Best recession/depression chicken breed(s)?

[Blisschick]

I guess I'm partial to my Wyandottes, but they seem to be a good dual purpose breed. The birds are fairly meaty once you get past the fuff, and they lay well. I don't have a preference over yellow or white skin, so that part doesn't bother me. They do well as far as foraging, too.

 

[onthespot]

key west doesn't have the corner on feral thrifty chicken populations. There are similar chickens here in southern california, which my vet calls "California Show Chickens" and can be seen slipping from lot to lot, pecking, roosting, dustbathing where they will. The appear quite healthy and resillient as a whole, with a high percentage of game bird mix to their makeup.

 

[Trollkiller]

Quote:
Feral chickens is a pretty good idea. The weak traits have already been weeded out and depending on the community you may be doing the neighbors a favor by removing the birds.

Has anybody adopted any feral chickens?

 

[seriousbill]

Obviously, feral chickens can forage extremely well, but I highly doubt they'd lay well enough to make it worth your while to have them. Also, they're not an option for those of us in cold climates, because for a good chunk of the year, our ground is frozen so that they couldn't forage, and we'd have to feed them anyway. That'd be a waste of time and money. I think if you're looking for a good depression breed, in most cases, it would be better to think in terms of historic chickens people kept back in the 30's and 40's. My grandmother kept RIRs and Dominiques.

 

[Rooster-Spur]

I personally think if you crossbreed a couple generations of chickens would be your best bet. Pick an excellent forager such as a game or feral chicken. cross with an excellent egg layer such as leghorn or production red, cherry egger, or Red sexlink, etc. and then pick the best out of the f1 to cross back to either a forager or layer depending on what you think they need to do better. that and mother nature should do the rest. Just breed the best foragers and layers to refine. Just my opinion I haven't tried it Because I have to keep my chickens in pens cause of neighbors. I am working on crossing RIR rooster on Game hens to see if I can get better laying, and still keep the gameness in them. I am going to work onit till i can fence off enough of an area i can try to let them semi-forage. It will be a little area of about 1 or 2 of the 10 acres I live on so that is why i say Semi-forage cause it won't be fully free range.

 

[chicken_boy_Kurt]

Too bad you can't take the hardiness of a game chicken, the foraging qualityies of a heritage breed, and the laying abilities of a commercial hybrid and get the ultimate chicken.

 

[ThiefPouter06]

I have a game hen that has layed 6 eggs (although small ones) in one week. However I am not sure how consistant she is. Mainly she lives wild and they were the first eggs she layed in a safe spot that I could locate. Does anyone know how consistant american games are at laying? I think this has been a good question. It is not far fetched to think that society as we know it is teetering on the edge of colapse. I want to know that If I lose my job that I could at least have some eggs/meat.

 

[cgmccary]

Dominiques and Old English Games are very self reliant. They were the Depression Era chickens here in the South.

For eggs, Egyptian Fayounis are supposed to be almost feral and can live off the land.

 

[Trollkiller]

You guys have come up with some great ideas. Keep 'em coming.

Thanks

 

[New2Peeps]

Quote:
I don't think you can buy those, if you know of a way of getting them legally let me know.

If you type Key West into Search you will come up with several topics on the chickens and where to find them. Here is one topic:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=90205