When breeding your chickens

[Avalon1984]

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Same here- but then again I am in Michigan too

I have some purebreds but the majority of birds I see are sold as “fancy egg layers”. People want pretty birds that lay eggs fairly regularly. I sell those hens for $10 a piece and they are mostly mutts

 

[tinychicky]

it depends if your trying to make money or not. some people love the beutiful little egg laying garden ornaments mutts are, people who breed or show want good quality pure bred chickens. they are also willing to pay real money for them. if your interested in breeding for pleasure/profit get good quality pure bred stock. if you to breed once or twice just for the experience, try mutts. personally i love combining breeds just to see what the offspring will look like!

for example, here's a silkie/ rosecomb pair i bred. beautiful, excellent broody, good layer... showable? not so much. it doesn't mean people, especially those who want them for pets, wouldn't want them!

 

[CalliInTheValley]

I imagine it would have a lot to do with whether you wanted to show them, sell them, work on a blood line, etc. I like the idea of keeping a line clean, but it's fun, too, to mix it up.

 

[cat1994]

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I try to stay away from making mutts it seems there are so many all ready, I only breed for pleasure so and the only place I every sell my birds is at my local poultry swap. Some people there show their birds and they seem to appreciate the pure breeds, I am aiming for them, I get about 10$ for hens and 5$ for roos when selling to them, the ones that don't really care about the pure breeds are usually looking for any bird that lays good, is hardy, has some good meat, and can survive with no special care, I only have to make a few bargains for them to buy b/c my birds fit this list well.

 

[sunnyok7]

I haven't had very good luck selling mutts. I can sell purebreds pretty fast in my area.

 

[pinkyglory123]

The only breeding I did hatch two eggs out of my mixed flock and Easter Egger rooster. 100 percent pullets! One out of my New Hampshire hen and one out of an Easter Egger hen. EE mom lays nice mint green eggs, daughter is a true olive egger. Otherwise I purchase hatchery chicks for free ranging. I do also purchase eggs of rarer breeds to hatch under broodys maybe once a year. "Although I have had some really nice hatchery birds which actually won at large shows in general the differance in quality between hatchery and eggs hatched from breeders is big. The breeder birds are higher quality in general. I will always hatch out some EEs because people go nuts over their eggs. I don't think I would mix otherwise-although I have seen some adorable silkie and frizzle mixes at auction that I was tempted to buy.

 

[cybercat]

Pure breeds sell better than mutts. Why do you think people buy from hatcheries. It is so they can get the breeds they want. You can ask more if you are breeding up to their SOP. If you are just mass producing then they cost about the same as mutts.

 

[kfacres]

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I hate to tell you, but this makes very little sense to me... What do you think "breeding up to their SOP" means-- it means they are crossed with something else, or along the way lost their 'true' breed type.

Most hatchery chicks, are in fact, unpure in blood... Actually, most specialty chicks from breeders-- are also unpure of blood. How do you think these breeds with 10 varieties and colors came about? A few times it's hidden genetics and mutations... but most of the time, it's cuz they stuck some other breed in there- just for feather color and have bred the type and body back to acceptable SOP...

Wake up and smell the roses...

 

[A.T. Hagan]

There are no wrong answers here. Only answers that may not fit your needs. Which you won't know if they do or not until you decide what you want to accomplish with your breeding projects. Some folks are fanciers more concerned about achieving a particular look, others have more practical considerations that make rate of lay, rate of growth, and so on more important than getting a just-so shade or pattern. Still others want to try to achieve the best of both worlds.

First figure out what you want then you will know your answer.

 

[cybercat]

Quote:
I hate to tell you, but this makes very little sense to me... What do you think "breeding up to their SOP" means-- it means they are crossed with something else, or along the way lost their 'true' breed type.

Most hatchery chicks, are in fact, unpure in blood... Actually, most specialty chicks from breeders-- are also unpure of blood. How do you think these breeds with 10 varieties and colors came about? A few times it's hidden genetics and mutations... but most of the time, it's cuz they stuck some other breed in there- just for feather color and have bred the type and body back to acceptable SOP...

Wake up and smell the roses...

Breeding up to their SOP means breeding up to their STANDARD OF PERFECTION. Which is meant for showing. Most hatcheriy chicks are not unpure if they were they would not look like there breed. They are just not bred up to their standard instead let to bred with faults and all. It is true that some hatcheries like the 2 biggies will have breeders that are mixing. But this is not how one gets chickens to look like a breed.

As a breeder and a good one I breed up to the Standard culling out faults in the bred. A producer breeder leaves them in for all he wants to do is sell chicks. Hatcheries are producer breeders though some do buy from good breeders. This I know for a fact, it is why hatcheries have breeder contracts. I am not saying you will get good quality breeders chicks from them. Ofcourse not for these breeders are selling to make money also and it is there extras they are getting rid of. It is a way they can help pay for their hobby. It is done belive me I know a few breeders that do it. It is just not talked about since those in the Know already know who it is. BTW it is not looked down on either.