Crossing my Red Ranger Hens.

[LilyD]

6 and a half week old 3/4 dorking 1/4 Red Rangers. My new trail cam is helping pick out culls and breeders. I can never get a good look at my chicks because they run around the brooder and away from me. I just watching about 400 Ten second videos on my lunch break and I had the best look at these chicks ever without picking a single one up. They have so much more energy than pure bred dorking. I am hoping I can make a much hardier line of Dorkings for a sustainable meat and winter egg flock.

I just hatched out 2 Ayam Cemani x Red Ranger chicks. Had 5 eggs. 3 eggs are still in the incubator but from my experience if they have not pipped yet they aren't going to. maybe I will hand pip them and see if I can get any of those 3 out.

Love it. I always loved my dorkings but had the same issues I keep hearing here. They laid poorly and died a lot before they reached breeding age. It was hard to keep a manageable flock going.

 

[Compost King]

Love it. I always loved my dorkings but had the same issues I keep hearing here. They laid poorly and died a lot before they reached breeding age. It was hard to keep a manageable flock going.

Mine actually lay great when they aren't broody. The first 4 months their eggs were on the small side now they lay the same size as my production quality leghorns. The Leghorns eat a whole heck of a lot less to make that big of an egg though.

 

[BlueBaby]

Mine actually lay great when they aren't broody. The first 4 months their eggs were on the small side now they lay the same size as my production quality leghorns. The Leghorns eat a whole heck of a lot less to make that big of an egg though.

I guess that's because the bigger the frame is on a chicken, the more that they have to eat to fill and maintain it?

 

[Compost King]

I guess that's because the bigger the frame is on a chicken, the more that they have to eat to fill and maintain it?

that's what I speculate. I also believe Leghorns are superior foragers which is why I get sad seeing them in battery cages, they free range so well. They even do great in small pens outside as mine are in. They dig deeper and scratch up every inch of the pen. Some of the other breeds I have penned up will only scratch for food if I go in with a pitch fork and turn over their bedding for them.

 

[BlueBaby]

that's what I speculate. I also believe Leghorns are superior foragers which is why I get sad seeing them in battery cages, they free range so well. They even do great in small pens outside as mine are in. They dig deeper and scratch up every inch of the pen. Some of the other breeds I have penned up will only scratch for food if I go in with a pitch fork and turn over their bedding for them.

I don't have any of the regular leghorn's, but I do have one remaining CCLB hen (blue egg layer) left here, plus her Nn daughter (green egg layer). They seem to be able to scratch around pretty good. I have a couple more of their chick's I just hatched out on the 1st of this month.

I think that the egg farms keep the Leghorn's in those cages because they do not want to have to run all over big acreages looking for the egg's that they would lay all over if they could?

 

[Compost King]

I don't have any of the regular leghorn's, but I do have one remaining CCLB hen (blue egg layer) left here, plus her Nn daughter (green egg layer). They seem to be able to scratch around pretty good. I have a couple more of their chick's I just hatched out on the 1st of this month.

I think that the egg farms keep the Leghorn's in those cages because they do not want to have to run all over big acreages looking for the egg's that they would lay all over if they could?

They must have figured that caging them was the most cost effective way to produce eggs. I would venture to say that maybe a giant compost pile protected by a guard dog might be cheaper since you wouldn't need feed.

 

[BlueBaby]

They must have figured that caging them was the most cost effective way to produce eggs. I would venture to say that maybe a giant compost pile protected by a guard dog might be cheaper since you wouldn't need feed.

That's the good thing about having your own backyard chicken's. You can raise them the way that you feel is best for them.

 

[Kris5902]

I’ve hit a little snag in my chicken plans... apparently I’m going to need to keep the numbers under 150 chickens at any one time for insurance reasons. Apparently the insurance companies “don’t like chickens or pigs” and I’m creating problems for securing insurance for the farm. 600 acres, and I can only keep 150 birds? Idiocy, if you ask me. Clearly the company providing farm insurance is a little unclear about what a “farm” is and does?

Not sure quite how I’m going to work out my breeding program now, with needing production to support the feed costs, maintaining a laying flock because the farm “needs” eggs, and keeping breeders which I will have to hold back until traits start showing in offspring... but I’m going to keep trying!

 

[BlueBaby]

I’ve hit a little snag in my chicken plans... apparently I’m going to need to keep the numbers under 150 chickens at any one time for insurance reasons. Apparently the insurance companies “don’t like chickens or pigs” and I’m creating problems for securing insurance for the farm. 600 acres, and I can only keep 150 birds? Idiocy, if you ask me. Clearly the company providing farm insurance is a little unclear about what a “farm” is and does?

Not sure quite how I’m going to work out my breeding program now, with needing production to support the feed costs, maintaining a laying flock because the farm “needs” eggs, and keeping breeders which I will have to hold back until traits start showing in offspring... but I’m going to keep trying!

Sorry that you have having that problem. There always seem's to be somebody somewhere or other that want's to put a wrench in other people's plan, huh?

 

[Compost King]

I’ve hit a little snag in my chicken plans... apparently I’m going to need to keep the numbers under 150 chickens at any one time for insurance reasons. Apparently the insurance companies “don’t like chickens or pigs” and I’m creating problems for securing insurance for the farm. 600 acres, and I can only keep 150 birds? Idiocy, if you ask me. Clearly the company providing farm insurance is a little unclear about what a “farm” is and does?

Not sure quite how I’m going to work out my breeding program now, with needing production to support the feed costs, maintaining a laying flock because the farm “needs” eggs, and keeping breeders which I will have to hold back until traits start showing in offspring... but I’m going to keep trying!

Its things like that which has me wanting to go off grid and only produce food for myself... have no insurance, no mortgage and no someone else creating rules for me to live by. I got lucky and stumbled into owning a house in a very agriculturally friendly city 2 codes on chickens that I even agree with. 1. Keep the chickens on your own property and 2. Keep them Humanely.
Kris I really hope you can find a way around this. That is way too few chickens to have for a farm. If you get limited as to how many chickens you can have then I suggest getting Rhode Island Reds because its the same breed that can be used for both meat and eggs with great success for both.