2025 Chicken Wish List

[paintedChix]

All those upgrades, I’m filled with envy.

Hubby says more hens should be a joint decision and we’ve got enough !

Anyway moving on, I’m getting a Lakenvelder (or possibly a grey gauloise) and a barnvelder in February. Very excited

Did you get your Lakenvelder?

 

[AinaWGSD]

OK, so like a month or two after replying to this post and we decided to pull the trigger on restarting the coop out at the farm. It took almost two months, but I finally managed to track down a Buckeye breeder. We're going to be picking up hatching eggs next weekend!

While daydreaming about the farm coop I also thought how nice it would be if we had a few barred hens we could make black sexlinks. Which led down a whole other rabbit hole and threw a completely new breed on my wishlist, Malines. They were developed as a meat breed and I feel like they would compliment the buckeyes nicely. I have plans to go pick up a half dozen eggs from a breeder tomorrow, since my olive egger has so helpfully decided to go broody for the second time in as many months.

So, not really what I had in mind for 2025, but I'm excited anyway!

 

[DemeterAD9]

OK, so like a month or two after replying to this post and we decided to pull the trigger on restarting the coop out at the farm. It took almost two months, but I finally managed to track down a Buckeye breeder. We're going to be picking up hatching eggs next weekend!

While daydreaming about the farm coop I also thought how nice it would be if we had a few barred hens we could make black sexlinks. Which led down a whole other rabbit hole and threw a completely new breed on my wishlist, Malines. They were developed as a meat breed and I feel like they would compliment the buckeyes nicely. I have plans to go pick up a half dozen eggs from a breeder tomorrow, since my olive egger has so helpfully decided to go broody for the second time in as many months.

So, not really what I had in mind for 2025, but I'm excited anyway!

I love that you are able to find breeders within driving distance. I personally haven't looked into private breeders for my own flock but it's something I may try in the future. It would be fun to compare breeder stock to hatchery stock, for science!

I've also discovered that doing your own sex linked chicks is pretty useful. 3 of my hens are barred (2 colored layers, one brown) and neither of my roos are so when I hatched their eggs a couple days ago I was happy to see some had head spots while others did not. I intend to brood the barred males with my broilers and see how they compare with the males I can't yet determine gender on. It also helps me decide which chicks not to get too attached to

As a side note, my Meyer order will soon be fulfilled! Chicks should hopefully arrive Tuesday or Wednesday. Temporary brooders are set up and ready to go, I've got ~200lbs of chick feed, and outdoor grow out pens are under construction.

 

[DemeterAD9]

Most of my wish list breeds have been checked off aside from the cochin, which was a failure to thrive and died about a week after arriving in the mail. I couldn't help myself while at the feed store and bought 7 more chicks, a cream legbar, barred rock, golden laced wyandotte, white leghorn, diamond dutchess, and a Mille Fleur d'Uccle. So I've changed my mind, after sorting through everyone come fall I plan to keep 30 instead of 25.

To further add, I ordered half a dozen mixed turkey eggs to try and hatch. We'll see how that goes!

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Most of my wish list breeds have been checked off aside from the cochin, which was a failure to thrive and died about a week after arriving in the mail. I couldn't help myself while at the feed store and bought 7 more chicks, a cream legbar, barred rock, golden laced wyandotte, white leghorn, diamond dutchess, and a Mille Fleur d'Uccle. So I've changed my mind, after sorting through everyone come fall I plan to keep 30 instead of 25.

To further add, I ordered half a dozen mixed turkey eggs to try and hatch. We'll see how that goes!

Chicken math rules! Good luck!

 

[AinaWGSD]

Oooh, I got my buckeyes!

we hatched 32 on our Easter hatch!

 

[DemeterAD9]

Reviving the thread a little, partly to help me keep track of my own thoughts about this year's poultry-related progress in regards to my 2025 wish list. This is a bit of a rant to help me organize my thoughts so bare with me here.

Cornish cross were messy and pitiful but boy were they big and pretty darn tasty! I will say the meat can be rather bland unless well seasoned. I kept one pullet (the most mobile of the bunch) and have 2 (5 were duds) of her eggs under a broody due to hatch in a week or so. 3 of the 9 I butchered have been eaten via grilled, rotisserie, and most recently battered and deep fried. I think I will get another breed of broiler next year, possibly the pioneer broilers at Meyer hatchery and just maybe keep a few back for breeders.

Note to self: part out most of the birds to save on freezer space, deep fried is the way to go anyways! Also, pressure can all birds over 16 weeks. Much easier and makes a quick meal.

Note #2: no impulse buying at the feed store! Of the 7 I picked up only 2 are to my liking. The barred rock is the best of them with the diamond duchess a close second. I could live without the GLW, white leghorn (spastic), bantam cockerel, legbar (why is she bantam sized?), and sapphire whatever (already have one).

My Barnevelder pullet is runty, she was incredibly slow to feather out as was the buckeye but at least the buckeye looks like a proper chicken now. I thought for sure I'd come out to see the barnevelder dead at some point but she keeps on living. She will likely be culled as I cannot see myself hatching eggs from her, but who knows, maybe her egg laying ability and egg color will surprise me.

I got 2 turkey eggs to hatch, one white and one black. Black one is getting white mottling and the white one has grey/blue markings. They are FANTASTIC! So friendly but they are only 11 weeks old so we shall see if they stay lovable. Current guess, white is a jake while the black is a hen. If so you can bet I'll be trying to hatch eggs from them come spring.

As for the possibility of ducks... due to unforeseen circumstances I now have 2 chocolate brown ducks, not sure on breed nor gender yet. Honestly I could do without them as they are so messy and spastic. If they happen to be males they'll be processed.

And lastly, for the eggs that I hatched out it seems I have plenty of new colored layers and nicely patterned birds to pick from. My only issue is not getting a nicely patterned cockerel. Currently I've kept a SLW X BJG male but he may very well get replaced by one of the 3 broody-raised boys who could carry the blue egg gene.

I have 58 chickens and 3 eggs cooking. Need to get that number down to 30 before snow flies. 10 I plan to process and hopefully I can sell/give away 4 pullets I can do without and whichever girls who lay brown eggs in my egg color project. If I can stick to a strict rule of only keeping fast maturing birds, I should also look into culling any pullets who don't lay by 24 weeks old. I also have 4 bantams, one mille fleur d'uccles cockerel, an EE hen and her 2 daughters fathered by a BJG. I do not need these bantams but the EE hen is a fantastic mother so she has her merits, perhaps her daughters will be good broodies too.

Once I get my numbers down I can start looking into what I want to do for next year... Oh who am I kidding, I already have a few ideas!