Breeding and Raising and Hatching of Barnyard Chickens!!!!!!!!!!

[beetandsteet]

Some of my mixed babies , I have Gold and silver sebright, old English game bantams, bantam cochins and Japanese bantams as potential parents

Those are so cool!

 

[Halloweengirl13]

I have 3 frizzle easter eggers in there . Duckie is a barnyard mix too...she's Pekin/Rouen and either Ancona or Runner...but she's all woman she's getting her big girl quack on.she's very attached to her hatchmates as shown by the happy reunion pics. She was brought outside first and would not shut up the whole time they were separated.

 

[uzisuzuki]

With March coming up, I thought I'd share what my first two barnyard mixes look like now. They'll be a year old next month & I'm extremely happy with how they turned out. Thank you to everyone on this thread for helping me during the their hatch & while they were chicks. Seeing how well they turned out has me thinking of hatching more!

 

[kit carson]

Just found this thread and so happy there are people out there that love "barnyard" chickens as much as I do! I really have enjoyed going through these pictures and seeing just what new breeds different people "concoct" I just hatched the 4th generation of my barnyard mutts, and am weirdly proud of them, even though some are a mix of 5 or 6 different breeds. There's just something that seems super special about raising a chicken that is kind of "your own" breed, and I love being surprised with new feather patterns/body shapes as they grow! There's not one that's exactly alike  

I totally agree. None of my five original hens was pure anything, but a few were naturally broody, probably because of their game cock blood. I've never had to buy another chicken over these five years, as despite my efforts to prevent, a mom will manage to hatch out a hidden clutch every so often. They are excellent mothers and foragers (we free range all day every day in mild Mexico) and in one unfortunate incident, a mom who was expertly managing a clutch of fifteen chicks took them through the fence to an adjoining field, just when four stray dogs were passing by. Only six chicks survived. Amazingly, even though they were only ten days old, they already knew how to forage, and come to the coop at night. They slept huddled together on the floor behind the feed bin where they had slept with the mom. When they started crowing, I gave away the three young roosters, and after that, the girls started sleeping in the roost with everyone else.

The interesting thing is that the most recent generation look very similar to each other - reddish with a beautiful pheasant type pattern. They lay well, with eggs ranging from pale cream to deep speckled brown. Since all are related to my rooster, I know it's time to bring in a new rooster, which will be sad, as Pierre is doing an excellent job in every way.

 

[lazy gardener]

Some of my mixed babies , I have Gold and silver sebright, old English game bantams, bantam cochins and Japanese bantams as potential parents

That big white chick in the middle looks a bit different. White leghorn??? (JK)

I totally agree. None of my five original hens was pure anything, but a few were naturally broody, probably because of their game cock blood. I've never had to buy another chicken over these five years, as despite my efforts to prevent, a mom will manage to hatch out a hidden clutch every so often. They are excellent mothers and foragers (we free range all day every day in mild Mexico) and in one unfortunate incident, a mom who was expertly managing a clutch of fifteen chicks took them through the fence to an adjoining field, just when four stray dogs were passing by. Only six chicks survived. Amazingly, even though they were only ten days old, they already knew how to forage, and come to the coop at night. They slept huddled together on the floor behind the feed bin where they had slept with the mom. When they started crowing, I gave away the three young roosters, and after that, the girls started sleeping in the roost with everyone else.

The interesting thing is that the most recent generation look very similar to each other - reddish with a beautiful pheasant type pattern. They lay well, with eggs ranging from pale cream to deep speckled brown. Since all are related to my rooster, I know it's time to bring in a new rooster, which will be sad, as Pierre is doing an excellent job in every way.

How many generations has Pierre fathered? My avatar roo is in similar position. He's an excellent Daddy! This will be his second breeding season. I've heard that you can get by with the same roo x 5 years, or when his potency starts to wane. Even then, if he's a good boy, as my Jack is, I expect to replace him with one of his sons when the time comes. As long as the chicks remain strong, and there are no issues that crop up, I'll not be in a hurry to bring in a new roo. Jack's dtrs are bigger and of better conformation than their mothers were!

 

[Halloweengirl13]

My frizzle something.... Lol

 

[kit carson]

That big white chick in the middle looks a bit different.  White leghorn???  (JK)

How many generations has Pierre fathered?  My avatar roo is in similar position.  He's an excellent Daddy!  This will be his second breeding season.  I've heard that you can get by with the same roo x 5 years, or when his potency starts to wane.  Even then, if he's a good boy, as my Jack is, I expect to replace him with one of his sons when the time comes.  As long as the chicks remain strong, and there are no issues that crop up, I'll not be in a hurry to bring in a new roo.  Jack's dtrs are bigger and of better conformation than their mothers were!

Pierre has now fathered three generations and the hens all love him. Chicks have been healthy and strong. I seem to always have several hens that are determined to be moms, though, and end up with less egg production. It's the fighting breed/game bird influence, I believe. It would also be nice to introduce a different color so it would be easier to tell them apart. I would love to have only one batch of about 12 chicks per year, preferably in the summer rainy season when there is green grass and plenty of bugs for them.

 

[microchick]

I don't have any Barnyard Mixes......yet. One of our Buff O hens has just gone broody for the second time since December. I broke her the first time but just don't have the heart to put her in the broody buster again. So as soon as I can get the brood coop cleaned out and ready for her she is going to be sitting on 6 eggs.

Our flock is a mix of Welsummers and Orpingtons and one lone Speckled Sussex hen. We have two Welsummer boys, a Buff O boy and a Lavender O boy who are the fathers so the chicks will definitely be mutts.

I'm hoping the Lavender O male has fertilized some of the eggs. He is low man on the totem pole being the youngest roo but is a gorgeous, big rooster and I wouldn't mind having a few hens fathered by him.


This is Red, our 11 month old Buff O rooster. He is a sweetheart and the hens prefer him over the flock master who is a Welsummer Rooster that rules with an iron fist...er wing.


This is Larry Bird when he was about 6 months old. He was supposed to be a pullet....oops.


A couple of our Buff O hens, Speckles the Sussex and if you look real close, Chester, the Alpha Rooster in the background.

Personally, while I appreciate the beauty of the pure breds, I prefer mutts and have found them to generally be heartier and even healthier than the pure breds.

I have to admit, I'm anxious to see what pops out of the eggs!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

With March coming up, I thought I'd share what my first two barnyard mixes look like now. They'll be a year old next month & I'm extremely happy with how they turned out. Thank you to everyone on this thread for helping me during the their hatch & while they were chicks. Seeing how well they turned out has me thinking of hatching more!

They turned out beautiful! He has quite the comb there. Congrats!

 

[microchick]

Uzisuzuki, I love their coloring. All of our roosters have the really pronounced combs, also. I love the look of them unfortunately, they are not winter friendly and two suffered frost bite damage in spite of my best efforts to prevent it. We had a long stretch of icy weather where the temp would come up during the day and it would rain buckets and then drop to the single digits and teens over night. The silly chickens went out during the day, came in wet and in spite of opening more vents and turning the bedding, their pretty combs are not so pretty any longer even with vasoline and bag balm smeared on them. We finally resorted to installing a double light fixture in the coop and turning blue and red low wattage light bulbs that keep the air from being too cold for them at night. They are healed now and I want to prevent further damage.

We have a Buff O hen sitting on 7 eggs right now with a hatching date somewhere around the 27th of the month. Three eggs (I think) were laid by the Welsummers and the rest by the Buff O hens. We are looking for Buffs and Wellies crossed with either our Wellie roosters, or our lone Buff O rooster or our Lavender O rooster. I'm rooting for Larry Bird, the Lavender boy who is just a beautiful roo but has to ambush the hens when the other boys have their backs turned as he is lowest rooster on the totum pole.

I can hardly wait to see what little mutts pop out of the shells!