Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[rainplace]

Excellent thread!

I'm a sharecropper on a 60 acre farm west of me. It's been a great learning experience while hubby is still tied to the city. This year I'll be growing out crops of cornish x, which does not fit in with my value system, however as a side project and as a way to try to convince the farm owners that a dual purpose bird would be better for the farm, I also have my flock of Delawares on the farm. I got the Delawares from another farmer who has been selecting for carcass size as well as egg laying ability, so at least some of the initial work of improving them has been done. There's a problem though. Of the different breeds of chickens I have running around for egg laying, which currently run with the Delawares, it's always the Delawares that get picked up by aerial predators, of which we have many. The Delawares are monster foragers, ranging far and wide, and require little care. They will come running at feeding time, but don't spend nearly as much time at the feeder as the other poultry. I truly like this bird, they fit my lifestyle perfectly, and I would love to be able to further improve the stock I have... except for the aerial predator problem.

I'm wondering if it's their color that makes them more noticeable from the air. After the first couple of deaths, I penned all the poultry in the orchard, but that didn't help as a coopers hawk found them just as delicious as the larger hawks outside the orchard, even through the coopers hawk couldn't lift them over the fence.

I'm thinking that if it's a color thing, then I may want to change over to the New Hampshire Red. However, as has been stated throughout this thread, finding heritage stock is not an easy thing, and I'd rather not have to start working with a breed from scratch, through I will if that's what is required.

So what are your thoughts on color and predation in a free-ranging system?

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

I think if the hawks have found you, changing bird color will not help now.

 

[Mervin]

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Thanks for adding this. It seems a simple solution to a common problem. For someone with the patience to see it through, it really be useful tool. I know folks who share free range time, so why not breeding.

 

[Mervin]

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I'm curious to see what other folks have to say. When I first got into poultry I wanted Dels, but I didn't get them for this very reason. Now, I'm not sure how much I think color plays up predation. The birds I have are predominantly dark-colored and I have none that are white. There's been a Cooper's prowling about since Spring. I think that once they've found your birds and the conditions are right, they're going to take their shot. They've got nothing but time to find your birds though. So, I'm not sure how much it matters. I am interested in hearing other opinions.

 

[cybercat]

Ok with many years free ranging experiance. Not just the chickens I have here but ones I raised up North with a friend. You need to start dettering hawks. First get one of the bog machanical owls for this. Hawks and owls will not hunt in same area. Trust me on this it works we have owls that move threw here and when they are in town not a hawk to be seen. Also see if you can bring crows in. They hate hawks and will chase them off. Crows love corn so get a platform feeder set up for them. I do not feed mine but they hang out in area. Hang any thing shiny you can pie tins, old cds, metalic ballons. We have actually shot at them with shot gun too. Seems that helps scare them off . Never close enough to hit but they leave fast.

Spring is a bad time for hawks for babies are leaning hunting skills. Once they have a taste of chicken then you must get rid of them. We were told to protect our livestock flock we were allowed to kill a hunting hawk. Same as any protected predator livestock comes first. When we got hit by the fox that was protect they said kill it do not catch it. Go figure. Then again we have alot of farming here.

 

[Mervin]

We do have nesting crows a few hundred yards from us and I do think they help. They've got nothing but time for hunting though. They will slip in on occasion, crows or not.

I heard varying reports about owl figurines though. I haven't been able to find a mechanical one, but I might try one if I come across it.

 

[cybercat]

Ok on the color part. I picked pattern due to protecion. We have a few here in the state that swear white is not a problem. For hawks used to hunting rabbits it is a problem. They target the white tail and white bird is a bigger target. I have lost a few to hawks but more to a dang fox hunting during the day. Big chickens help I mean those over 6 lbs. If it stick out like a sore thumb to your eye it will to a predator too.

We have red clay here so I went with something reddish. We also have alot of trees so that means leaves. Half the time I can not find my chickens in the woods unless they are scratching. When out front under the cedars unless they are moving you do not see them. Everytime a hawk flies over aleart sounded and it is head for cedars of high weeds or woods depending where they at. Have not lost on too a hawk in a year now.

If I lived somewhere that single combs would not freeze like here and did not want a pattern chicken I would do welsumers or red sussex which are rare. Probably red sussex since they are larger. BTW one note venalation prevents frost bite. If you have alot of open up top of coop so heat rises you have alot les chance of frost bite. My whole under roof is open and we have had temps below 0 here many nights. No frostbite since having chickens. Deep beeding like 6 to 8 inches on floor.

If I was up North and wanted a low comb bird I would look at Cornish, wyandotts(solidcolor) hard enough to keep shape on them I hear, rose comb RIR or chantellers(sp) the Canadaian breed. Brahmas are a possiblity too. Or I would breed up in size EEs so that they would be larger. There is someone in TX that took Ameruacunas and did just that. That are over sized for breed but she needed bigger chicken and wanted blue eggs. After its your chickens and if your not showing who cares but you.

 

[knittychickadee]

I have both owls and hawks so they don't seem to mind each other around here. I've heard you should avoid getting birds that are colored the same as birds that are common prey for hawks in your area.
Predator savvy chickens no matter what color and a place for them to hide are your best bet. The worst I've had for that has been Barred Rocks. I've had them in mixed flocks of all different colors and they were always the ones to get picked off, from ground or air. The best I've had has been the Buckeyes. When those roosters sound the alarm, the girls hit the deck. I've had an entire flock disappear into the long grass/bushes in about 2 seconds right before my eyes.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

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Excellent! It sounds like your answers are falling into place. The Partridge Chantecler is a worthy heritage fowl and the partridge color pattern will keep you busy. Developing strong birds that meet the Standard will mean lots of hatching, which will in turn fill your freezer; so, you won't really need the broilers and you can save the space they's use up for Chanteclers.

Also, the Chanteclers have a breed club. Jim Hall who's on BYC, I believe he's usually on Bob's Heritage Large Fowl thread, is part of the club and would love to have you aboard.

Here's to a good beginning!

PS: Yes, Dorkings are excellent! They are out meat breed. However, their single combs are really cold sensitive. The RC is a must for hard winters. Our RC Whites are immune to the cold.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Hawks and predators?

Well, we have White Dorkings and they do fine. But I think it's because Dorkings are quite savvy. They've been taking care of themselves for centuries. It's what was described above with the Buckeyes: scream, hit the deck, and be aware of the hawk. I think that a bird that is aware, that has its eye on the hawk, is hard to get.

I don't really buy too much the color theory. Hawks can see too well, and domestic fowl are rarely still enough to use camouflage effectively.

I'd definitely try the owl decoy. They're not expensive, so what's to lose?

I also think some larger waterfowl about is a good thing. A gaggle of geese or some big muscovies in the general vicinity of your hens might be an interesting deterrant.

Careful with the gun piece, although sky busting is fine, but agricultural losses and protection can vary state by state....