The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club > Housing, Health & Hatching

Weight vs. \"filled out\"

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Beth C:
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:
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.  

Mike Gilbert:
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:
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:
Evening,
Is there a penalty for overweight Cocks and Hens?
I have some Cocks that will go over 7 Lbs.
Thanks
Jess

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