Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Yellow House Farm]

You mention clans. How many hens do you have in a pen? Are they all full sisters or mother and daughters?

It depends on the clan, and the quality they're putting out, as few as one as amny as four. Yes all sisters or mother, daughter, etc... I currently run four in each breed with the occasional special mating. This is what Don Nelson believes to be the magic number. I tend to think he's right. Less than that makes me a little worried., although I do know of breeders that keep tighter lines.

 

[Arielle]

Yellow House, you always have so much good information to think about.



I'm still at my infancy of getting chickens, and the goal right now is to learn, learn, learn. Bob always says something like ,"go slow and go down the middle of the road" and I hear this refrain as I'm thinking about which direction to turn.

While this thread is focused on heritage chickens; I need to better understand land management as a food source for these foragers. I keep stewing over can more than one heritage breed free range at the same time?

 

[3riverschick]

Thoughts on numbers.....


3riverschick, if I read you right, you just got a start in Light Sussex that are of respectable quality. If so, I'd listen to Walt. Maybe a few more, if hatching 36 won't satisfy your family's food needs. One great author, an extension agent writing during the time of the Victory Garden, suggests fifty a year for replacement breeders and layers and enough to fill the freezer. It sounds about right to me. Moreover, with all of these expensive incubators and brooding lights. I would use natural incubation at 100%. If you can't this year, I'd save cull hens from this season's hatch for a broody sub-flock next year. Given it's a strain thing, but the Light Sussex hens with which I worked made excellent setters and broody hens. You'll save a lot of funds, and the chicks will be better off IMO. Besides, it's much lovelier to behold. Best of luck; it seems like you have an awesome situation.

Thank you, Yellow House Farm. This is useful advice. I'm going to save it. Have never hatched chicks with hens. I need to think about this for next year. It will require a couple more pens. Hum.
Happy New Year!
Karen

 

[NanaKat]

Yellow House, you always have so much good information to think about.

I'm still at my infancy of getting chickens, and the goal right now is to learn, learn, learn. Bob always says something like ,"go slow and go down the middle of the road" and I hear this refrain as I'm thinking about which direction to turn.

While this thread is focused on heritage chickens; I need to better understand land management as a food source for these foragers. I keep stewing over can more than one heritage breed free range at the same time?

Yes. I often release my separate flocks at the same time to allow them to freerange. I have a layer flock with Australorp, Minorca, Sex link, Cochin and Wyandotte. One rooster will take his girls to the yard, another to behind the barn and a third to the garden. In the evening and during the day, birds return to their own pens for resting, laying and roosting. Of course my breeds are not aggressive and I have lots of room.
I keep a separate pen for the saved roosters for freezer and another for breeders. These guys don't freerange with the flock for obvious reasons.
I will add that when I have breeding pens set up, these birds do not get released to freerange with the others as I want to keep those breedings pure.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

I keep stewing over can more than one heritage breed free range at the same time?

I think you'll find that you'll be happier with just one at this point. It's much easier to add another in a few years, when you have the first one more securely in grasp. You can't free range mixed flocks of breeding birds during the hatching season. It's also pretty hard to get away with running more than one cock/cockerel if they've been separated for the breeding season.

In the end, I thik that most people will obtain the most enjoyment and greatest depth of eperience and knowledge from maintaining one breed and one variety of that breed. Many don't have the facilities to do multiple breeds well; so they end up doing aeverything a bit mezza mezza with nothing really being top.

Now this is completely subjective, but I find mixed flocks to have a totally different tone than single breed flocks. I find there to be a specific kind of chaos in mixed breed flocks whereas with single breed flocks there seems to be a sense of niche and unity.

 

[maryhysong]

Yellow House, you always have so much good information to think about.



I'm still at my infancy of getting chickens, and the goal right now is to learn, learn, learn. Bob always says something like ,"go slow and go down the middle of the road" and I hear this refrain as I'm thinking about which direction to turn.

While this thread is focused on heritage chickens; I need to better understand land management as a food source for these foragers. I keep stewing over can more than one heritage breed free range at the same time?

you could use electric mesh fencing to keep flocks seperate or build bigger yards and coops and alternate days free ranging. With all the loose dogs here I cannot free range at all. My land is very steep and rocky and I haven't figured out how to make the electricnet fencing work here. Even if I could get it set up, any predator uphill of the fence would have an easy jump over.

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote: I pared my pullets down from fourteen to six, and then lost one to a dislocated hip, leaving me with five. I am going to put the best two in one pen and the other three in a second and rotate my male between the two. I will be following your example from above to keep records. I am glad to hear four is the magic number, that will be workable for me.
Thank you for your help.

 

[Arielle]

nanakat
yellow house and Mary--you each bring a perspective that I don't have yet. Thank you for sharing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

[NanaKat]

Quote: I agree with your statements for the most part. Space for each flock to spread out without running over another flock's toes is essential to freeranging several flocks together.
We have 248 acres and the chickens range by choice on about an acre around the house, barn, garden and the flock pens. I have over 100 birds in the combined flocks. Maintaining peace means knowing which roosters can be gentlemen outside their pens. The hens usually get along nicely. I enjoy spending time out with the birds and they follow me in the garden waiting for me uncover grubs etc.
This photo has the layer flock with some of the breeders out and about between the barn and garden.

Yes the two older hens in the lower right are a little feather bare in the picture...they have since grown those fethers back in.

 

[maryhysong]

I agree with your statements for the most part. Space for each flock to spread out without running over another flock's toes is essential to freeranging several flocks together.
We have 248 acres and the chickens range by choice on about an acre around the house, barn, garden and the flock pens. I have over 100 birds in the combined flocks. Maintaining peace means knowing which roosters can be gentlemen outside their pens. The hens usually get along nicely. I enjoy spending time out with the birds and they follow me in the garden waiting for me uncover grubs etc.

I envy all that flat green ground!