Chicken bald back

[jam]

Heres another silly question from me!! I have way to much free time on my hands! So here we go- am i right in thinking that siblings should not be bred, so a batch of say 6 eggs, all of which have the same parents, should not be bred together and if they were would their offspring be malformed etc.

jam

[Redwing]

You wouldnt want to sibling breed if you can get away with it, some people do it but its just not a great idea

 

Breeding back to the parents is often done though

 

Its a long slog though Jam, the quickest way to results is to buy a ready to go breeding trio, if you buy in eggs at the beginning you will be waiting a while

 

Breeding is not an easy option, chicks can die in the egg or die on hatching

 

If they hatch ok but are boys you need a plan for that situation too, plan ahead rather than worry about it when it happens as you WILL get boys

 

You also need housing for various batches of chicks

 

All things to consider

 

One option is to buy that breeding trio and sell their fertile eggs, that way you dont have to worry about the boys and have no hungry chicks to feed, if you are looking to make money thats the best way otherwise its very unlikely you will make money from breeding chickens on a small scale

[jam]

i know what you mean but the only breeding trios for sale i have found of the breed that i want (chocolate orpingtons) are way out of my budget so fertile eggs seem to be my only option, and those are still expensive. I'm just doing a bit of research atm, so nothings definate. Do you know of any major sites that sell a wide variety of chicken breeds that i could look at.

[Lewis]

If you got the chocolate orp eggs, then hatched them you shouldn't really breed from them for a year, by which time they may be a bit more common so cheaper in price.

Also, but you aren't guaranteed what you get out of the eggs.

 

I'd think spending some money on an unrelated trio of choc orps, or those which carry the gene, would be easier and quicker

[Jools]

I don't know where you live, but the biggest poultry show in the country is being held at Stafford this weekend and there's no better place to get up close and personal with just about every breed and colour of chicken!

 

For what it's worth, I think you need to cut your chicken keeping teeth on something less expensive first. They aren't without their problems and it might be better to learn with an attractive, sought after but sensibly priced breed first, particularly if you're planning to do it by hatching.

[Egluntyne]

For what it's worth, I think you need to cut your chicken keeping teeth on something less expensive first. They aren't without their problems and it might be better to learn with an attractive, sought after but sensibly priced breed first, particularly if you're planning to do it by hatching.

 

Good advice.

 

This isn't really the time of year to be considering hatching anyway, for all sorts of reasons.

[The Dogmother]

Wait until the spring and have a try then with something that's easier to rear.