Yep, chicken math is dangerous. I grew up on a farm where we had chickens, ducks, and geese for poultry -- the chickens were all Babcock Leghorns, Pekin Ducks, and Talousse Geese. My mom liked baking with the eggs and the birds were easy for her to butcher for the freezer chest. She wanted...
Dominiques almost went endangered until brought back in the 1970's. Though not as large as Barred Rocks they are still offered at hatcheries in the USA. Doms are one of my more favorite medium size breeds.
A lot of people want bigger heavier birds because they think the eggs are bigger. What...
There is speculation on where Doms originated but for certain its on record they were the Pilgrims chicken used for feather bedding, eggs, meat. Dom feathers are softer than other chicken breeds and emit less odor. We compared our Leghorn feathers to Dom feathers and its true. Only our Silkie...
It wouldnt have done any good to hatch since the gene pool was low & birds not hardy. Really sad cuz the BBS variety hens were great temperament.
"The American Dominique -- a Treatise for the Fancier" written by Mark Fields wrote that the original Pilgrim chickens were Dominiques.
Breda...
About a decade ago Greenfire Farms in FLA was an active importer of rare chicken breeds from around the world. It cost them roughly $10,000 per import w/restrictions plus USA quarantine time up to 6 months before birds would be released to Greenfire to start breeding the rare birds. USA...
I know Buckaboo Farm in Santa Ana breeds/ships Silkie eggs and D'Uccles & many other breeds but not sure about Sebrights? Have you hatched shipped eggs before -- I hear there's a 40 to 100% failure rate because no matter how careful they're packed cracking is an issue. I never got any hatching...
Faverolles are so cute! I love gentle temperament breeds but w/ reports from owners that Faverolles are prone to be bullied in spite of their large size and not known as too smart I decided not getting them for our backyard. We free range our backyard limit of 5 hens/no roos so we needed...
I've never been to a poultry show either & don't even know if our Southern Calif area ever has them. During Newcastles or AI outbreaks I know past shows around the country were canceled in past years. If you ever do go to a show take a lot of pics and post them plz :fl
@kurby22 -- Wow you've got your work cut out for you! Running a breeding program is more hobby sport than money-maker. I guess like the rest of us you're chicken crazy too -- teehee! It's good to get breeding stock from several different sources. Buckaboo Farm gets their stock from different...
@kurby22 -- 4H Yeah! Good for you! And you say bantams are hard to find in Calif? I found NPIP/AI Clean Buckaboo Farm in Orange County area here in So Calif. They have Frizzles, Satins, Laced Satins, D'Uccles, plus other breeds. They're a small operation but have a good enough reputation to...
@casportpony --
I call my peafowl peachicks until they are a year old. Once they are a year, I call them yearlings. Ducklings are ducklings until they feather out. Once feathered out, I call them juveniles. :D
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Teehee -- takes too long to say yearlings...
@Nifty-Chicken -- very good to stagger hen additions -- when one age group slows down egg production the new hens pick up the slack -- plus the younger hens learn from the elders -- and all birds young or old are great for the garden, fertilizing it and foraging for insects. However, all OUR...
@mg15 -- I have seen other posts about scabbing on hens too. I will ad pictures.
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mg, what CAUSED the scabbing? Something new I haven't heard of in chickens?
I had an NPIP Silkie breeder who called her birds "chicks" 'til they were 6 months old! We call our youngest birds in the flock "chicks" all the time even if they're 2 or 3 years old -- if they are the youngest then they're always "chicks" to us! :D
What a beauty! Hope he finds a good loving home and not some creepy dinner plate! I had to return a cockerel we got attached to because we aren't zoned for roos either!
I have two Rose-Combed Dominiques and I can tell them apart at instantly looking at their combs. It's amazing how rose...
1/4 acres is NICE! Here in SoCalif most properties are much smaller in the city and suburbs in L.A. County that many local ordinances prohibit poultry. I'm lucky that our neighborhood section allows 5 hens/no roos (but a Silkie counts as 1/2 a chicken, right?). Many properties are so small...
@keepercjr So easy to go wild getting birds, eh? Years ago I just wanted two little pullet Silkies as backyard pets and throughout the years I have now cycled through 19 chickens of various breeds LOL (not all at the same time though)!!! It's amazing that one of the original Silkie pets is...