Silver Barred Giant Chicks A gentle giant with impressive size, beautiful barred plumage, and the paternal foundation of our Mistral Gris breeding program. The Silver Barred Giant is the sire line behind our Mistral Gris breeding program. While these birds are one half of the Mistral Gris cross, they also stand confidently on their own as a remarkable dual-purpose chicken for homesteads and small farms looking for large, friendly birds with excellent temperaments. If the Tevah Ebony Dual-Purpose contributes the hardiness and efficiency to the Mistral Gris, the Silver Barred Giant contributes the size, calm disposition, beautiful barred feather pattern, and easy-processing characteristics that make the hybrid so unique. Why We Love Them Exceptionally calm, friendly temperament. Large-framed dual-purpose birds. Beautiful barred feather pattern. Excellent flock protectors. Reliable, steady brown egg layers. Breed true generation after generation. The paternal line behind our Mistral Gris breeding program. Temperament These are some of the sweetest birds on our farm. They’re naturally calm, friendly, and easy to work with. Even the mature roosters, despite their impressive size, are generally gentle with people, attentive to their hens, and excellent flock protectors. If you’re looking for birds with personality, these are hard to beat. Meat & Growth The Silver Barred Giant grows more slowly than both the Tevah Ebony Dual-Purpose and the Mistral Gris hybrid, but they mature into impressive birds with excellent carcass size. Their light barred feathering also makes processing noticeably easier than darker-feathered breeds, resulting in a cleaner finished bird. Egg Production The hens are dependable producers of large brown eggs. While they don’t lay quite as heavily as our Tevah Ebony Dual-Purpose hens, they are consistent, rarely become broody, and make an excellent breeding flock. Things to Know We believe in being completely transparent about every breed we raise. Because these birds mature to such a large size, they require a little more management than our Tevah Ebony Dual-Purpose line. Slower growing than the Tevah Ebony Dual-Purpose. Larger mature frame. More prone to excessive weight gain if allowed to free-feed year-round. We recommend monitoring feed intake to help maintain long-term health. We generally see slightly more losses while raising these birds to adulthood than we do with our Tevah Ebony Dual-Purpose line. Typical productive lifespan is approximately 2 to 3 years. These traits are exactly why we cross them with our Tevah Ebony Dual-Purpose line. Together they produce the hybrid vigour that makes the Mistral Gris such an exceptional bird. The Paternal Line Behind Mistral Gris Every Mistral Gris chick begins with two carefully maintained parent lines. The Silver Barred Giant contributes: Large mature frame. Beautiful barred feather pattern. Easier processing. Calm, friendly temperament. Strong hybrid vigour when crossed with the Tevah Ebony Dual-Purpose. The roosters are the key to the cross. Silver Barred Giant roosters are bred to Tevah Ebony Dual-Purpose hens to produce Mistral Gris chicks. One added benefit of this line is the barred gene itself. Male chicks inherit a double barring gene, making them noticeably lighter in colour than females at an early age. While not perfect, this often makes young males and females easier to distinguish as they grow. Choose Your Breeding Flock All birds are sold as straight-run chicks (unsexed). While nature never offers guarantees, our hatches are typically very close to a 50:50 ratio of hens and roosters. 🏡 Homestead Breeding Flock (25 chicks) An excellent starting point for families wanting to establish their own Silver Barred Giant breeding flock. A typical hatch will result in approximately 12 to 13 hens and 12 to 13 roosters. 🚜 Small Farm Breeding Flock (50 chicks) Ideal for farms planning to establish a larger breeding program or produce Mistral Gris on a small commercial scale. A typical hatch will result in approximately 25 hens and 25 roosters, giving you greater flexibility when selecting your future breeders. Breeding Recommendations If your goal is to produce Mistral Gris, the Silver Barred Giant serves as the paternal line. For best fertility, we recommend maintaining approximately: 1 Silver Barred Giant rooster for every 8 to 10 Tevah Ebony Dual-Purpose hens. Because relatively few roosters are needed, many breeders choose to keep a smaller Silver Barred Giant flock while maintaining a larger flock of Tevah Ebony Dual-Purpose hens. Selecting Your Future Breeders Building a breeding flock is about more than simply raising birds. Not every chick will become part of your final breeding program. Because these birds mature to such a large size, we generally see a few more losses while raising them to adulthood than we do with our Tevah Ebony Dual-Purpose line. We recommend planning for this when deciding how many chicks to purchase. We also encourage selecting your breeding birds carefully. Choose roosters that demonstrate: Excellent size and frame. Calm, friendly temperaments. Strong overall health and structure. Good fertility and attentiveness to their hens. The same applies to your hens. Keeping more birds than you ultimately plan to breed gives you the opportunity to select the strongest individuals and continually improve your flock over time. Our goal has never been to produce the most birds. It’s to continually produce better birds. Careful selection has been one of the biggest reasons this line has developed the way it has, and we encourage future breeders to approach it the same way. For that reason, we often recommend purchasing a slightly larger breeding flock than you think you’ll ultimately need. The extra birds give you the flexibility to make thoughtful breeding decisions rather than simply keeping every bird that reaches maturity. Looking Ahead One of the reasons we’re now offering our parent lines separately is because we believe these genetics deserve to thrive on more than one farm. Whether your goal is producing your own Mistral Gris, establishing a sustainable breeding flock, or simply raising a truly exceptional dual-purpose bird, we hope these lines continue serving families for many years to come. If you have questions about building a breeding program or choosing the right flock size, we’re always happy to help.
