Author Topic: Weight vs. \"filled out\"  (Read 5355 times)

Beth C

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« on: September 25, 2011, 01:53:39 PM »
Recently I had someone (not familiar with this breed) tell me my young birds were \"not as filled out as they should be for their age.\" By weight they seem to be in normal range, except for the lavenders, which run small to begin with. They are fed free choice, wormed monthly, and sprayed for bugs, but their keel bones are quite prominent. Even the cockerels I plan to butcher, which are confined to small cages & fed heavily, don\'t have much meat on them. I know that birds bred for egg production tend to be very lean, and birds bred for meat have a lot of flesh, but since Ameraucanas are considered dual purpose, where do they fall?

greeneggsandham

  • ABC Members
  • Colleague
  • *
  • Posts: 277
    • View Profile
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #1 on: September 25, 2011, 03:01:26 PM »
Hey Beth, I don\'t know where they fall, but I have noticed the same keel problem with my birds also.  I have noticed my young pullets tend to fill out better and sooner in the breast than my cockerals, but even they tend to lose it after a year.  Also, it tends to be more pronounced in some of my blacks.  And it doesn\'t seem to matter whether they are penned or not.  Now, I did read an interesting post somewhere that mentioned that prominent keels tend to coincide with pea combs.  Don\'t know if there is anything to that or not.  
Sharon
Hubby rues the day he brought the chicks home...

Mike Gilbert

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #2 on: September 25, 2011, 04:32:05 PM »
Cornish have pea combs, and I don\'t think they have a problem with their keel bones, at least not as far as fleshing out.   It\'s one more thing to breed for . . . and the list goes on.

Russ

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2011, 07:18:33 PM »
I know I am still green, but I noticed when I had a couple rejects butchered from two different Breeders. Both cockerels being the same age one was double the size dressed out. Even the ones I kept for breeders you can still tell the difference in chest and overall size. I hope to use the size to improve what I have. Thats what makes this fun always something to work on.

Jess

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2011, 08:10:23 PM »
Evening,
Is there a penalty for overweight Cocks and Hens?
I have some Cocks that will go over 7 Lbs.
Thanks
Jess

Mike Gilbert

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2011, 08:49:08 PM »
The A.P.A. allows up to a 20 percent deviation from standard weight before they are disqualified.   In actual practice, they are practically never weighed at a show by judges.  Since standard weight for a cock is 6 1/2 lbs, they could go up to 7.8 lbs or down to as little as 5.2 lbs before being disqualified.
Now can you imagine a 5.2 lb. bird going up against a 7.8 lb. bird right next to him in a show?  It\'s a ridiculous rule in my opinion (and you have probably noticed by now I seem to have a lot of them - it\'s what grumpy old men do).  

dixieland

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #6 on: September 25, 2011, 11:48:05 PM »
Quote from: Mike Gilbert
... in my opinion (and you have probably noticed by now I seem to have a lot of them - it\'s what grumpy old men do).  


This is, no doubt ,the best quote I have seen in ages! Thanks for the chuckle!

Beth C

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2011, 10:53:47 AM »
Mike: I\'ve danced around with passive-aggressive types enough to find someone who plainly states their opinion quite refreshing.

NGaAmeraucana

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2011, 08:07:45 PM »
Quote
Now can you imagine a 5.2 lb. bird going up against a 7.8 lb. bird right next to him in a show? It\'s a ridiculous rule in my opinion.


So you\'re saying the rule should be a closer spread?  Or no rule at all?  

If a 5.2lb bird is perfect I can see it go up against a 7.8lb bird of lesser quality.

Mike Gilbert

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2011, 10:30:19 PM »
I did not say which bird had an advantage.   Bigger is not necessarily better.  But in a class of birds of the same variety and age, one would not expect to see one bird that is half again as big as another right next to it, as would be the case in the example given.  One would hope for a more uniform class than that.  I don\'t know what a proper deviation would be, but I\'m thinking maybe 10 percent.  It\'s probably a moot point, as judges seldom if ever weigh the birds anyway.  

bantamhill

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2011, 09:58:03 PM »
I have found that large fowl Ameraucana cockerels take some time to fill out.

I had a year of thin birds and figured out that I had case of Coccidiosis that was causing the problem. It had been a wet year and the worms were moving a lot. I made a few adjustments and things turned around.

Michael

Beth C

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #11 on: September 30, 2011, 08:27:03 AM »
Michael: I think that\'s definitely part of my problem - I have been fighting an uphill battle w/coccidia for the last 2 seasons. In addition to medicated feed I\'ve also been treating them with Corid. I try to keep the area clean but there\'s only so clean you can get dirt, especially when it turns to mud. Any suggestions? I\'m seriously considering raising the young birds on wire next year. I\'d love to have concrete runs I could wash down but that\'s just not in the budget. The best I can do right now is crushed stone, which will help with the mud but cleaning not so much...

John

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #12 on: September 30, 2011, 08:57:16 AM »
Quote
dirt

I\'ve hauled a lot of sand into my pens over the years.  It doesn\'t look very yellow after a while, but it is piled fairly high compared to the ground around the pens (high and dry) and I rototill it and turn it over with a spade when I get ambitious.  It\'s a good idea to cover it with lime each fall.  Roofs over the pens or part of them help to keep them dry.

Beth C

  • Guest
Weight vs. \"filled out\"
« Reply #13 on: September 30, 2011, 09:32:55 AM »
Quote
rototill it


What a great idea! Maybe I\'ll go with sand instead of rock then.