Oh, this past summer we went to a feed store to pickup more buckeyes, and they were not worth it. They said that they came from Mt. Healthy. Our better Buckeyes came from Meyers Hatchery.
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No problem. I think that all chicken keepers need to be happy with their flocks. Our first year we did a trial with over 30 breeds. Some breeds did as expected, some surprised us, and others didn't make the cut. At the end of the first year we looked to see who had survived, who laid well, which birds lived best with other birds, who gave us the most meat, and who tasted better. I figured that our study wasn't just for us, but for others trying to live sustainable lives similar to ours.
rSriggs, your run with the Welsummers sucked, and you have every right to be fed up with them. I want this to work well for you. Try connecting with others in your area, and see what's been working for them...see if it fits your needs.
Oh, this past summer we went to a feed store to pickup more buckeyes, and they were not worth it. They said that they came from Mt. Healthy. Our better Buckeyes came from Meyers Hatchery.
I took the advice of those proponents of Welsumers, and, so far, have been overwhelmingly disappointed!
I bought 4 pullets & 1 cockerel in Apr / May 2016, and have only been getting ONE egg every 3 days. This being nearly Jan, that's pretty poor. The brown eggs are speckled, not very dark. The birds look at earthworms as if they are aliens. I bought another 8 that were hatched in June from a different source, nothing out of them yet either. Somebody, please tell me it gets much better??!! Yes, I have lights on in the coop, 16 hrs.
I've been at this for 10-12 yrs &have a pretty good list of what has worked. Last dedicated breed was Delawares. They were fine in all respects except they liked standing in the chow line. As the coordinator for www.inwPrep.com, I'm more interested in sustainability - foraging & propagating their own. Egg production means more to me than meat production, but on the other hand, I don't want to deal with RIR roosters again. So, looking back over the dozen or so breeds / mixes I've had, I am revisiting barred rocks, but am still considering all possibilities for this spring! All input appreciated.
Oh, you want a sustainable breed. Then you do not want Sex-Link chickens. And you said you do not like Rhode Island Red roosters. Production Reds are just Rhode Island Reds bred for production.
You are looking for a sustainable breed that reproduces on its own, forages well, lays well, and obviously can handle the cold in Idaho. You want the all-around great chicken.
I think one of the best sustainable breeds would be the Dominique. This is why this breed was very popular on small farms for generations.
The Buff Orpington, Ameraucana or the Buckeye would be good also.
The Barred Plymouth Rock rarely goes broody, so you may have difficulty with them reproducing themselves.
Thinking back, I've had good experiences with Black Australorps, better than Buff Orps and, I believe, more productive than Barred Rocks. Maybe these Welsumers (who are intimidated by earthworms) will be replaced by BAs.
Convince me otherwise, if you can . . .
Thanks!
Russ