Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[al6517]

Quote:
I got back from The Shawnee show this morning tired but satisfied, I thought I did Ok at the show which also doubled as the Western Cornish Nationals. There were over 200 exhibitors with over 3000 birds present, with 50 Large Fowl Cornish and 150 Cornish Bantams making a strong presents. I showed 7 birds total in the Open English/Open Large Fowl, here were the results of 4 1st & 3 2nds.

White LF Cockrel = 1st

White LF Hen = 1st & RV

White LF Pullet = 1st & BV & 5th Best National Overall

White Laced Red LF Pullet = 1st & RV & 4th Best National overall

White LF Hen = 2nd

White LF Pullet = 2nd

White Laced Red LF Pullet = 2nd

The ICBA ( International Cornish Breeders Association ) Awarded plaques and statues for the first 5 places, and I was Honored to get 2 of those places out of five.

Here I am on Cornish row in front of a few of my birds.

A few of the my birds that did well.

So in the end I was excited to have the opportunity to show some of my birds and have a great time visiting with some great Cornishman and just enjoying the sport.

AL

 

[bobbi-j]

It's been a busy day, so I'm just getting caught up on today's posts (I'm addicted to this thread - I can't wait to see what each new day brings!). There are a few posts I'd like to respond to:

I am unable to free range all day, but my birds get to go out once a day when I am home. I was wondering if any of the OT's keep their birds in runs and if they allow their roosters to eat layer feed?

Absolutely. That's what I do when we're going to be gone for a couple of days or more. Since the rooster lives with the hens, he eats what they eat.

Well I culled my first Roo, Myself! Everything went well it took what felt like an hour for the bird to stop wiggling!
Is this normal? I skinned him, and what appeared to be a huge bird on the outside was a tiny bird on the inside .not sure I want to do it again glad to know that I can if I have to!!
fresh chicken for dinner!!! Does the meat get dried out if baked skinless? I covered it and put soup mix in with it to keep it moist

Good for you! Nice to know what you can do if you have to, isn't it! Yeah, it can take awhile for them to stop flopping. Those feathers can be deceptive. Lots of fluff but not alot of meat. How did he turn out? There is no comparison between home-grown and store-bought chicken.

Hens are not a egg factory, yes they are producing a product, but to me it is almost like a puppy mill. Trying to squeeze out as many puppies as you can from the momma, before she is too worn out to produce anymore.

Forgive me if I'm being over-sensitive here, but I do find that comment somewhat offensive. Maybe because of the bad reputation that puppy mills have. I can guarantee you that my hens (who have been on vacation for the past couple of months because they were moulting) are treated far better than any dog in a puppy mill. Now that their feathers have been in for a month or so, I've started putting artificial light in their coop to stimulate egg production. It's that or we have a canning party with them as the guests of honor. DH is ready to butcher now. I think I've got him convinced to wait awhile to see if they start up again soon. What are they doing while we're waiting for them to lay? Unlike a puppy mill dog that is caged and over-bred, they're enjoying free ranging everyday, plus good layer feed and fresh water. At night they go into their nice, warm coop. Yes, I'm hoping to get good production out of them. Am I trying to "squeeze every egg out of them before they're too worn out to produce anymore? Not at all. I think they have quite a nice life, actually. If I thought that it was causing harm or pain to my chickens in any way, I wouldn't do it. The don't appear to be suffering.

There was also a comment made about naming or not naming chickens. I don't name mine because it's a whole lot easier on me that way when butchering day arrives. Learned that lesson with the first steer I had. His name was Buford...​

 

[Beekissed]

Al, I am incredibly impressed! Before I met you on here, I was very....shall I say...indifferent to show breeders. It didn't enter into my reality because I'm just a farm flock keeper with food as the key motivator.

But after reading your posts about preserving the integrity of your chosen breed and insuring your bloodlines were the best of the best, I was most impressed with your efforts and just why you show the results of your efforts. Your birds are not ornamental pretty birds but a sturdy, utilitarian breed that has a deep history. My mind was definitely changed about show birds!

Thank you for the pics and I hope you will keep us informed of any other shows you attend and how your birds placed. That's a pretty big show! Just think, one of our BYCers had that many 1st in show!

 

[bobbi-j]

Al - Congratulations on your show!

 

[oshun55555]

all I can say is WOW, I am impressed

 

[Mommy 2 Wee Ones]

Bobbi=j = This was not aimed at you, I have noticed others on some of the other boards who had lights on 24/7, and other informed them that the hens do need some darkness to rest. One even had lights on after it got dark, and then would suddenly turn off, and if the hens were not up on their roost, they had to sleep on the floor. Those are the ones I was commenting about, it seemed like they hens were not getting a break. I contemplated lights, since I had a fan going during the summer 25/7 since it was so darn hot this summer, I thought about lights. But since I know my roo is up at 5:30 am, because we can hear him crowing at that time, and the sun is not even up yet, I decided to forgo lights.

I am sorry my comment hit a nerve, please accept my apology.

 

[ladyride]

Congrats Al well done

that is indeed impressive. The payoff for so much hard work.

 

[al6517]

Thank you all, Bee your too kind !!!

I try to do my part as I see it. You know somebody can raise the best stock around but if you don't get out there to show folks and inspire others to do the same and what can be accomplished the breed is destin to perish and that would be ashame.

AL

 

[bobbi-j]

Quote:
Apology accepted, and please accept mine for being touchy. I used to have a light in my coop 24/7 to keep the water thawed, but it was a 60w heavy-duty garage door light that was hung way low over the water bowl. The chickens would still roost and sleep at night (sometimes I would go out later in the evenings to do chores). But now I have a new coop with an outlet and light with a timer, and a heated dog dish for their water. I agree that it is good for them to be able to have some darkness for rest. My coop is far enough away from the house, I have no idea what time my roo gets up

. Since we canned all the other roos last year, mine rarely crows anymore. Which is too bad, because I love to hear it!

 

[AR]

Al Beautiful birds. My kids are only doing 4h at this point but the meat birds at county fair this year were just horrible looking. It was enough to put someone off chicken as a food source. I showed them your birds and they could not believe they were of the same species.