redhotchick Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Hi! I'm thinking about hatching some chicks! I tend to think about things for a while....so don't hold your breath! I'm sure I've read that there is a breed of chicken that lays eggs which are identifiable as male or female. This is sounding a bit doubtful even as I type it now... Can anyone confirm this and point me in the right direction please? Otherwise I will have to have a think about what to do with any males... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 If only! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhotchick Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 I remembered...it's the chicks that can be identified not the eggs...Duh! Cream Legbar - Autosexing Breed, brown chicks are hens and grey are cocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhotchick Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 If only! Ha ha! Yes quite! I'll do some reading up on Cream Legbars to see if they are a breed I would like to keep. I'm trying to get my head around the idea of raising and eating my own chickens. Males wouldn't be a problem then! I've avoided doing a "kill it, pluck it, eat it" course so far. I'd want to do that before hatching any eggs, to deal with the inevitable... This is why things take me so long... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 If only! Ha ha! Yes quite! I'll do some reading up on Cream Legbars to see if they are a breed I would like to keep. I'm trying to get my head around the idea of raising and eating my own chickens. Males wouldn't be a problem then! I've avoided doing a "kill it, pluck it, eat it" course so far. I'd want to do that before hatching any eggs, to deal with the inevitable... This is why things take me so long... you'll still have to 'deal' with boys if you go down the auto sexing breed route any of the breeds that end in bar are auto sexing in theory you can tell the girls from boys at hatch or just after. personally I couldn't dispatch a day old for being a boy but I can raise them up for meat birds it doesn't seem a waste that way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_21 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 yes your all right crested cream leg bars can be sexed straight from hatch boy's have a small white dot on there head and girls don't the white dot is very easy to notice. hope that helps . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 The only drawback to raising Legbars for meat is that there is not a lot of meat on them. I eat quite a few of the boys I hatch and am growing on some Legbar crosses at the moment. I wanted to hatch green egg layers and ended up with four boys and two girls. They're more of a chicken pie bird than a full on roast. My pure Legbar boy went the same way. One of the best meat birds we've had was a cuckoo Marans and they're easy to sex early on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 There are two different types of instant sexing birds Sex linked - this is where the chocks hatch different colours and the method that the big hatcheries use - one parent is genetically silver and one genetically gold - the chicks hatch yellow (boys) and amber (girls) depending on the parents these could be pure bred or a cross breed Autosexing - this is where the birds have been created with the use of the barring gene to lay eggs that hatch chicks with different patterns - the girls are usually striped in some way (think chipmunks) and the boys have a spot on their head and are an even colour. These are pure breed birds and there are various ones - Wybar (based on the Wyandotte) Welbar (based on the Welsummer) Cream Legbar (based on the Araucana) and Barnebar (based on the Barnvelder) are a few of them Its good that you are thinking about what to do with the boys but a word of caution - as someone has already said you still have to deal with the boys, I have hatched and culled an awful lot of boys over the last year but the very very worst day was when I came home from work to eight cream legbar boys still wet in the incubator - that was a heartbreaking situation to deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue-DiamondChick07 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Its good that you are thinking about what to do with the boys but a word of caution - as someone has already said you still have to deal with the boys, I have hatched and culled an awful lot of boys over the last year but the very very worst day was when I came home from work to eight cream legbar boys still wet in the incubator - that was a heartbreaking situation to deal with. Ouch!! Hopefully it wont be long before I can sex my Laced Orpington bantams... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Try to get some well bred CLB eggs I hatched 5 a couple years ago, 2 looked completely different ... were all boys. Again last year we hatched 2 and they looked completely different to each other so assumed 1 girl but could tell they were both boys after a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I keep English Cuckoo Marans, a breed which was originally for meat, and only later appreciated for the colour of their lovely eggs. (I hope any vegetarians have clicked to another thread by now) I know not all of you may approve but I keep my "boys" and raise them for meat. I think then at least they have had some life, and certainly a lot more than if I let Mr Buzzard and Mrs Sparrowhawk have their dinner before mine. They make about 5lbs in 20 weeks, and they are a true gourmet delight with a wonderful flavour. The meat is very white and fine textured and almost fat free. There is plenty of breast meat though they don't appear to be so plump as a true broiler. I often poach them overnight in the bottom of the aga, use the breast for a hot meal or sandwiches, then use the legs for casseroles, curries and other made up dishes. Apparently at about 12 weeks and they should make about 2-2.5 lbs, but I generally let them run around till the gang of boys get to be a bit too annoying for the girls. all the best Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhotchick Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 I'm trying to take in all the different comments here. Cuckoo Marans do seem like a good hatching choice - but only if I prepare myself to despatch any boys for meat. I love their chocolate brown eggs too. Then again I could buy a couple of young cuckoo Marans which were already gender identified. Being able to sex the chicks only matters if I buy chicks, instead of hatching eggs myself - buying auto sexed or sex linked chicks could be an option, it restricts my choice, but Marans or Cream Legbars are appealing. I might be moving house this year - I'll have to see what my future set up may be before deciding...it could be next year before I get any more chickens! I did say I think about things for a long time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 What ever breed you chose if you hatch eggs be males included, and it is a case of whether you destroy the boys at birth or within a week or two as soon as they can be identified, or if you have chosen a dual purpose meat&eggs breed then you have the option of raising them for meat giving them a few months of life, and probably far more than they would have in naturaly circumstances where prey birds and animals will eat them If you buy from a reputable breeder and they are sold as pullets you wont have this problem to deal with. All the best Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madchook Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 If I do CL's again I will be culling at hatch, not nice no, but easier than waiting until they get inbetweeny stage that I am not confident to dispatch. I have raised a couple of boys so far and they have nothing on them at all meatwise. Last yr I also hatched cuckoo marans and have eaten 2 of the boys so far (they are sooo big the legs wouldn't fit in my stew pot!). I would have liked to have grown them on longer but they both suddenly got very aggressive. The third boy, Boris, is enormous and was kept as the layers man, but his days may be numbered. Turns out his 'nice' personality was actually slower development, even though he had been treading and doodling a while, he has suddenly started attacking the kids. He is great with me, and I love his presence in the garden as he runs to the gate when he hears people coming -he flies out the pen when he feels like it (yesterday he chased some JW's I was too polite to not get into a conversation with!) . I don't know if they are normally so aggressive, and as I said, it is only around little people it seems but all 3 did it, but I am very cautious now as his brother got my dd's face, right by her eye. Hopefully a good wing clipping will save him this yr, I would love to cross him with one of my blueys when /if they come back into lay. I did some other sexlinked ones, welsummer x something on ebay - only boys hatched but they are big dopey softies that grew quickly and were easy to sex. I think they came up searching for sex-linked hatching eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Last yr I also hatched cuckoo marans and have eaten 2 of the boys so far (they are sooo big the legs wouldn't fit in my stew pot!). I would have liked to have grown them on longer but they both suddenly got very aggressive. . Hi - All this is down to the strain rather than the breed It's like - why do hybird layers need to be beak trimmed? - Because they are bred for egg laying, and no one cares if they peck each other to death because they will just have their beaks cut or beak bumpers fitted. I will not tolerate any aggression in my cockerels, so my birds are all calm and placid. You need to check what you are buying by talking with the breeder before purchasing. If they are reliable and reputable breeders they will be happy to discuss their birds with you. All the best Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chestnutmare Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Are cuckoo marans good egg layers? Do they tend to go broody often? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 They can be very poor layers, and they can be excessively (though very good) broodies Again it is down to the strain. I think the utility value of chickens is MOST important - hence in my line I have concentrated on egg numbers as well as other qualities, and I never breed from a broody, so over the years I have increased the egg laying propensities, and decreased the broodiness. I think people are forgetting how important the strain is - a breed gives the general looks the strain give the refinement to this All the best Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chestnutmare Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 I think I understand what you mean by 'strain' it's like a breed of horse, for example - some bloodlines of a pure breed are known to be more spirited than others, so two horses of the same breed can have completely different looks and temperament. Right? Are yours good layers then, Sue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Yes - exactly that And yes - egg laying ability is one of the things I have bred for over the years. Last year my best layer (also the darkest shell colour) was laying 6 and 7 eggs a week for weeks on end. But of course a large fluffy dual purpose traditional breed can never hope to compete with a commercial hybrid for quantities of eggs produced, where the very best will produce over 300 eggs a year. On the plus side the traditional breeds will often keep going and still laying eggs for years, whereas the hybrids can "lay themselves out" in a couple of years, simply because of the amount of eggs they have laid in that time, and the toll it has taken on their health. All the best Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
