Karoo Homesteading flock

[Karoo permaculture]

So, when I got my 1st chickens the idea was to get more sustainable, we moved to a 2000sqm plot and got some chickens here. We wanted Meat, eggs, compost makers and pest controllers.

But since then I have digressed a bit. I got introduced into the world of show poultry and my chicken numbers and breeds grew like crazy.

I started with the Boschvelders as in the link above, and then got some:

• Wyandottes, Splash gold laced and gold laced and some silverlaced. They struggled a lot to cope here and only managed to successfully raise 5 chicks.
• Brahmas, Black and Blue. Raised a few, but they also struggled with the extreme heat.
• Pekin bantams(I believe you call it Cochin bantams?), black and blue, they were mostly for my boy, he loves them and they are excellent brooders and mothers.
• Sussex, light and buff, the buffs in our country is very much still project birds, not something I have time for now.
• Indian Game, dark.
• Silkies, not show quality, but excellent brooders and mothers.
• Show Australorp hen, weighing just over 5 kilograms.
• Rhode Island Red hen, awesome bird.

This required keeping the different breeds in different coops(3meters x 3meters), letting them each get a chance outside. And then it hit me, this is not what I wanted and I got caught up in a race that I never wanted to be in. Keeping all these breeds and managing the breeding got exhausting.(I also got Muscovy ducks and Nigerian dwarf goats, that all added to the mess and the work)

I need to get out and I need to get back to what I initially planned to do. The one big positive is the wealth of knowledge I have gained since I started out.

So I sold all the Wyandottes, all the Brahmas because they are not built for our heat. Sold the Australorp hen as she just loved to eat and lay almost nothing.
I sold all the buff Sussex except for one pullet that is a free ranging machine and you can almost never keep her in(not even with a clipped wing).
The light Sussex I have 2 hens, 2 pullets and 6 young roosters. The one hen won best in breed on the last show, she together with one young roo will be sold on a poultry whatsapp auction soon. I made an deal with a local guy that does mixed breeds and I will be dropping of the other older Sussex hen and 2 roosters later today in exchange for 6 laying pullets of mixed breed origin.

So that will leave me with:
The Pekins 1 Roo and 2 hens, I will keep, but wont be hatching anymore of them out, they will be used as mothers for the other hen's eggs(the pekin rooster is my son's favorite, called Big Boy so I cant get rid of him).
The Silkies, 2 hens left, same as for the Pekins.
Mixed breed bantams, 1 Roo(my wife's favourite) and 3 hens, Wont be hatching any of them out and, they are excellent mothers.
Rhode Island Red, 1 hen that is a laying machine
The Indian Games, 1 Stag and 1 Pullet, hoping to get some decent offspring from them and then mixing them with the other chickens to try and get some more breast meat on the crosses.
Light Sussex, the 2 pullets I will keep together with 1 Rooster, the other 2 young roosters are not decent(im thinking the project Buff rooster got involved there) and will go to the pot once they have a bit more on them.
I have bought a Potchefstroom Koekoek Rooster(more info on this breed following soon) and 3 hens.
The 6 hens I will be getting later today.
Im stilling trying to source some New Hampshire's(specifically for their fast growth rate), but im in a pretty remote area, and courier costs are often more then the chickens themselves.

Tag along and lets see what this mix bag of birds can give me in terms of semi decent egg layers, getting some meat in my freezer and making some compost as they go about their days.

 

[Karoo permaculture]

The Potchefstroom Koekoek breed was developed in South Africa in the 50s by Chris Marais at the Research Institute of Animal Husbandry and Dairying which is situated in Potchefstroom. Initially, the Black Australorps were crossed with the White Leghorn hens. The first generation hens and cocks were then mated with each other. Some of the progeny from this showed a striped plumage. The hens with the striped plumage were then crossed with Plymouth Rock cocks

The progeny with yellow skin was then selected. The Potchefstroom Koekoek cocks were then crossed with the Black Australorp hens. The crossing was done in order to ensure as much Black Australorp blood as possible in the progeny. With time, only yellow skin cocks were used and the breeding was continued until all the progeny had only the yellow skin and striped feather color.

The Potchefstroom Koekoek is specifically suited for South African conditions. It is a truly indigenous South African bird with bright yellow yolks. It is a dual-purpose bird that is highly suited for free range conditions. It lays enough eggs and is also sufficiently broody.

The Potch Koekoek is a happy and active chicken, a great forager. It will scratch around and catch the worms and also eats a variety of greens. Thanks to their varied diets from intensive foraging, they produce some of the richest yolks-very delightful orange yolks. They large brown-shelled eggs and their yellow meat is delicious! A study by FAO found that it performs better than all of the other indigenous chickens in South Africa.

The Potch Koekoek sexual maturity is at 130 days, with the hens able to lay an average of 198 eggs per year. The eggs weigh an average of 55.78 grams.
Credits to https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/backyard-chickens-potch-koekoek-andrew-nkoloma/

 

[Karoo permaculture]

 

[Sally PB]

What a pretty flock!

 

[Tired old Rooster]

I think you will do well with the Potch birds. Hard to beat something that is bred locally, for local conditions. If you get birds bred in the middle of the UK, it is like getting a husky for a pet, when a Boerboel would make more sense.

 

[Karoo permaculture]

What a pretty flock!

Thank you very much, Since Ive made the decision to get back to basics they all stay in the same coop and go out to free range at the same time.

The biggest issue was with the Pekin Rooster, Big Boy(The one in my profile pic) does not enjoy the other roosters and tried to pick a fight constantly. He calmed down now after the Koekoek Rooster trampled him a bit.

Im keeping the Indian Games and Silkies apart on their own coop and run for now as I want to get some Indian Games babies first.

 

[Karoo permaculture]

You are 100% correct, which is why I started out with the Boschvelders. They and the Koekoeks are tough as nails, when they enter a yard the lice and mites runs for the hills

I think you will do well with the Potch birds. Hard to beat something that is bred locally, for local conditions. If you get birds bred in the middle of the UK, it is like getting a husky for a pet, when a Boerboel would make more sense.

 

[Karoo permaculture]

The word Koekoek is Afrikaans(my native language, derived from Dutch) for Barred and Potchefstroom is a town with one of the best Universities in the country.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Just out of unrelated curiosity, what has winter been like that side, this year? I ask, because ours has been wildly warm. July to September are usually our coldest months and we have had temps as high as 31 degrees.

 

[Karoo permaculture]

Just out of unrelated curiosity, what has winter been like that side, this year? I ask, because ours has been wildly warm. July to September are usually our coldest months and we have had temps as high as 31 degrees.

Not nearly as cold as other winters. We had roughly 1 cold week which was pretty bad, but other then that warmer then previous winters