Dixie Rainbows

[pepe1]

I just received 20 Straight run Dixie Rainbows from Hoover Hatchery i was told they are good layers, 4 or 5 eggs a week and the Roosters reach Processing weight of 5 to 7 pounds in 12 to 16 weeks, has anyone had experience with these and how did they dress out TY

 

[CNJ]

I just processed some Cornish crosses, I got tired after 8 and stopped. I got 7 left they going on 12 weeks, I just keep putting it off, I hope you have fun with 20.

I read an old thread called Toad Raising. The person who started the thread used Dixie Rainbows to breed his own line of meat birds

Toad Raising.​

• Thread starterduluthralphie
• Start dateFeb 8, 2017

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[U_Stormcrow]

I have some Hoover Hatchery Rainbows, they came on when I swtarted my flock last year (inception date in my Sig). Contra descriptions, they were not varied birds - every one of mine looks like an NHR with some Buff Orp in the distantbackground, or some small buff Orps with some NER/NHR in the background.

Pro:

Early moderately early onset of lay, 19-22 weeks. Good sized eggs (lg, typical), frequent layers, 5 days of 7. All mine were pullets, gained weight moderately quickly, about 4.5# at 20 weeks, and have put on another pound or so since. Reasonably good free rangers, some predator awareness. I'm using them in my culling project actually, and my remaining Rainbow hens all look like crap right now, with very low egg production - molting.

Con:

Unless the males really put on weight compared to the females, I don't think you will see the promised weights - none of the offspring I've obtained from them have consistently hit those numbers. I have one over 6# at 16 weeks, most are just over 5# (but still a relatively small number of offspring to make comparisons with).

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'm going to cull another mutt today for the soup pot (almost 20 weeks), I'll see if I can't get a better picture of a Rainbow, and a weight for you.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Rainbow 2's eye is fine (clear and bright) - that's a trick of the shadows and my cell phone camera, which is not high end. The tails of both, which I didn't capture well, have a dark brown/black ring at the outer edge (2-3" ???) of the tail on their backside. It tends to be darker/more pronounced on my rainbows in the darker red tones, and much less distinct or dark on the paler toned birds.

Hope that helps!

 

[Parront]

View attachment 2812428

Rainbow 2's eye is fine (clear and bright) - that's a trick of the shadows and my cell phone camera, which is not high end. The tails of both, which I didn't capture well, have a dark brown/black ring at the outer edge (2-3" ???) of the tail on their backside. It tends to be darker/more pronounced on my rainbows in the darker red tones, and much less distinct or dark on the paler toned birds.

Hope that helps!

The film on #2 is the eyelid, they have 2, one is pretty clear and you do not see it normally when they blink with it.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

The film on #2 is the eyelid, they have 2, one is pretty clear and you do not see it normally when they blink with it.

Thanks, I didn't even think about the second eyelid. One moment the eye was cloudy and more blue, the next moment it wasn't. My poor diabetic dogs are blind w/ cataracts, so any time I see a milky eye, I'm sensitive to it... Just wanted to make clear to anyone reading along that it wasn't a sign of illness in my flock.

 

[Parront]

Thanks, I didn't even think about the second eyelid. One moment the eye was cloudy and more blue, the next moment it wasn't. My poor diabetic dogs are blind w/ cataracts, so any time I see a milky eye, I'm sensitive to it... Just wanted to make clear to anyone reading along that it wasn't a sign of illness in my flock.

In the sun the shutter speed on even a cell phone camera is faster than my old eyes. I can only see the second eyelid in a photo, even when I know it is there and try to see it! It is strange looking, but just like a human, a bird will blink for our photos!

 

[pepe1]

I have some Hoover Hatchery Rainbows, they came on when I swtarted my flock last year (inception date in my Sig). Contra descriptions, they were not varied birds - every one of mine looks like an NHR with some Buff Orp in the distantbackground, or some small buff Orps with some NER/NHR in the background.

Pro:

Early moderately early onset of lay, 19-22 weeks. Good sized eggs (lg, typical), frequent layers, 5 days of 7. All mine were pullets, gained weight moderately quickly, about 4.5# at 20 weeks, and have put on another pound or so since. Reasonably good free rangers, some predator awareness. I'm using them in my culling project actually, and my remaining Rainbow hens all look like crap right now, with very low egg production - molting.

Con:

Unless the males really put on weight compared to the females, I don't think you will see the promised weights - none of the offspring I've obtained from them have consistently hit those numbers. I have one over 6# at 16 weeks, most are just over 5# (but still a relatively small number of offspring to make comparisons with).

View attachment 2812400

TY, i was hoping to find a dual purpose breed that would rival the Cornish cross in weight in a few more weeks of growth while growing out the hens and one rooster to hatch the eggs and hopefully reproduce my own flock any suggestions on another breed

 

[U_Stormcrow]

TY, i was hoping to find a dual purpose breed that would rival the Cornish cross in weight in a few more weeks of growth while growing out the hens and one rooster to hatch the eggs and hopefully reproduce my own flock any suggestions on another breed

Yes. Lower your expectations.

CornishX are "purpose built" to be a highly efficient, extremely fast growing bird for meat production. Those traits are emphasized even to the detriment of the bird's longevity and heartiness. Commercial layers (like the various Sex Link and certain leghorn lines) have been "purpose built" to be small body mass (because they cost less to feed) frequent and early large egg producers, again at the expense of longevity - most are famed for reproductive problems in year 3+, sometimes sooner), and for significant drops in egg production after first adult molt - which is why they often become dog food, etc around that time in commercial practice.

As long as either of those are the points against which you measure, you are guaranteed disappointment.

A good dual purpose bird, if you will forgive the analogy, is a Chevy Impala Sedan. It looks like every other sedan on the road. It doesn't get great fuel economy, it doesn't accelerate like a shot, doesn't stick corners like its glued to them, doesn't brake on a dime, isn't particularly spacious or posh.

What it does do is reliably get you from place to place. Solidly "middle of pack".

What we see from hatchery stock (and a bunch of breeder stock too!) is largely "dual purpose" breeds which favor egg laying at the expense of meat production - that's the way the backyard market has tended for the last several decades. There has also been a distinct trend towards improved free ranging ability as a way to distinguish from battery raised birds.

Free rangers consume less feed, great, but are more active. That's a more flavorful, lower weight, less tender bird - which you are culling at greater age in an effort to make it what it isn't - a "CX-sized bird for the table". There has been some targetted and successful effort at putting meat back on those bones - among some breeders - but also a lot of hatchery birds of no particular exceptionalism. The "Ranger" term is as much marketting as a solid indicator of charateristics in your poultry purchase. Even going with a heritage isn't a guarantee - the Wyandotte was developed a bit more than a 100 years ago, an attempt to get something like Brahma weight, w/o the Brahma late... Its a bird that lays medium eggs maybe 3 days out of 5, is cold hearty, doesn't start laying till 5 or 6 months, and probably weighs less than 4.5# as a cockerel at week 16. And yet, it was a dual-purpose "improvement" upon what came before.

Our tastes as humans have changed a lot, too. What we now consider "tender" would be mushy by past standards, we like less gaminess and less tooth in our meals, together with greater protein.

My recommend is that you consider how much space you have, how large a flock you can reasonably support, and how many eggs you want (on average) each week. Think about your incubator. Then plan around all those things. I incubate 12 eggs every 3 weeks +/-. Assuming a 75% hatch rate, and a 50/50 split male/female I'm looking at 12 birds a month, give or take. That means I can cull six males a month for the table, if desired, while maintaining flock size and gorwing up hens for replacing those aging out. During the same month, I can, in theory, take an equal number of hens (all from 15+ months ago) who are coming into adult molt, and are now suitable only for stew, stock, or sausage. That's not enough protein for my wife and I to support our diet, but its a goodly amount.

Something like 40% of my flock is under productive age, in the process of growing up, at any given time. Either hens not yet at start of lay, or cockerels putting on table weight. Even free ranging, we have a bill around $120/month for near 500# of feed from alocal mill. I offset that with egg sales, and credit myself the costs of equivalent proteins I'm not buying at the supermarket. On that basis, its barely break even.

Now, look to my flock size in my signature. I actually have a culling project to select over time for the best "dual purpose" bird for my piece of land and management style. As expected, its going very slowly, though I have had a few early successes, I've not yet been able to capitalize on them. I've also had some major setbacks. You have to plan for those too.

Your advantage over my starting out is that things have settled down, you have choice in birds. I suggest you use some charts, like this one, this one, this one. You are looking for a breed laying large eggs, at least 260 year, early maturing to moderately early maturing, that eventually produces an adult hen over 5.5#. You want to consider your climate as well.

Once you have selected a few breeds that you think will work for you, use the Breed forums to ask about those particularly - experiences of others, best breeders/lines for those birds, etc and dial your selections in further.

What you then expect is an egg two days out of three, from hens that start laying around 20-24 weeks (18-22 if you are lucky), with cockerels in the 4.5 - 5.5# weight range around 16 weeks. None of which is worthy of writing home about - but it is achievable and sustainable. After that, you do as I do - selectively cull. Eat your smallest males, breeding the size up. Mark the hens who come into production the slowest, and don't incubate their eggs. Don't incubate small eggs.
Basically, the underperformers are consumed, the best become the "seed stock" for the next generation. Always have one productive roo and a back up, plan on replacing your top roo annually to keep some diversity in the lines.

Hope that helps.