The Plymouth Rock Breeders thread

[Fred's Hens]

Jill, don't just wish you could squish those two together, taking the best of this on and the best of that one? hahahaha

 

[uphilljill]

Yes, please! Lol

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Jill, don't just wish you could squish those two together, taking the best of this on and the best of that one? hahahaha

Ah what fun would that be??!! He'd be on Champion Row this fall and Jill would have nothing to work on.....

 

[Fred's Hens]

This is Alpha1, the sire of your # 7 at just about that age.
See any resemblance?

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

This is Alpha1, the sire of your # 7 at just about that age.
See any resemblance?

Da yum......is her boy a "spittin image of daddy or what??!!"

 

[Fred's Hens]

Jill's pullet





One of these two hens is the dam. Sorry, cannot tell you which. If I had to guess, the one on the right.

 

[uphilljill]

Love the family photos! Remarkable resemblances! Thx for sharing

 

[Fred's Hens]

So, let's just say Jill ends the year with her chosen pullet and her alpha cockerel and beta cockerel. How many chicks can she realistically even expect to hatch? Isn't this a dismal prospect altogether? No. And here's why it isn't dismal. Ok, while we're hip deep in Barred Rocks, we do breed another line of Reds and we are almost no better off with breeders, good, select breeders than Jill is with the Rocks. But we've got a plan.

Single pair mating. One pullet, one cockerel. That pullet is expected to lay 20-22 eggs in the month of February. (lighting assumed). Obviously, with just one incubator, Jill won't be able to save eggs for a month. But she can save them for 11 days if she keeps them at 48-55 degrees, like in an attached garage or root cellar. Se can put potentially 9 or 10 eggs into an incubator. Stagger another 11 days and start a second incubator with 9 or 10 more fertile eggs. By running two incubators, and assuming a conservative 60% hatch rate, Jill can hatch a dozen chicks in February and a dozen chicks in March and a dozen chicks in April for a total of 36 chicks on the ground before calling it quits for the season. She could use her alpha in February, her beta in March and go back to her alpha for April. 36 chicks. Very realistic.

We'll be doing virtually this same program. I think putting 30-36 chicks on the ground is a solid and realistic goal.

 

[cbnovick]

So, let's just say Jill ends the year with her chosen pullet and her alpha cockerel and beta cockerel. How many chicks can she realistically even expect to hatch? Isn't this a dismal prospect altogether? No. And here's why it isn't dismal. Ok, while we're hip deep in Barred Rocks, we do breed another line of Reds and we are almost no better off with breeders, good, select breeders than Jill is with the Rocks. But we've got a plan.

Single pair mating. One pullet, one cockerel. That pullet is expected to lay 20-22 eggs in the month of February. (lighting assumed). Obviously, with just one incubator, Jill won't be able to save eggs for a month. But she can save them for 11 days if she keeps them at 48-55 degrees, like in an attached garage or root cellar. Se can put potentially 9 or 10 eggs into an incubator. Stagger another 11 days and start a second incubator with 9 or 10 more fertile eggs. By running two incubators, and assuming a conservative 60% hatch rate, Jill can hatch a dozen chicks in February and a dozen chicks in March and a dozen chicks in April for a total of 36 chicks on the ground before calling it quits for the season. She could use her alpha in February, her beta in March and go back to her alpha for April. 36 chicks. Very realistic.

We'll be doing virtually this same program. I think putting 30-36 chicks on the ground is a solid and realistic goal.

Fred, that sounds like a nice plan....it is definitely a must IMHO to have an incubator and a hatcher.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Fred, that sounds like a nice plan....it is definitely a must IMHO to have an incubator and a hatcher.

You are so right, Cindy. We're not going to invest in a big sportsman model or anything like that. We've got 3 Brinsea to incubate in and will have a roomy, clear top Hovabator or similar to hatch in this year. No more hatching in the Brinsea.