Poultry Keepers Podcast Selecting Dual Purpose Chickens: Hands-On Traits That Matter for Meat and Eggs (Part 1), Classic Replay
Jan 6, 2026
In this engaging discussion, Mandelyn Royal, a hands-on poultry breeder, shares her expertise on selecting dual-purpose chickens for optimal meat and egg production. She emphasizes key traits like body structure, carcass evaluation, and the importance of processing birds to understand quality. Mandelyn explains the crucial differences in selecting males versus females and encourages breeders to use standards for purposeful selection. With insights from her eight seasons breeding American Bresse, she highlights the balance between traits and the need for ruthless culling to improve flocks.
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Process Birds Yourself For True Feedback
- Handle and process your own birds to learn how living traits map to carcass qualities.
- Weigh and compare each bird against its peers rather than aiming for fixed target weights.
Use Simple Finger Measurements
- Use hand measurements to check pin bone spacing: at least two fingers between pin bones and three fingers from keel end to pin bones on males.
- Expect females to flex a finger wider when in active lay and contract when out of production.
Sort By Feel, Movement, And Peer Comparison
- Inspect birds by picking them up, weighing them, watching movement, then feeling skull, back length, depth and width.
- Sort into categories (good, better, best) and cull early to set up finishing pens.
