Dual Purpose alternatives???

[Prospector]

As to the OP's question , IMO the Buckeye and Chantecler are two breeds developed to have superior meat qualities similiar to the pure Cornish while increasing egg production and earlier maturity . Unfortunately neither were hugely popular , declined in numbers and quality , and are only just recently being bred back to their original qualities . Brother Wilfrid kept very tight contoll of the breeding of White Chanteclers and succeeded in developing a white dual purpose breed laying 200 + eggs per year and , for the period , great feed conversion and growth rates . In order to puchase breeders from him , people had to agree to keep records and return all their birds for inspection on an annual basis before the next generation could be called Chanteclers . The Buff and Partridge Chantecler were not developed by him and possibly not related . The Buckeye had no Cornish , but a cross of black breasted red gamefowl in their developement made them have similiar characteristecs . Starting with either Buckeyes or Chanteclers from reputable breeders and continueing to select for their historic qualities would be an admirable and rewarding project IMO . Of course there are many dual purpose breeds that might also fill your needs .

Thanks for this information. I was aware of the quality of the original birds, but not of the declining quality. I do know that hte breed is trying to recover from a decimation in its numbers, and is just getting traction. They are not an inexpensive bird to start with, but I am hoping that the breeding for our climate will mean a more successful first year with them. I will need to confirm that these are whites and not the Buff or Partridge varieties.

I'll look into the buckeye, but I haven't seen any listings for them in the area at all. For all its worth, most of the folks listing Chanty's have no stock either. We will be driving nearly 4 hours to get our chicks. The breeder we found is listed as a member of the breed association, so I think they should have good stock.

Thanks again everyone!​

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Thanks for this information. I was aware of the quality of the original birds, but not of the declining quality. I do know that hte breed is trying to recover from a decimation in its numbers, and is just getting traction. They are not an inexpensive bird to start with, but I am hoping that the breeding for our climate will mean a more successful first year with them. I will need to confirm that these are whites and not the Buff or Partridge varieties.

I'll look into the buckeye, but I haven't seen any listings for them in the area at all. For all its worth, most of the folks listing Chanty's have no stock either. We will be driving nearly 4 hours to get our chicks. The breeder we found is listed as a member of the breed association, so I think they should have good stock.

Thanks again everyone!

There are both Chantecler and Buckeye threads over in the " Breeds , Genetics & Showing " . One complaint I've seen on Chanteclers is slow growth and another mentioned off type or color on the Partridges ; I just don't see those huge breasted specimens pictured from the early 1900s . There are always problems you are going to have with any breed but when bringing back a breed that neared extinction there are simply less truly outstanding specimens to choose from and a certain amount of relunctance to cull heavily ; coupled with haphazard breeding practises of a few people to cash in on the interest being generated of late .

 

[Prospector]

Well, we go to pick up our chicks tonight. I had a longish chat with the breeder yesterday. She only does the whites, and discounted the partridge variety as not true to the breed. She also let me know that she ONLY does Chantys for chickens, and would rather see them go as breeding stock than as pets. She was actually a little concerned that if we weren't breeding them we were getting them for the wrong reasons, and then went into an explanation of what it takes to develop better birds in a breeding program.

That was all good.

Apparently she is also breeding heritage turkeys and ducks.

I don't mind if th eChanty's take a little longer to get big. I am not in this for profit, and I understand that at the end of the day, we may have some fairly expensive eggs/chicken on the table. I still think this is a good way to go for our family.

 

[SteveH]

Good for you , congrats ! If you could post pics here of your chicks and their growing progress I would be very grateful .

 

[Prospector]

They are in the basement in our "brooder." As far as Ghetto Contraptions go I think its pretty outstanding.

We got week-olds, so they are already developing feathers.

SWMBO has picks of them in the huddle when we first put them in the brooder. I will try to post tomorrow.

Things I noticed in picking them up:
- one has grey-ish feet, the others all have yellow feet
- two have mottled colouring - white to a light grey-brown
- some are VERY white
- some are VERY yellow
- all went well, and I now hear little chirps comng from the basement.

2nd edit to add: SWMBO put a few pics up on her blog which can be found here: http://ravens-rook.blogspot.com/2010/04/mighty-tiny-chicken-ranch.html You will notice our high-tech "Mr Turtle Brooder" it seems to be working well, but teh chicks keep kicking the thermometer away from teh heat lamp. Whenever we get close, they all huddle, but I assure you that when I went to check on them late last night, they were all sleeping spaced evenly across the floor of the brooder, which is the indicator of proper heat, right??

We put a scrap of (Shudder) shag carpet under the pool to insulate it from the concrete floor. I'm hoping the temperature showing on the thermometer aren't too far off. (Very concerned about keeping the heat just right).

 

[SteveH]

I hope they are quality breeding stock ; the breeder did sound to be dedicated . I have no idea why they vary so much in color . I know recessive whites are sometimes kind of smokey or have smokey/silver highlights as chicks , dominate whites may look yellow ; I've been told some breeds carry both genes , sometimes together . I don't know what Chanteclers are supposed to carry . I just tonight noticed you're Canadian . I'm guessing there are more Chanteclers there than here in the U.S. ? Thanks for the update , I'll try to keep up with this thread .

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
Yes, that's right. I'd forget the thermometer, and let the chicks tell you what they need. Evenly spaced is exactly right. Sounds like you're on the right track.

Good luck with the Chanties, I'm always happy to hear somebody beginning to raise a rare breed, from good breeder stock. I'm very much in favor of biodiversity.