We have a small homestead/farm in New Hampshire (US).
We have 13 laying hens we got last year and a RIR rooster ("Sam") that sired 35 RIR and RIR/PBR chicks with them this year. Those incubator-born birds are about 3 months old now. We lost four of those early on, and about 7 of the 55 total...
I placed a meat bird order of 25 mixed-breed "heavies" earlier this year that came with one "surprise" chick. I think the surprise was supposed to be [what I think was] a Red Ranger, that grew faster than all the rest (and unfortunately got attacked early on by the rest and succumbed to the...
I hatched my first batch of chicks via incubator earlier this year. We're doing this for mostly financial reasons -- including so our farm can be more self-sustaining.
I am also interested in the genetics. We started with RIR rooster and RIR + PBR hens, and I'll be selling some of the pullets...