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

[stonykill]

IMO game fowl are the prettiest with the most variety in feather pattern, lay well though small eggs, friendly and smart, but they won't attack you or the kids, they will not tolerate being chased and hugged. They are very low maintainence birds. Depends on where and what you get, they can be pricy.

I'm with ya!

 

[stonykill]

In the real world, the "cute" chickens, such as silkies, frizzles, EEs, won't be the ones that lay a lot of eggs. Same with the very docile breeds that allow constant picking up(Orpingtons). Would you settle for simply beautiful and great egg laying? Black Aussies are sweet, lay long and well, are hardy and versatile. They are glossy black that glistens into purple, green, and blue in the sunlight. They are easy to come by and live and produce a long time if managed properly.

White Rocks, snow white, beautiful lines and regal bearing...will NOT allow any picking up. They will lay long and well, are good mothers, hardy to the max and are heavy birds.

RIRs, same as the above but not heavy built as the other two...simply beautiful and richly red, good layers, some are very friendly and moochy, some are not.

Barred Rocks, Speckled Sussex, Brahmas, etc. can add a little color to the mix and are all great layers.

It isn't advisable to let your children run and chase and pick up unless you are also prepared that they will get clawed or pecked. That's the reality of chickens...you can't train them like a dog to not bite children and eyes are a particular attractant. When little kids hold a chicken, the bird is close to eyes...when we hold one, not so close.

RIR's, I absolutely love mine. I have 6 year old RIR's still laying. And laying Pekin duck sized eggs. All my reds are what I consider friendly. They run up to me, or anyone they recognize to beg for food. They hang while we garden. But DON'T try to touch them! They won't have ANY part of that.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

RIR's, I absolutely love mine. I have 6 year old RIR's still laying. And laying Pekin duck sized eggs. All my reds are what I consider friendly. They run up to me, or anyone they recognize to beg for food. They hang while we garden. But DON'T try to touch them! They won't have ANY part of that.

I'm curious where your RIRs came from.

 

[Beekissed]

Ok, so I know Hatchery chicks are often frowned upon in this establishment (

) but for those of y'all that do use hatchery birds, what hatcheries do you use?


*standing back to watch the feathers fly*

I've had birds out of Meyers and McMurrays and was satisfied with both hatcheries each time, though none of the production blacks or reds were hardy enough to last even 2 years without being culled or dropping off the roost with heart attacks. I have a feeling that this is the case with all the breeds currently bred for production because all the other folks I know that have them are showing the same thing...raggedy birds with poor feathering after the first molt and recovery, not glossy and shiny of feather, eye, or scale after their first year, etc.

I had Doms from Meyers once and they were even of worse genetics than the production breeds....not hardy, not good layers, not good feathering. The Doms my granny always had were twice the size of these hatchery Doms and were amazingly hardy and productive.

When ordering from most hatcheries, it's always a gamble and a grab bag if you are going to come up roses and management counts for a lot after you get the bird. So far, I'm pleased that a high percentage of the hatchery birds have done well and displeased that any percentage of them did poorly...but that's life.

Some of my hatchery stock are in their 6 and 7th years and going strong, laying well and healthy still.

I got some birds from a so-called breeder(AKA chick mill) once and not a one made it a month before needing to be culled..and that's a record for me. Usually I give a bird until the yearly cull before making the final decision but those birds had to go.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I've had birds out of Meyers and McMurrays and was satisfied with both hatcheries each time, though none of the production blacks or reds were hardy enough to last even 2 years without being culled or dropping off the roost with heart attacks. I have a feeling that this is the case with all the breeds currently bred for production because all the other folks I know that have them are showing the same thing...raggedy birds with poor feathering after the first molt and recovery, not glossy and shiny of feather, eye, or scale after their first year, etc.

I had Doms from Meyers once and they were even of worse genetics than the production breeds....not hardy, not good layers, not good feathering. The Doms my granny always had were twice the size of these hatchery Doms and were amazingly hardy and productive.

When ordering from most hatcheries, it's always a gamble and a grab bag if you are going to come up roses and management counts for a lot after you get the bird. So far, I'm pleased that a high percentage of the hatchery birds have done well and displeased that any percentage of them did poorly...but that's life.

Some of my hatchery stock are in their 6 and 7th years and going strong, laying well and healthy still.

I got some birds from a so-called breeder(AKA chick mill) once and not a one made it a month before needing to be culled..and that's a record for me. Usually I give a bird until the yearly cull before making the final decision but those birds had to go.

Thank you for sharing this information. I have been reading this thread and some of the heritage threads and have learned so much, but I often find it difficult to get a good idea about a breed in general because people rarely state the source of the birds. Hatchery vs heritage vs SQ vs hobby breeder vs "propagators" - hard to compare because the same breed will vary depending on the source. Sort of like comparing oranges to tangerines.

 

[Fred's Hens]

If you get a good lead from a REAL LIVE source, not an internet testimonial, of a fair to midland line of birds, from Hatchery A, in a breed you want, that's one thing. Bee's use of the word "grab bag" is descriptive. You just flat won't know, most of the time. Pig a poke for sure.

If you want bred to standard birds, wish to show, want the real McCoy heritage birds you've seen displayed on other threads, you're simply gonna have to get to know some of the reputable folks who have them, breed them and will include you into the supply chain. There aren't enough of such birds to supply everyone in the world with them and not everyone even needs such birds, frankly.

Back to hatchery stock. If you do get solid intelligence on Hatchery A's XXXX strain of birds, what we'e done is this. Order a box of 25 or 50. At 5 month to a year? Pick through. In that batch will be some winners. I'm telling ya. Some good, solid birds. Not show, not SOP particularly, but good birds. Dump the rest. Eat them, sell them, give them away, etc. I am the only one foolish enough, I reckon, to make this recommendation, as I sure as heck don't hear others saying it around the forum, but it is as reasonable and plain old straight forward as picking 5 good 2x4's out of a stack of twisted ones at Home Depot. That's all I got to say about that.

But, if you say to me, I only want 3 birds as pets, well, then that's a whole 'nother deal that someone else might be better advising you on.

 

[Beekissed]

True and true. Pick and choose the best from the rest and keep those. No use trying to think that ALL the birds from any one source are going to be the best you can get for that money. Within a batch from any source will be good ones, within a certain breed from that source will be good ones, within that group that you keep and consequently breed, you will have good offspring and bad.

It's all about culling and refining what birds you get from any source. You learn after awhile where you are wasting your money...if you have to cull nearly all the birds from a certain hatchery or breeder, that would be one to avoid.

Most of this stuff cannot be learned or obtained in a year and even two years, so when seriously considering chickens and investing money into housing and equipment, one also needs to know that it could be years before you have a flock with which you are really satisfied and would sell to others as a representation of your particular stock.

I don't sell my birds but there are only some birds I'm willing to support with feed and my time, so it's pretty much the same for me.....after culling and refining, when I get a really good flock on my land, then I'm satisfied~and that doesn't happen from a single hatchery or source, usually. And it doesn't happen in just a year or two, IME.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Everyone has their fav birds, and you know what you want so, consider as well the climate and conditions you live in, what do people tend to keep in your area that do well. If you want a docile bird that will stay close to home and out of the neighbors yard, or something that can fly into the trees to escape predators...sometimes you can have it all, but get good quality of whatever you get.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

If you get a good lead from a REAL LIVE source, not an internet testimonial, of a fair to midland line of birds, from Hatchery A, in a breed you want, that's one thing. Bee's use of the word "grab bag" is descriptive. You just flat won't know, most of the time. Pig a poke for sure.

If you want bred to standard birds, wish to show, want the real McCoy heritage birds you've seen displayed on other threads, you're simply gonna have to get to know some of the reputable folks who have them, breed them and will include you into the supply chain. There aren't enough of such birds to supply everyone in the world with them and not everyone even needs such birds, frankly.

Back to hatchery stock. If you do get solid intelligence on Hatchery A's XXXX strain of birds, what we'e done is this. Order a box of 25 or 50. At 5 month to a year? Pick through. In that batch will be some winners. I'm telling ya. Some good, solid birds. Not show, not SOP particularly, but good birds. Dump the rest. Eat them, sell them, give them away, etc. I am the only one foolish enough, I reckon, to make this recommendation, as I sure as heck don't hear others saying it around the forum, but it is as reasonable and plain old straight forward as picking 5 good 2x4's out of a stack of twisted ones at Home Depot. That's all I got to say about that.

But, if you say to me, I only want 3 birds as pets, well, then that's a whole 'nother deal that someone else might be better advising you on.

Oh the time we have wasted sorting sorting through the lumber!!!

At this point, I'm just getting back into chickens (we kept them when I was a kid) and learning about the different breeds. I just have hens for eggs and enjoyment now, but am interested in the preservation of heritage breeds (a few heritage roses too), which may turn into a reality when I "retire."

Although not all the information shared on this thread is applicable to my current situation, much of it is, and anything I learn that adds to my base of knowledge is valuable, IMO. You old timers are sort of pre-sorting the 2x4s for me!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Ultimately? Helping is part of the reason for this forum's success. I've learned so very much from folks here as well.

Bee's point of sorting through birds, regardless of the source, is such a valid point. The difficulty many BYCers have is that they only get a small number of birds at a time, they are unable or unwilling to cull, or they don't/wouldn't cull birds, but tend to medically play Dr Welby MD. (may as well use an OT analogy) even with the sick and crippled ones or wouldn't know which bird to cull or why, and couldn't imagine not loving every single bird to death.

I think my discussing getting 25 birds, from whatever source, for whatever purpose, and sorting through for the 4 or 5 decent birds is almost beyond what the vast majority of folks here can honestly do. I sometimes have to remember that. Such a process simply doesn't "fit" their reality.