Konza Prairie Rangers

I'm starting this in response to several inquiries I've had about a breeding project I'm doing.

Here's my general blurb:

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Konza Prairie Rangers- These are a dual-purpose project I've been working on to produce an exceptional foraging bird for meat production as well as great hens. The birds are often HUGE. I've had males dressing out at 5.5-6.5# at 14-16 weeks, and the pullets lay almost daily at 17+ weeks. These are created to have a minimal or flat comb for cold winter temps. They deal very well with heat and humidity, as well. There isn't a consistent coloration as of yet. This is a friendly, docile, broad-breasted bird. The project consists of Partridge Chantecler, Australian Coronation/Light Sussex, Plymouth Rock, Orpington and Cornish lines. My goal is not yet reached, but I'm working on it continuously. I am getting an egg 5 days out of 7 from pullets, and I only hatch eggs from the cushion-combed pullets. Older hens are still laying very well, however I have several 2nd year hens who have gone broody. I have sold several sets of eggs, clarifying that the offspring are still occasionally showing a single comb here and there. Coloration is inconsistent and most appear to have a black and white appearance, either like the Delaware, a Columbian or like an incomplete Lakenvelder pattern. Sometimes the partridge comes out and they have a lovely Silver Lacing on the breast. I'm looking for rapid growth coupled with good laying ability and a good foraging behavior for lower feed costs when pastured. This is still a project, so I can't promise anything about the outcome yet. I know they have not had motility issues, blown out legs or any early deaths like the Cornish crosses have, but they aren't ready to process that early, either. I don't intend to move into that class, but want something faster-growing than dual purposes currently available without a large single comb.



I have used lines of Heritage birds from many sources for these, and I'm very interested in producing a bird more toward independent meat-heavy dual purpose. The latest crop is growing out and I'll be culling heavily. I have been very pleased with progress, but need to shake some of the broodiness.

If you have hatched some or have an interest in something like this, feel free to weigh in!

Cheers,

Renee

REnee, this is a very exciting project. Perhaps you could explain why you chose each of the parent stock. What you are hoping each will bring to the cross?

Most excellent! Sound like nice meaty birds, and a great alternative for those who want fast growers that arent commercially owned. I'd be very interested in growing some of these out in the future.

Nice looking chickens.
I've been eyeing these for awhile. I just don't have the room for anything else right now.
Keep posting and show alot of pictures.

punk-a-doodle said:

Most excellent! Sound like nice meaty birds, and a great alternative for those who want fast growers that arent commercially owned. I'd be very interested in growing some of these out in the future.

Click to expand...

THis is what I thought too!

ANd I like the possibilities of colors other than white as the hawks around here like that color! May be build lines in different colors? Or not white, LOL. White is pretty, sharp and clean, very nice, but I'd rather not feed the hawks. Renee did you have a goal color yet? How will you decide that?

I've had males dressing out at 5.5-6.5# at 14-16 weeks, and the pullets lay almost daily at 17+ weeks. I am getting an egg 5 days out of 7 from pullets, and I only hatch eggs from the cushion-combed pullets. Older hens are still laying very well, however I have several 2nd year hens who have gone broody.

This sounds very promising. I'll be watching this thread with interest.

This whole project was an accident initially- I'd only had the Partridge Chanteclers long enough for my first pullets to start laying when a fencing mishap allowed one girl to repeatedly sneak out to consort with a GIANT Coronation Sussex from the Australian lines. This guy was easily 12#. I'm surprised she didn't get squished.

I hatched all of her eggs for 3 weeks and got several Columbian marked giant, fast-growing birds with nubby combs and sweet dispositions. I sold most as layers. I then kicked myself repeatedly.

I decided to go with this as it was a truly staggering background when I thought about the lines that fed into the whole mess- Partridge Chanteclers did not have the same contributing breeds as do other Chanties, and there are so many qualities about the Sussex that are nice for pseudo-meatie project! The Aussie birds are a completely different monster than the English, and it's really their size that has been the power behind these. The Chanties are the nicest birds I know, even trumping the Orps, because they don't let manners make them afraid to be inquisitive. They also have yellow skin, which people around here prefer in their yardbirds. The hard feather gives them good protection from the cold winters we get here, but they seem to do very well in the brutal heat. They have a broad breast and are well-muscled early on. Above all, they are very alert and intelligent, with the foraging and digging skills to feed and protect themselves well. This is not a bird to keep in a small yard, however, as the Chanties will dig down 18" in a single spot- it's amazing! The Konzas don't appear to be so intent on cave-dwelling.

Chanties are broody. Way broody. This is something I'm seeing in older Konzas, but not until year 2 or more.

I have a line of OLD American Orps that are like tanks. I decided to put my favorite Black Orp from this group into the mix, so there is a bit of Goliath in there. He stood knee high and was kin to the size of my front-loader door. I knew that would soften the feather and could ruin my nub comb for a while, but I wanted his size and personality in there. His wings were high and mighty, and I loved the girth of that bird. I also felt as though it would be better to negate some of the white, as aerial predation is soooooooooooo bad here. Meaties are often white to make the pin feathers invisible if they get missed in plucking- but I'm not as concerned with that as I am the life of the bird when alive and my own efforts toward that end. I knew the coloring would be a mess after that introduction and figured that was irrelevant for the time.

Next was the notion of growth. I wanted to maintain the speed at which these birds grew in the first generations, and maybe make it faster. While I figured it could be a mistake, I wasn't going to off my older stock, so decided I'd experiment with one generation of outcrossing to locally grown Cornish Rocks. I had a neighbor who wasn't as partial to dressing out his own birds as he thought he would be- and several hens had grown much older than one would normally see meaties grow. I adopted Laverne and Shirley when at about 14 weeks and got about a dozen eggs from each before they parted ways with me. I have Konzas pre- and post- these mixes, as I think it would be good, but have to see the personality first. I want the Konzas to find their own food, avoid the predators, and can't have feed trough stalkers!

I also have a group split to Heritage Barred Rock, a group split to Heritage Delaware, and have been continuously selective with the original stock. I have bred back to the Chanteclers and cull heavily for fast growth and acute independence with personality. It's all about what I like...so I'm choosing birds with personality AND functionality.

I'll get pics up as soon as I can.

Colorwise, I'm thinking we'll end up with a dark partridge. I have some Lakenvelder, Columbian and solid birds, but I'm not paying attention to color yet. It's something that will happen over time.

Sounds like a fun project, I'll be following this thread with interest

Lavern and Shirley--what kind of cornish were they? Were they actually cornish crosses? As I remember the cornish cross is cornish x rock though I don't know for sure, I'm thinking the white rocks.

I was talking with Walt about the cornish as a possible breed, he said "They are pretty slow lumbering good natured birds for the most part..." He was specifically referring to his line of cornish. They are BIG birds though.