A Closer Look At Our Day-Old Poultry

We produce an average of 5 million broilers each year, importing the majority of our fertile hatching eggs from breeder farms throughout the South-Eastern USA but also from Belgium and Holland. We also hatch brown and white layers on request throughout the year, Turkeys on a seasonal basis (June to August) and, in limited quantities, some more unusual poultry well suited to free range and pasture farming or backyard hobby poultry.

Broilers

Commercial ‘cornish cross’ broiler varieties such as Ross™, Cobb™, Hubbard™ and parent crosses of these breeds are the most common in Barbados. These perform well in feed conversion and muscle distribution with large breast meat to leg meat percentage. In a conventional pen, these birds will reach 2 kg live weight in approximately six weeks. In tunnel pens, 2 kg can be reached in just over five weeks as the environmental controls are much more accurate.

Layers

Layer breeds commonly imported to Barbados include Tetra™ and Hyline™; however, we have also been able to source H&N™ layers starting in 2023. Most commercial layer varieties will begin to lay at approximately 22 weeks of age, building up to peak production a few weeks later – results vary depending on the feed supply and the general health of the birds. Still, farmers have experienced anywhere from 100% production (10 eggs per 10 birds per day) to 80% (8 eggs per 10 birds per day) during peak production. Photo of adult Tetra Layer courtesy CenturionPoultry.com

Turkeys

Turkey eggs are available seasonally from our suppliers in Canada and Europe, so we are restricted to hatching Turkeys from March 1st through August 31st each year. Common varieties include the commercial Hybrid Grademaker™, as well as the Orlopp Bronze™ Turkey, both from Hendrix. Grademaker is a medium-sized, white feathered turkey with good feed conversion and uniformity at slaughter. Bronze turkeys are black feathered, slightly slower growing, and better suited to pasture feeding, making them suitable “Free-Range” birds. Photos courtesy Hendrix Genetics

Red Rangers

Red Rangers™ and their lighter-coloured variant, Rainbow Rangers™, are a variety of slower-growing ‘multi-purpose’ broilers. These are becoming popular with consumers who worry about animal welfare – slower, more controlled growth equals fewer health complications – and it has been found that the quality of the meat is better and the taste more favourable to consumers. Rangers are great multi-purpose birds, with females laying productively, although not as many eggs per hen as a commercial layer. Males can be slaughtered for meat between 9 to 13 weeks, ranging in size from 2.0 kg to 3.5 kg, depending on diet and how soon they are slaughtered. Females will require two or three weeks to get to the same size if they are intended for meat production rather than eggs.

Other Specialty Birds

We often (not year round) have access to a number of more specialised chickens which are high in curiosity value for customers that may want to raise small multi-purpose flocks:

Barred Rock are stunning mature birds with black feathers with white speckles. They are also excellent multi-purpose birds with good pasture qualities and relatively peaceful demeanour, good meat production and approximately five eggs per hen per week at peak production.

Naked Neck birds look as the name suggests – they have featherless necks. These birds are fantastic pasture foragers and have high-quality meat when slaughtered at 10 to 12 weeks old. They have high survivability and grow at approximately the same rate as Red Rangers.

White Silkie chickens are a very ornamental variety, laying smaller, lighter-coloured eggs relatively consistently. Silkies have black tissue connecting their muscles, so they are not many consumers’ first choice as a meat product. Their feathery plumage extends to the top of their heads and legs, making them great ornamental birds that can provide a steady supply of smaller eggs for their proud owners.

Sagitta™ are a golden red multi-purpose bird reaching 2 kg in about 10-12 weeks. The hen can also be used for egg production; on average, she is a robust egg layer able to lay 5-6 eggs per week between 25 and 50 weeks of age. Sagitta is an excellent forager on the range and is well-liked for its versatility and superior meat quality.

Vario Ovo™ is a breeding farm product developed to answer the needs of farms targeting the “free range” and “organic” egg market. You will receive a mix of several birds that produce eggs of different colours – from standard brown and white to light green and light blue. Production is approximately 295 eggs per hen over a 70-week life span.