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by Wayne Smith
copyright © 2002
If you decide to breed your own poultry there are some
things you should consider.
The first thing is to decide on what type of bird to
raise. Many people that are just starting make one or
two of what I consider common mistakes in selecting the
birds to breed.
Common Mistakes:
Please remember that these are my own opinions and that
views of other breeders may very.
SELECTING A BREED:
There is no point in breeding birds of mixed ancestry
unless you have a specific end in mind such as creating
a new strain or breed of poultry or you are breeding for
the pot only. With this in mind select a pure bread that
you like and suits a particular need you have like egg
production, meat, showing or a combination of two or more
traits.
A word of caution, the chickens that are used by commercial
meat growers do not make good candidates for the breeding
pen, as they are hybrids and do not breed true to type.
The same is true of many egg layers also.
CULLING YOUR FLOCK:
Having decided upon a breed of poultry, you must now
acquire the best specimens that meet your criteria and
pocket book (not always in that order). If you are
selecting for meat you will want the fastest growing
birds that will finish at the weight you desire. If you
want egg producers then you will select for the best
layers. Whether you are buying new stock from someone
else or selecting a breeder from your own flock it is
important to select the healthiest most vigorous birds
available.
In breeding and line breeding are not the demons they
are sometimes made out to be, as long as new blood is
brought in now and then and the culling of the offspring
is done with great care and no emotion. I would go so
far as to say culling must be done ruthlessly. You do
not help a breed nor meet your personal goals if you
produce a bird with perfect plumage but no resistance to
disease, or a bird that grows fast on little feed but
can't walk or dies of a heart attack before it matures
enough to be useful. Worse yet is to breed a bird, which
you have become emotionally attached to because it was
weak at hatching and required special attention for the
first few weeks of it's life. If you like, do keep this
bird around as a pet, just don't use it for breeding.
BREEDING:
There are two basic methods of breeding poultry. They
are flock breeding and pen breeding.
In flock breeding the birds are kept in one large
enclosure at a ratio of about ten hens to each male, and
any male may breed any female in the group (pecking order
will come into play here). This method works well when
the goal is to increase the number of eggs or the amount
of meat produced.
With pen breeding a male is allowed only to breed the hen
or group of hens in his pen and he would be the only male
to breed these hens. The birds in these pens are
carefully selected to complement each other, so the
maximum improvement is made. This method is used more
often with show birds to improve the genotype of
specific individuals.
Whichever method you choose the selection of the breeding
stock is of utmost importance. I cannot over emphasize
the importance of good culling practices.
HATCHING EGGS:
It is not my intention here to give details of hatching eggs
either with an incubater, or a broody hen. I will review some
often neglected, but important matters that often effect
hatching. For information on using brood hens see my article
"Handling Broodies"
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FLOCK CARE:
Hatching eggs may be done either by natural means
(setting Hens) or with the use of an incubator. Which
ever way you choose to hatch your eggs you must start
with strong well nourished breeding stock or poor hatches
will result.
Good nutrition is a must if you are to have healthy
strong young. Many problems with weak unthrifty babies
can be traced to a breeding flock with a poor diet. I
like to free range my breeders (it's cheaper) and
supplement the diet with scratch grain (50% wheat,
35% corn, 15% rolled oats). If the birds have access to a
large enough range they will have enough variety in their
diet to supply all the protein and vitamins they require.
A draw back to this is that it can be a challenge to find
their eggs, as some poultry are very adept at hiding
their nests. You must also make sure that only the cock
birds you desire get near your breeding hens. If free
ranging is not for you then a good breeding ration fed
in confinement will work well. Be sure to use a breeding
ration instead of one designed for layers.
The layer ration will give you lots of eggs but a breeder ration will give you healthier babies. I have no expertise in formulating rations so I depend on the local feed mill for advice in this area.
It is a good idea to put the breeding flock together
a month before the season, and start them on their
special ration at that time. In this way they will be in
prime condition when the laying starts.
EGG CARE:
Eggs must be collected every day and if possible two or
even three times daily. This will prevent damage to the
eggs and will also insure that they don't get soiled.
After collecting the eggs inspect them and remove any
damaged or misshapen ones. If any are dirty you may
remove the dirt with a damp cloth if possible, if this
is not possible remove the egg from those to be hatched.
The sooner these eggs are set, either in an incubator or
under a broody hen, the better, and in no wise should
they be left for more than one week. Eggs that are to be
set should be kept in a fridge or other cool place and
turned daily to keep the yoke from touching the shell,
as it will stick there making the egg useless for
hatching.
BROODING THE YOUNG:
Here again if you have used a broody hen to hatch the
eggs you may now allow her to raise the young or you may
take on that job yourself.
If the hen is to raise them it is best to keep them
confined away from tall grass especially if it is wet,
as the young become chilled easily. The mother hens will
otherwise keep them warm and teach them were the food and
water is.
If you opt to brood the young yourself as I do, then
prepare a small space with sides about 18'' high.
Corrugated cardboard works well for these sides, and can
easily be put in a circle so the birds can't bunch in a
corner and smother each other. Inside this circle place
some bedding, 4" of wood shavings work well or some
finely chopped straw. On the bedding place the feed and
water containers. For water I use the 4 L. (4 qt. in the
US) fountains with the bright coloured base. This seems
to attract the curious babies to the first drink. For
food I use a commercial starter mix made for the species
that is being raised. I use medicated starter for all my
birds except ducks, DO NOT USE MEDICATED FEED FOR DUCKS,
as the medication will kill them. I place the feed in
small metal feed troughs filled so they over flow onto
the floor. If the trough has a device to prevent the
birds from walking in the feed remove it until they are
eating well, about two or three days, then replace it.
For turkeys I place something shinny on top of the feed,
glass marbles or silver coins work well.
For heat I use a red heat lamp suspended about 18" above
the floor or at whatever level will give a 95 degree F.
temperature at floor level and out about 18" from the
light bulb. I like to use two lights in case one burns
out. Watch the chicks, if they are bunched under the
light they're too cold so lower the light, if they are
all at or near the outer edge of the brooder they are
too hot and you should raise the light. Ideally they
should be spread evenly around and chirping happily as
they go about their business.
This all sounds more complicated than it is. It is
really a matter of observing your stock and responding
to their needs. If they look healthy and content they
probably are.
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