Poultry Production Breed Selection

Small Scale Poultry Production
Breed Selection
Michael A. Davis, Ph.D.
Director – UF/IFAS Baker County Extension
March 3, 2013
‘Alternative’ Poultry Production
• Pastured Poultry
– Access to pasture daily
– Options include: open‐bottomed pen moved daily, day‐range, chicken tractor.
• Free Range Poultry
– Demonstrated to USDA that the poultry has spent at least 51% of their lives out of doors.
• Organic
– Many certifying agencies.
– Pasture, feed, processing.
Pastured
Day Range
Selecting Your Breed
• What do YOU want?
– Eggs
– Meat
– Both
– Make sure that the breed you
pick meets your needs.
• Remember that it can take up to 20
weeks for birds to sexually mature.
Hybrid or Heritage
• Hybrid – A cross of breeds.
– Usually brings the best traits of both breeds.
– Flock Uniformity
– Higher Production (Usually)
• Heritage – Older Breeds
– Adapted to more environments.
• Have more genetic variability.
– Lower feed conversion.
– http://albc‐usa.org
Hybrid or Heritage
Hybrid
• Sex‐linked
• Cornish‐Rock
• Leghorns
• Rhode Island Red
Heritage
• Wyandotte
• Buff Orpington
• Barred Rock
All breeds considered heritage must have been in existence pre‐WWII.
Selecting a breed based on egg color
Selecting a breed by Egg Color
White Eggs
Leghorns
Buttercup
Ancona
Andalusian
Hamburgs
Brown Eggs
Rhode Island Red
Rhode Island White
Buff Orpington
Plymouth Rocks
Delaware
Dominique
Wyandottes
Red Sex Links
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Source:
WHITE EGG LAYERS
What do they have in common?
White ear lobes
BROWN EGG LAYERS
What do they have in common?
Red earlobes
Ameraucanas V. Araucana
Ameraucanas: Beard and tail
Araucanas: No beard
Tuffs, no tail
Selecting a breed by Egg Color
White Eggs
Brown Eggs
Leghorns
Buttercup
Ancona
Andalusian
Hamburgs
Rhode Island Red
Rhode Island White
Buff Orpington
Plymouth Rocks
Delaware
Dominique
Wyandottes
Red Sex Links
Blue/Green Eggs
Araucana
Ameraucana
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Source:
Handy Dandy Chicken Chart
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
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Poultry Hatcheries
• Ideal Poultry Breeding Farms, Inc. (Texas)
– http://www.ideal‐poultry.com (254‐697‐6677)
• Mt. Healthy Hatcheries, Inc. (Ohio)
– http://www.mthealthy.com (800‐451‐5603)
• Murray McMurray Hatchery (Iowa)
– http://www.murrayhatchery.com/index.html
– (800‐456‐3280)
• Cackle Hatchery (Missouri)
– http://www.cacklehatchery.com (417‐532‐4581)