BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[CanadianBuckeye]

I always feed the same feed all year round, though in the winter months I cut it with a whole grain like oats or barley. I feed simple layer mash that has been fermented. During the hotter days/months the birds let me know how much of that to feed....moderately hot days(90s) in the spring/early summer they will usually rely more on foraged feeds and I barely feed anything....a few small scoops for the whole flock, if that. Some days not even a whole scoop.

Later in the summer when it's that hot, they tend to not want to forage as much, so they get fed a little more. Come late Aug/Sept. on to winter they barely eat anything at all in the coop....fall is a forage bonanza and even if the weather stays hot, the nights are cool and the grass nutritive values climb, especially in the morning and evening, so they don't rely on the commercial feed much at all but put on fat like crazy.

My growing chicks, particularly after they've split off from their mothers, hardly ever get any grain based feeds at all....a few mouthfuls snatched when they can, but the cockerels, in particular, pretty much exist entirely on what they forage. The chicks are truly raised on foraged feeds for almost their entire diet, from 1 wk onward until they reach full size and are able to maintain their feeding rights at the feeder. The cockerels usually split off for good long about then, as the older hens nor the reigning male will let them in the coop at feeding time....those fellows pretty much eat wild until butcher time. Last year they were all rolling in fat....I've never seen that much fat on cockerels in my life...or on any rooster, for that matter. I was stunned at how well conditioned those birds were on foraged feeds. Needless to say, I'll be doing the same thing this year and, hopefully, netting the same results....cockerels that get fat without me spending a dime on them.

Was your flock always like this, or did you select for it over time? Very interesting indeed.

 

[3riverschick]

The next page of posts marks 1000 Pages in this thread!!

That's quite an accomplishment. Kudos to ya'll!
Karen

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Really?! WOW.

 

[Beekissed]

Was your flock always like this, or did you select for it over time? Very interesting indeed.

I've been developing this method for some years now...not even really a method so much as just an observation of chickens and how they prefer to do things. Then I just let nature happen while trying to fit my own needs inside of that, so I act as the predator in this system but also provide shelter, supplementary feeding and a safe place to lay eggs/hatch out progeny. It's easier for me to watch and learn, to provide for their needs and then stand back and let them self regulate their own social structure.....but I also cull for correct social skills, for laying, for thrift/hardiness, so it all plays into forming a flock that is pretty self sustainable and stress free while also producing meat and eggs at a high yield. Utilizing the White Rock breed is a big part of that...they are truly a dual purpose breed, producing both eggs and meat at such a high rate that I see no need to try and cross breeds to form a better bird.

The free range system I have set up here is a huge part of that and I couldn't do any of that quite so well without the perfect piece of property in which to do so...the forage here is phenomenal and I have worked to create even more of that by overseeding with white dutch clover, creating natural areas for snake, lizard and bug habitat and through careful mowing of the meadow...sometimes letting it go to seed, sometimes not allowing certain weeds or grasses to do so.

The dogs are also a huge part of that, so the training and developing of the dogs for this kind of job is also my part to play. Their wireless containment system is a cheap price to pay for the freedom and ability to work that comes with it and eliminates the need for Ft. Knox style cooping and fences here, so the chickens live a free life and the dogs do also, as much as is possible within their fencing boundary. I like for the animals here to have as natural a life and diet as I can possibly provide.

But, mostly, I just honor God's design for the chickens and ask for guidance from their Manufacturer about how to manage them in order to be a good steward of what He has given me, trying to provide them with a good life here, as close to what He had designed them for as possible. That seems to work better than anything else.

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

Jules,
Now that is a sustainable plan, thanks for sharing!
Kurt

 

[lpatelski]

Almost done with my new pen. I hope to move my growout stock into the "gazebo" pen shortly. Tropical storm Colin only dropped 6 inches without the high winds.
I had to pull out two little chicks that got soaked. They are much better today. I will post pics when all is done. Linda Patelski

or I'll just post one now

 

[DesertChic]

I always feed the same feed all year round, though in the winter months I cut it with a whole grain like oats or barley. I feed simple layer mash that has been fermented. During the hotter days/months the birds let me know how much of that to feed....moderately hot days(90s) in the spring/early summer they will usually rely more on foraged feeds and I barely feed anything....a few small scoops for the whole flock, if that. Some days not even a whole scoop.

Later in the summer when it's that hot, they tend to not want to forage as much, so they get fed a little more. Come late Aug/Sept. on to winter they barely eat anything at all in the coop....fall is a forage bonanza and even if the weather stays hot, the nights are cool and the grass nutritive values climb, especially in the morning and evening, so they don't rely on the commercial feed much at all but put on fat like crazy.

My growing chicks, particularly after they've split off from their mothers, hardly ever get any grain based feeds at all....a few mouthfuls snatched when they can, but the cockerels, in particular, pretty much exist entirely on what they forage. The chicks are truly raised on foraged feeds for almost their entire diet, from 1 wk onward until they reach full size and are able to maintain their feeding rights at the feeder. The cockerels usually split off for good long about then, as the older hens nor the reigning male will let them in the coop at feeding time....those fellows pretty much eat wild until butcher time. Last year they were all rolling in fat....I've never seen that much fat on cockerels in my life...or on any rooster, for that matter. I was stunned at how well conditioned those birds were on foraged feeds. Needless to say, I'll be doing the same thing this year and, hopefully, netting the same results....cockerels that get fat without me spending a dime on them.

I wish I could follow your lead on this, but where I live there simply isn't enough forage to pull this off. I have noticed that my entire flock, irrespective of age or breed, does eat less when the temperatures are as hot as they have been, but the intense heat and sun this time of year pretty much kills anything trying to remain green. Until the monsoons come, "forage" consists of that rare, stray piece of nutgrass and whatever my birds manage to steal from my garden...or what I feed them from my garden.

I tried something a little different this year, just for the sake of learning: I've offered dishes of both higher (20%) and lower (16%) protein feed each season and watched to see what the birds chose, all of it fermented. Right now they unilaterally prefer the higher protein feed, devouring that before taking even a single mouthful of the layer feed that they showed the greater preference for just a month ago. That said, they'll completely ignore even the higher protein feed if they see me carrying a handful of kale or Swiss chard. And I've learned I can get my birds to do just about anything for a strawberry or slice of apple. Oh, and I've now adding vitamins to their water, just to ensure they get sufficient nutrition on the hottest days when they consume far more water than they ever do food.

We're finally experiencing a cool-down, meaning the high is only supposed to reach 105 today with 6% humidity. The difference in the chickens' behavior at 105 vs 115 is monumental. Yesterday by 10:00 A.M. everyone was panting heavily, wings lifted, and looking downright miserable. Today, even at 105, everyone is dust bathing merrily, scratching through all of the moist earth I've made for them, and eating a bit more heartily. So far I haven't had to do a single thing to cool them down today. The roosters are also feeling much more amorous. The hens are not.

 

[DesertChic]

Yes - this time of year (when things being to get hot), I watch the chickens very carefully (hence my obsessiveness and all my questions) - specifically those breeds/lines that are new to me (still building my flock and "trying out" some different breeds). Whether I decide to actually cull or not, I won't breed from a bird that struggles in the heat. But I learned before I ever had chickens, via gardening, the importance of varieties suited to one's local climate, and have only gotten chicks or hatching eggs form Florida, Arizona, or Texas.

- Ant Farm

Edit to add: As I also have all kinds of NN cross ideas, I can understand DesertChic's desire to keep her Biels alive long enough to get a more heat resistant NN cross out of them. But I also have to thank her for sharing her experiences here - I have loved the look and characteristics of the Biel, but if they may struggle in the heat, I will take a pass (and I did...).

If my remaining Biel hens survive this summer, which now it appears may not be a problem (I hope), I think I'm going to cross them with one or two of the Austra White cockerels I had originally purchased to caponize. The AWs so far have shown minimal heat discomfort for a full feathered bird compared to many of my other birds, and it might result in some interesting birds. I also have one AW pullet I may cross to my Biel roosters. Then I may cross the offspring back to my NNs....just because I really love NNs.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

If my remaining Biel hens survive this summer, which now it appears may not be a problem (I hope), I think I'm going to cross them with one or two of the Austra White cockerels I had originally purchased to caponize. The AWs so far have shown minimal heat discomfort for a full feathered bird compared to many of my other birds, and it might result in some interesting birds. I also have one AW pullet I may cross to my Biel roosters. Then I may cross the offspring back to my NNs....just because I really love NNs.

It makes sense that the birds of Mediterranean descent would be heat tolerant. Although I'd be a bit concerned about what will happen to your good meatie body shape. I'm really surprised that nobody in the hot climates has tried Fayoumis or crosses- that's a breed that has many good traits, underutilized IMO. That breed is on my bucket list to try one day, to see how they fare in a more northern climate.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
I'm actually going to try Penedesencas - I just have my hands full right now.

- Ant Farm