Crossbreeding dual purpose breeds for sustainable flock

[HomesteadNowhere]

22 chicks in the brooder and 4 eggs in the incubator, not pipped. So I sorted through the chicks.

Blonde & Chipmunk stripe
(on their right leg)- x4

Blonde
(on their right leg)- x11
Red spiral bands

Feather legs, no band, all darker blonde x3

Very faint chipmunk
(on their left leg)- x4

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

The stripe ones you can easily spot in the whole group. Then I separated them and picked the most obvious blonde chick, putting the spiral bands on. Then I had four left that were a bit colored and not just blonde. If you pet the feathers against the grain you can see the color more. They are like really washed out chipmunk. Some you can kinda see how the center back is darker or a spot on the head.

The chipmunk stripe seems much lighter than the pics I'm looking at online, and as I remember from the chicks coming in last spring. Do let me know if I've confused something.

 

[Ascholten]

Not sure this is totally the right thread or not but.
Tough bird, you can chicken soup it or what I tried just to see if it'd work and it worked wonderfully.

Sous Vide, works with beef, well why not chicken. I put the pieces in a bag with spices on them, put in hot water at about 175 Degrees (poultry, wanted to be sure bugaboos were dead), let sit about 4 hours or so. Took a piece out, cut into it to make sure was done to the bone (no blood and meat very hot internally) This was so tender I was amazed.

I have a theory why but won't jack this thread with this. Just wanted to say since we are talking dual purpose, and if you need to cull an older one, can still get tender out of it !

Aaron

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

Hypothesis on chick colors..

Blondes: Ewh (from the NH sire) and Ewh from the NH/FR hens

Striped: E+ (from the Bielefelder sire) and Ewh from the NH/FR hens

Faint striped: E+ (from the Bielefelder sire) and ?? from the hens

Feather leg chicks are also blonde so we'll see what they end up like for Columbian or pencilling pattern.

It also would make sense to have mostly NH sired chicks because he seemed to be the dominant roo and would run off the Bielefelder roo from mounting hens. And I separated the Bielefelder roo so his influence would most likely wane.

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

Both boxes should be delivered on Friday!

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

Put green color on the vent of the white hen. Blue color on the vent of the NH hen.

I'm very annoyed with the hens... many are egg eaters... I have three in cages that have been caught covered in yolk. And I still have days of an egg eaten. So far it's at least been kept to one per day.

The brahmas in the other pen have not had egg eating thankfully.

I want to get a bunch of eggs hatched and then the FR hens need culled. They are getting quite fat.

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

The thermostat came on Thursday. The stuff from strombergs came today. I ordered 5 egg trays, got 4. And didn't get the aluminum bands. On the print out they are penciled in as BO, so I'm assuming on back order. I emailed them if that was the case and if they will just ship them when they get restocked.

The eggs were clean today and there's already a ton of eggs in the fridge so I started collecting for the next hatch. It's a bit early but oh well, we'll see. I plan to set on 4/7, hatch 4/27-28.
I'm writing on the eggs so I'll be able to divide the incubator with mesh to keep them straight at hatching.

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

The past 7 days of eggs...

7 brahmas. 34 eggs.
Avg 4.86 eggs/wk/bird.

10 FR, 1 NH, 1 white. 49 eggs.
Avg 4 eggs/wk/bird.

4/7 is 14 days of collection. Estimated 166 eggs I can collect if they lay at the same rate. Of course loss to cracks, egg eating, overly dirty, odd shape,...

Today I grabbed the NH roo and put him in with the brahmas. They are quite smaller than him, the fertility rate may not be great if he is having a hard time reaching them. We'll see.

I'm trying to work out how to get the Bielefelder roo with the FR hens so I can get offspring and get rid of him and his bad attitude. I started rotating the caged hens with him but it's not a sustainable plan. I think after I set these eggs I'll leave the NH roo with the brahmas and the Bielefelder roo with the FR in the shaw. Putting the NH hen and white hen in the cages.
That will give him three weeks of covering them. Then the next hatch will be biel/FR offspring. And I'll either butcher him or sell him. And butcher the FR hens. I have reason to believe there will be plenty for shmaltz...
That would leave me with 7 brahmas, 1 NH, 1 white. I still don't know what the white is supposed to be, her comb is wide and flat-ish, yellow legs. On mcmurray site doesn't match anything. Whatever she is she has the wrong comb at least, who knows.

 

[HomesteadNowhere]

Forgot to add I found out my sheep friend has some chickens. Copper maran, americana (I'm going to assume EE not ameraucana), and some others. She has a couple roos americana and bantam americana. I'm going to buy eggs from her at some point for a colored egg line to play with on the side maybe.

 

[NatJ]

I still don't know what the white is supposed to be, her comb is wide and flat-ish, yellow legs. On mcmurray site doesn't match anything. Whatever she is she has the wrong comb at least, who knows.

Could she be a White Wyandotte? White feathers, rose comb is wide and flat-ish, yellow legs, lays brown eggs.

https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/white_wyandottes.html