We currently have three breeder pairs, one colony pen of 8 birds, and we have one or
two of last years hatch that we plan to keep.
Setup: Our breeder pairs are run in pens approximately
20-30 ft. by 100 ft. The colony pen has about an acre of land on which the birds roam.
We plant all our pens with grass, alfalfa, and clover.
Bubba and Sophie: These are the first pair of breeders
that we bought. They are both four year old birds now. During the 96-97 laying
season, as a two year old, Sophie laid 41 eggs, and 37 during the 97-98 season
as a three year old. Sophie's eggs average about 600 grams.
Amigo, J.R., and Victoria: We bought Vicki and J.R. as three
year old birds, during which season Vicki laid one egg. We aquired Amigo when
his former mate died and we were given him. We put Amigo in with Vicki and J.R.
because we didn't see any sign of J.R. and Vicki mating. The next laying season,
96-97, as a four year old bird, Vicki laid 58 eggs. This past year, as a five year old,
she laid 47 eggs. Vicki's eggs average about 660 grams.
Leroy and Honey: We bought Leroy and Honey as three month
old chicks at the same time we bought J.R. and Vicki. During the 96-97 season,
as a two year old bird, Honey laid 13 eggs. This year (97-98) as a three year old bird
she laid 35 eggs. Honey's eggs average about 610 grams.
Colony Pen: All the birds in our colony pen this year
were two year old birds except for one three year old female. We believe only three
birds in the pen laid eggs, including the three year old hen. We collected a total
of 49 eggs from the colony pen during the 97-98 laying season. The average weight of
colony pen eggs was 550 grams.
