disease that can ruin a whole flock just to get a claim of show quality to me are not worth it.

 

[prariechiken]

Most Hatcheries only test for influenza, typhoid and pullorum. That is why I emphasised doing your research when looking into birds. Would I prefer birds from a breeder who keeps great brood records, gives his/her birds plenty of room to grow and live and feeds them the best way he/she can, and culls and selects for proper traits, or do I want mass produced hatchery stock from group bred brood pens. Many hatcheries do not own their own flocks anyway, they, you guessed it, get eggs from satellite breeders who contract with them to supply eggs for hatching. How many of the "help my chicken is sick" threads on here are people who got their birds from hatcheries? I would guess most. I am not saying hatcheries are bad, I have got great birds from hatcheries in the past, just saying that getting birds from hatcheries does not guarantee that your birds will be free from disease. Thus why I said do your research, talk to the breeder, talk to the hatchery, whichever you decide to get birds from. Also, no matter who you decide to get fowl from the new birds should be isolated anyways, be they breeder or hatchery. All in all, if a person is worried about disease, get rid of your fowl if you cannot raise them in a hermetically sealed environment, because mister songbird and ol' miss canada goose that just flew over your house didn't come from one of your hatcheries....

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
Curious WHY were you buying from a hatchery? I did check your website.

 

[prariechiken]

Quote:
You said it in your question, was "curious" to see what was being offered, so mixed in a couple odds and ends to go with an order of egg layer and meat birds...

Hatchery birds are way cheaper to eat than rare Oriental gamefowl...

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
You said it in your question, was "curious" to see what was being offered, so mixed in a couple odds and ends to go with an order of egg layer and meat birds...

Hatchery birds are way cheaper to eat than rare Oriental gamefowl...

So it is OK to buy meat birds from hatcheries? But they should buy anything else from breeders like you? NICE

 

[WalkingWolf]

A Jaguar motor car is quite expensive, they are not all that reliable, though they look good. The parts are hard to find and expensive, and for a exotic motorcar the resale sucks. BUT a Jaguar dealer will never tell you that though he probably would tell you that of a Toyota car. Funny thing is Toyota's are a heck of a lot more reliable and have a better resale return. It works the same for anybody selling, I never buy from dealer who slams his competition.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

Quote:
I'll keep a note. I don't have anything available right now, but may later on.

I only have gold duckwing and wheaten right now. I'm still working on getting blues.

My piece on the hatchery cubalaya - they make pretty yard ornaments if you can get them to live. However, they are small in size. Hens will never reach the 4 lbs mark and the cocks will never reach the 6 lbs mark unless you're super lucky (sizes listed in the breed standard). Their tails are often set above horizontal, not fitting with the breed standard. The chicks do not handle the stress of shipping very well. I've ordered some (before I was really interested in the breed and started acquiring breeder stock), none made it to adulthood.

The ones I ordered were from Ideal. If you do try and get some, I'd recommend express shipping. Perhaps they'd survive, as the ones I ordered were shipped priority and were in transit for two days. They are also small chicks, bantam size nearly so I wouldn't get any heavies with the same order. On their malgache (madagascar games), they are also fragile chicks. I had one almost make it to adulthood when I lost it to predation. Again, they will not have the size or conformation that breeder quality malgache have.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

Quote:
We're not slamming hatchery birds, we're giving our honest opinions as we've had experience with both hatchery and breeder quality. If you just want something to play in your yard and have no serious intentions of breeding them to maintain the breed, then by all means go with hatchery birds.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

Quote:
Thanks!

I'm looking forward to fall, when my cubans pick up laying again and the weather cools off.