Where to Get Large Birds

[3KillerBs]

One thing I've noticed with hatchery stock. If you get 15 to 20 cockerels of the same breed from a hatchery (I have) there will be a big difference in the best and the worst. I haven't tried breeder stock when they are breeding for size (I have for other reasons) but you will see some difference in them too. If you do go for a specific breed, don't just get one or two. Get a few so you can select the best to breed and eat the others. Even the rejects from a breeder's flock will probably be better than the best from a hatchery as long as that breeder is breeding for size and they know what they are doing.

*nods*

I had 5 Blue Australorp cockerels to choose from.

1 was awful -- skinny, gawky, and not built like an Australorp at all.

2 were ordinary -- looking about like you'd expect from a hatchery Australorp.

1 was fairly decent --the biggest of the bunch with OK coloring and reasonable conformation.

1 was superior (see my avatar) -- big, wide, as close to proper conformation as a hatchery bird is ever likely to get, and with better coloring and lacing than the birds in the hatchery catalog photos.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I would like to get a few large birds, to potentially use in meat crosses in the future. I ordered Bielefelters last year. The breed is suppose to produce 12 pound roosters. I don't think mine would go 8 pounds he is no bigger than my marans. I get it, hatcheries want to raise smaller birds for economy. I don't believe any of the hatchery posted weights. I want a few birds in the 10 to 12 pound range. Has anyone been able to get birds this size? If so where.

My Asian black pair from hovers are large. Especially my boy. I haven't officially weighed him, but he's probably between 10 and 12 pounds. And he makes super chunky babies

 

[Hamburg]

Don't put much faith in any weights posted by hatcheries. I doubt very many of them weigh their own birds. Instead a lot of them that do post weights seem to use the SOP weights, the weights breeders shoot for when showing the birds. Those show birds are specifically bred to be that big plus they are fed a special rich diet to get them to grow that big.

Even if you fed a hatchery bird that diet, they are unlikely to reach those weights. The hatcheries are not into producing show quality birds, they are mass producing birds that somewhat look like the breeds and colors they are supposed to be. Some hatcheries are better than others. If you want the biggest birds of a breed you need to get them from a breeder that is specifically breeding for that size trait. Breeding for that is hard expensive work. If you find some of those you'll see the difference in price for the hatchery mass-produced birds versus some that a breeder put a lot of work into. The better stock you start with the better your flock will be.

One thing I've noticed with hatchery stock. If you get 15 to 20 cockerels of the same breed from a hatchery (I have) there will be a big difference in the best and the worst. I haven't tried breeder stock when they are breeding for size (I have for other reasons) but you will see some difference in them too. If you do go for a specific breed, don't just get one or two. Get a few so you can select the best to breed and eat the others. Even the rejects from a breeder's flock will probably be better than the best from a hatchery as long as that breeder is breeding for size and they know what they are doing.


To me breed doesn't mean that much unless you know what flock they came from, whether it is a hatchery or breeder. I don't raise Bielefelders but did a little searching online. I found a few sites that say the roosters can get to 10 to 12 pounds. I also found some that said the roosters are 7 to 9 pounds. The German SOP (where they were created) quoted 3 to 4 KG, which means 7 to 9 pounds. Maybe there is a flock out there somewhere that has Bielefelder roosters that weight 12 pounds but I think yours probably did all he could. It also sounds like you only had one. Did you get a good one or a bad one?

If you are going to go this route, talk to the people where the rooster is coming from. See if they can convince you what size to actually expect.

yes, I only purchased one. I would have to say I got a poor one. I won't hatch any eggs from his hens. Seems to be genetically lacking. Double spur on one leg and what I think they call vulture beak. his upper beak grows out and hooks over his lower beak. I have had to trim it once already. The best I can say about him is he is calm and protective of his hens. I have emailed hatcheries to ask about the size of the stock they either don't respond or refer me to their stated weights which I know are wrong.

 

[Hamburg]

*nods*

I had 5 Blue Australorp cockerels to choose from.

1 was awful -- skinny, gawky, and not built like an Australorp at all.

2 were ordinary -- looking about like you'd expect from a hatchery Australorp.

1 was fairly decent --the biggest of the bunch with OK coloring and reasonable conformation.

1 was superior (see my avatar) -- big, wide, as close to proper conformation as a hatchery bird is ever likely to get, and with better coloring and lacing than the birds in the hatchery catalog photos.

Great looking roo. Thank you for your comments. I expect I am going to have to go through a lot of birds to get what I want.

 

[Hamburg]

My Asian black pair from hovers are large. Especially my boy. I haven't officially weighed him, but he's probably between 10 and 12 pounds. And he makes super chunky babies

I will check them out. Thank you.