The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[RedRidge]

I had a similar situation, only it is because I had one go broody.
I break up my breeding pens the first week of April no matter what, so... not enough time to really do anything.
So... unless you want to hatch well into June I simply would sell the chicks you are getting and stop there.
That's what I did. Wish I had a better solution but I'm too anal to just provide random chicks from unknown sires.

 

[RedRidge]

 


Not sure what you mean by "medium producers".  I don't have any bantams, I have LF.

I have daily laying records for 3 pens... my spreadsheats calculate automatically the productivity in each pen on a monthly basis and produce an annual report at the end of the season/year.
In Feb those three pens averaged 75% productivity... one at 71%, one at 75% and one at 77%

Note the average is 75% calculated by the computer based on average number of total hens in each pen each day - which sometimes varies.
IOW, I had one hen go broody in the 77% pen the middle of Feb and pulled her out of production - she then kindly hatched a group of fertilized Rhodebar eggs for me (I just happened to have 7 from the previous few days).    She's a good momma.

That is a higher rate of lay than I would have thought possible with a Heritage breed. Are they pullets? That is about what I get with hatchery stock. Did you have to focus on production qualities and breed them up in order to get to this point or is this in general characteristic of the Underwood line?

These are questions for Gary. These are pullets who came directly from him as day old chicks. He helped me choose my breeders and early maturity and pol was one criteria.
The remaining pullets are all in one other pen. Their average production since Jan 1st is 48%. They all leave this week. Some are very nice but I suspect a dud or two and didn't want to bother figuring out who. I used them under my RB roo for my genetic improvement program for my RB. I simply do not need their genetics any more. They have been sold as layers for 2 backyard city flocks.

 

[Fentress]

Thanks and congratulations on your birds, they sound great.

 

[RedRidge]

Well its a start. Hopefully with Gary's help I can keep them up to the level he and his family worked so hard to achieve. I have lots of chicks on the ground so. .. we'll see. Early culling is easy. It's when I get down to those final few that my confidence level wavers.

 

[Fentress]

That is where mine would waiver as well. I played around with this last year and I can confirm what others say, that the cockerels change a lot even after 6 months. That is a big problem for me, because I keep a free range flock that stays on the move, so I can't keep a lot of males hanging around or if I put them in a separtate grow out pasture, I would eventually I have to re-introduce them back to the main flock, something I have as yet not attempted.

 

[RedRidge]

Electro netting is the key to free range. I just make sure the cockerels are on a totally different pasture except when in breeding pens. Kencove had gotten plenty of my business over the years. I rotate on 50 acres and own at least 18 rolls of the stuff. Lol.
Of course I'm rotating cattle and sheep too.

 

[barncat74]

so not one person has any underwood roos/cockerels they are willing to part with?

 

[Fentress]

Electro netting is the key to free range. I just make sure the cockerels are on a totally different pasture except when in breeding pens. Kencove had gotten plenty of my business over the years. I rotate on 50 acres and own at least 18 rolls of the stuff. Lol.
Of course I'm rotating cattle and sheep too.

Premier has gotten my business, but I don't have 18 rolls! Of course, I only have 3 acres. If you don't mind some questions. If the cockerels where in sight and ear shot of the pullets would they fly over the net and leave the pasture? I assume you keep the males separate all of the time, They either are kept in a small group if they get along, kept separaately if they don't or are in breeding pens. I will only be able to breed one variety, because I woul like to keep everyone together if possible. No more than 2-3 cocks with the main flock, but management of the males I think would be tricky.

 

[CluckyJay]

Incubator is running good so far. I cannot get the humidity up though. Its stuck at 34%.

 

[CluckyJay]

The electric netting was something I wanted to try. But it needs to run on solar. I cannot seem to find enough people with personal experience running a solar netting fence to decide whether or not to invest in it.