Egg and meat production in poultry

[Beekissed]

Thought I'd start a thread about goals for a homestead flock...at least, my goals, and I assume the goals for many who are trying to produce food on the homestead. Chickens are a big part of that here, as they are our only livestock right now.

Last year I didn't keep track of egg numbers, though I wish I had. This flock has been my most productive flock thus far in 40+ yrs of keeping chickens, not to mention they also stopped in the spring~at least some of them~to produce some meat and flock replacements. My hatch rate was dismal this past year but I think I may have found the problem and it shouldn't affect next year's hatch.

My new pullets(3 pullets of mixed breed produced in this spring's hatches)are starting to lay and it's right on time for them~before, on or right after the 6 mo. mark. That's the timeline I shoot for in my flocks for maturity in hens....anything more and one is feeding a hen that is not producing when others are, which already makes her a cull. Why feed a hen that is slow to produce when you can breed and keep hens that produce at the normal time?

On the other hand, I wouldn't want a precocious producer that starts at 4-5 mo. either, as they tend to burn out earlier in their laying life and not just by those months but by years. That's why most breeders shoot for that magic 6 mo. POL, as it seems to indicate that hen will be a good and steady layer for a long time...at least, that's the theory. I'm sure results may vary.

Anyhoo, one has to shoot for some kind of standard when wanting to keep good production rates, be it in eggs or meat, so it may as well be that average POL age of 6 mo. The predominate breed in my flock is White Rock and all the mixes are from my WR male and my WRs all seem to hit that mark of 6 mo., though I've heard from WR breeders of their birds not quite making that average and maturing later at 7-9 mo.

So far, a full third of my flock are resuming laying, which is rather remarkable for me, even with new pullets coming into POL, and that number seems to increase each day this week. Usually my flock will take a bit of a break from molt to mid to late Dec. and then resume laying. One of the hens who have resumed is 6 yr. old, so not too shabby for an old lady.

As of yesterday and today, I'm getting 6 eggs per day and that may increase as time goes along. I had saved back eggs from August, Sept, and Oct before the flock went on hiatus, but now I need to start purging those eggs out to family to make room for the influx of fresh eggs...who knew? I'm happy about it, but it sure was unexpected this soon.

As spring rolls around, I'll document hatches for meat and flock replacement here and hope to hear from everyone else on the same.

What methods do you use to keep production up~breed selection, breeding for certain traits, culling for certain traits or trends, feeding for production, a holistic approach encompassing many methods, etc.?

 

[Beekissed]

I'm not a bit like the dedicated breeders out there, though I had sorta, kinda had a knee jerk start in doing so, I quickly found it it didn't suit my style of life nor my style of flock tending.

Now I do what I've always done....keep the best rooster and hens in the flock, breed those, cull out those that don't lay like I expect nor have the conformation I'm looking for. All the breeders call that flock breeding and say it yields spotty results that you can't really duplicate because you don't know what hen produced the best of the best, but I figure if I keep doing it I'll end up with the best of the best that I can produce here and that's good enough for me.

That means I'll be getting the highest egg performance and the biggest meat yields, while the WRs still resemble the standard of the breed, which is enough for me. Anything more than that is just too much work and fussing about for my needs.

A lot of good chicken genetics can come from an old lady and a single chicken flock, so you all wanting to create your own chicken for meat and eggs could go down history like Nettie Metcalf and her Buckeyes....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckeye_chicken

The Buckeye was first bred and developed in 1896, by a Warren, Ohio resident named Nettie Metcalf.[5] They are the only American breed of chicken known to have been developed by a woman, despite the fact that women were customarily given charge of the household poultry flock throughout much of U.S. history.[6] Metcalf crossbred Barred Plymouth Rocks, Buff Cochins, and some black breasted red games to produce the Buckeye. Her goal was a functional breed that could produce well in the bitter Midwest winters. Contrary to popular belief the Buckeye breed was created before the Rhode Island Red breed and Metcalf actually sent birds to the RIR breeders for them to improve their breed.[7]

 

[NH Homesteader]

I feel the same way. But my husband finds it fun to mess with breeds and hey, in the meantime everyone we cull is edible!

 

[Beekissed]

Most people feel like a bird with a peacomb makes it winter hardy but that's a huge misconception. It only means their comb is not likely to get frostbitten and that's all. We get temps to teens below here a couple of times a year, though it's not sustained for long like you folks up north, but the large, fleshy combs of the WR rooster never get frosted due to how the coop is set up and preventative measures on his skin.

Winter hardy is more than just a comb, it's feather depth/quality and down loft, it's how they store fat~most breeds store it internally, if at all~but those that store a layer under the skin are much like animals that store blubber to keep warm..they keep warmer, lay in the winter and consume less to stay warm.

This 5 yr old WR hen had been eating foraged feed almost entirely, with just a few mouths of supplemental feed each day(1 and 1/2 c. per day for 14 chickens to share) but she still packed on enormous fat stores under the skin, on her carcass, in her abdomen, etc. And, to my surprise, the roosters of this breed do this type of fat storage in the fall also....that shocked me, as I've killed a lot of roosters in my day without once having seen fat stores like you'd find on an old hen, but I'm seeing it in these WR cockerels and WR mix cockerels at butcher time.

And, even more wonderful in this breed, that fat is also marbled throughout the meat, giving it extra flavor, moistness, tenderness upon eating.

You can see the golden color of the meat in this half carcass of a WR hen compared to the meat of the whole RIR rooster carcass....that's tiny fat cells throughout the meat.

It also has to do with metabolic rates...a slower metabolism tolerates cold better, a high metabolism not so much. A lot of good DP breeds have been bred away from that due to hatchery focus on quick and high production in the DP breeds, which was never their focus.

It's also a set of behaviors wherein they know how to flock better~huddle closer on the roost, how to tuck their heads under their wings in severe cold, how to keep their toes covered on the roosts, how to remain calm and conserve heat during the day, etc.

Invariably when cold hardiness is discussed on BYC, people always discuss combs and that's about it. If that were the only consideration a person could just dub the rooster's combs and wattles while they were young and stick with their chosen breed. Cold hardiness is about so much more than comb size, just like with us humans~it's about your metabolic rate, your body fat, the warmth of your clothing and also your survival skills.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Last time I processed, I did so in my laundry room, over the laundry sink. I lined the walls around the sink with a plastic trash bag taped to the walls, made a killing cone out of a heavy (wood pellet) plastic bag. Stapled it into a cone and hung it from a shelf bracket over the sink. That cone was nice and deep, as well as conforming well to the shape of the bird. Never used a cone before. Made the job infinitely more manageable. Set an upside down dish strainer in the sink to raise the height of the bird as I worked on it, and to allow the water and gunk to freely drain. I found that my tap water was plenty hot enough for the scald! (hot water tank was about 8' away) Easiest set up and clean up ever. And, no matter the time of year, I could process without being pestered with flies/yellow jackets, or frozen fingers.

I live on a little dead end road, with my yard visible to road traffic as well as surrounding houses, so... processing in the laundry room allows me to do so without feeling like I'm on public display. I imagine all the folks who think their meat magically appears in little cello packages don't like being confronted with reality.

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, where do you order your WR?

My original set came from MPC back in '08, so haven't ordered chicks since then....will likely look into Ideal and McM when I order. Haven't made up my mind yet.

I won't say I love to cull but I love the results of the culling each year....gives me a high rate of laying over the years as the best are kept for breeding/hatching and I'm not feeding a lot of no hopers. Plus, it's good, delicious and clean meat for us to eat.

This current strain of chickens I've been breeding and culling these past several years have been the best layers I've ever had in 40 years. Every year I'm astounded of how many eggs I'm getting while others are not, which is good payment for the efforts of consistent annual or bi-annual culling.

 

[BarredBuff]

I agree....and that's already happening here. Went one week, saw asparagus and rhubarb and such at Rural King~both things that most folks don't plant around here, so I figured I'd have time to pick some up. Nope, the following week they were cleaned out. Found the same thing at TSC, though, and was able to get my already planned amount of both to plant this spring. Those are among the few things I'm planting this year as I'm moving more towards perennials, root crops, etc. Don't know if those folks know you can't really get a harvest off either of those plants the first year or so and neither lends itself to storing except the rhubarb, but that requires a lot of sugar and then you can only eat it a few ways. Not a good plant for those wanting to get food this year.

Folks are also walking around the bedding plants already out and for sale~mostly brassicas and herbs~and I can see the thoughts going round and round. Most will buy what they think they will eat first,~cabbage, mostly~ but soon everything will be bought up and anyone with a patch of sunlight available will be trying to grow a little pot of food.

For anyone currently panic gardening and you want to make the best of your money, efforts, and for sheer storage and optimal calorie and mineral content~as well as ease of planting~potatoes are your best bet. They are easy to grow and yield the most and can be utilized in more ways in the diet than most anything else, while being able to store them without any method of preservation. They are cheap to get~right now, though that will change REAL soon, if you can even find them at all and, if you can get your hands on some hay, grass clippings, straw, etc., you don't even have to till deeply to get them planted.

You can store potatoes right in a hole in the ground....dig it deep, line it with straw and leave a top on it that allows you to access the hole, but you can place a straw/hay bale on top of the topper to further insulate the space. Has the same storage capabilities as a cellar as long as you didn't dig it in a place that holds ground water. The potatoes stored this way come out crisp and sweet clear up until spring.

But, you are correct, BB....takes a learning curve and many have laughed that off for years, saying they can do it if "they have to". In other words, any dummy can garden, farm, etc., so why not them? Same with raising chickens, sheep, hogs, rabbits, etc....folks think you can just get an animal, feed and water it, and it's all good. I have family with just that mindset....never paused a single second in all their lives to study up on what they planned to do "some day" and now some day has rushed right through the door and they want to get some chickens and such.

There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth on that issue, I do believe, as their best efforts to keep things alive isn't successful.

Any person that understands homesteading at all will realize that we are all together dependent on God's provisions anyway. I can't make it rain, or make it dry up. I can't make the sunshine. I can work hard and smart and do my part, but the increase comes from heaven.

I've already purchased my seed taters for the year. I agree with you. Potatoes are your best bet for a strong garden and full pantry. You can eat them at any meal, and require little effort to preserve. In my mind, the backbone of a good garden will always be: potatoes, carrots, onions, beans, tomatoes, winter squash, sweet potatoes, and corn. You can make any meal with a tomato or a potato. The only thing that is heavy with preservation is tomatoes, but they are a staple of a good pantry.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm amazed at the panic buying of chicks and chickens right now....feed stores cleaned out as soon as they get them, ads on FB for ISO chickens, particularly POL chickens and they want them right now...and are driving long distances to get them.

I wonder if these folks know they have to house, care for and feed these chickens, as well as have a way to protect them from predators....or other people.

I predict a lot of dead chicks and chickens and a lot of disappointed people.

 

[BarredBuff]

Bee, you hit the nail on the head. The same will happen in a month with garden plants, and seeds. I have heard folks remark throughout my life that "if it gets bad, I'll start a garden". Gardening is much more complicated than that and requires a persistent development of the land, techniques, and management practices.

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, it's sad. Truly sad... I'm on a homesteading FB page, and it's truly amazing at just how ignorant people are about how to be self sufficient in any way, shape, or manner! Many of these folks are simply pretending. Thinking that talking about it will suddenly transform them into experts.

Been listening to that for many a long year on all forums. The saddest part? That they actually believe in self sufficiency! We are not sufficient unto ourselves in any way, no matter how many material goods, skills or ways of growing food, getting fuel or anything else this Earth has taught us to trust in. Not because we just can't get away from needing such things, but because we were never meant to be "self" sufficient...we were to depend firstly and solely upon God, from Whom all blessings flow.