Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[DesertChic]

I have had three strains of Delawares here. Our summers start in May. Daytime temps rise to over 100 F, sometimes as high as 120 F. It doesn't cool down until Oct. Nature does my selection for me, in this regard. Two of the strains of Delawares fared well. One line started dropping dead as soon as the heat set in. Only a few survived. This demonstrated to me how it's the strain, not the breed, that determines heat tolerance.

My single combed Silver Dorkings do very well in this heat. I may lose one elderly bird each year. So yes, you can have Dorkings in the heat.

There are many chicken & egg farmers in this region. All have production breeds. All experience huge losses due to the heat. When the temps spike suddenly, they often lose the entire flock. Another example of the importance of having birds selected for your environment.

In addition, the birds who do best here, regardless of breed, seem to have the sense to seek out shade or water. It's usual to see my flock standing under the sprinklers or in the water pans.

I am so glad to hear that Silver Dorkings do well in this heat since it gets pretty hot here in southern AZ as well, and this really is the breed I'm favoring right now. I may have to pick your brain in the future about breeders I may be able to purchase some chicks from.

 

[bnjrob]

Someone just asked me about some breeding ideas they're interested in trying, and the question came up as to which breeds I would want to work with for farming purposes. I came up with an initial list of imaginable possibilities:

Rocks, Wyandottes, Reds, NHs, Australorps, Dorkings, Sussex, Orpingtons, Faverolles, Langshans, Minorcas, Andalusians, Anconas and Leghorns.

It was just sort of a general list; so the question became what would I actually narrow it down to, which came to

Rocks, Reds, NHs, Dorkings, Sussex, Faverolles, Minorcas, Anconas, and Leghorns.

I can honestly say that I wouldn't go anywhere else.

I hope that we will be able to get some good Javas out there so that they can be on someone else's list of a good breed for farmers again. After all, they did help create Rocks and Reds.

 

[TheBanditQueen]

I would say that the biggest problem with Basques is that they are a seriously underdeveloped bird.

(Rookie question alert) When you use the term 'underdeveloped', what is it that you mean? I am curious.

 

[gjensen]

I do understand your love of Dorkings. I wanted Whites so bad. But with climate change getting worse and the scientists saying that the trend could last decades, I want to start with a bird that I know is safe. I plan to get Marraduna Basques because of this very same reason. They come from heat loving Spain and will adjust to my climate very well. Friendly, easy going. I hatched one a few months ago. It was the only one that pecked on the incubator glass and starred me in the eye. Laughed myself silly.

This notion that this breed is heat tolerant because they come from Spain is naïve. You are listening to people that do not know any better. The Basque region of Spain is not a hot place. In fact it is very mild. They do not have cold winters, but they do not have particularly hot summers either. They only occasionally have periods of high heat. They like much of the Mediterranean is warm, but mild with little in the way of winter.

Now the breed may tolerate the heat better than some. They are not especially large, and a medium large breed. It would not be because of their place of origin though. That is just one of those internet "truths" that is perpetuated by people that have not learned better yet.

I am not knocking the breed. I am fascinated by all of the breeds from the region. Spain and Italy in particular. I have a rare breed that originated in Spain, but was imported from Peru. I am not picking on you either. I have just seen this rationale used over and again. I have wanted to post the Basque region's average summer highs.

 

[gjensen]

Basques are not any kind of sensation any more.

They are an established breed with a standard in Spain though. Sadly the ones that are here are from Canada and have been bred to Penedesencas. They do have a lot more utility than minoras and leghorns though.

Actually, they are much better for utility than most Dorkings, yours excepted of course.

I have experience with both Dorkings and Basque but that is limited to a limited sample. They do not die in the heat and lay a lot of eggs. Meat production is very good.

Ron, why would you claim that this breed has more utility than Leghorns or Minorcas?

 

[gjensen]

I hope that we will be able to get some good Javas out there so that they can be on someone else's list of a good breed for farmers again. After all, they did help create Rocks and Reds.

And replaced by Rocks and Reds because they were an improvement. Insert smiley here. I could not resist.

 

[ronott1]

Ron, why would you claim that this breed has more utility than Leghorns or Minorcas?

I am talking about meat production and egg production. I have had experience with leghorns--not much meat on them. I would not use them for a dual purpose breed.

My Basque hens lay very well and grow fast so they are good a Dual purpose breed.

Also, my Basque hens have been very heat tolerant. None of them have died in our heat. It gets up to 115 here each summer and it is that hot from May to October. They only get water and shade too. I live in the same place as Kim--where entire flocks of chickens die in the summer. One local breeder with marans lost 15 in one day.

Like I said, I am going off of experience. Two summers ago I hatched out several hundred basque hens for a local egg farmer and he did not have them die in the heat either.

Personal experience speaking here, not an Internet rumor for me!

 

[gjensen]

I have had three strains of Delawares here. Our summers start in May. Daytime temps rise to over 100 F, sometimes as high as 120 F. It doesn't cool down until Oct. Nature does my selection for me, in this regard. Two of the strains of Delawares fared well. One line started dropping dead as soon as the heat set in. Only a few survived. This demonstrated to me how it's the strain, not the breed, that determines heat tolerance.

My single combed Silver Dorkings do very well in this heat. I may lose one elderly bird each year. So yes, you can have Dorkings in the heat.

There are many chicken & egg farmers in this region. All have production breeds. All experience huge losses due to the heat. When the temps spike suddenly, they often lose the entire flock. Another example of the importance of having birds selected for your environment.

In addition, the birds who do best here, regardless of breed, seem to have the sense to seek out shade or water. It's usual to see my flock standing under the sprinklers or in the water pans.

I agree that this and most of the things we comment on, or come to believe is more about a strain than it is about a breed. We often fail to realize the variation between strains. We forever perpetuate preconceived ideas that are not universally true. For some reason, we have a hard time digesting that.

I do believe that there are physical characteristics found within a breed that gives it an advantage or disadvantage. Still it doesn't mean that the potential is realized or not.

The farmers here occasionally have big losses also. I think how they are reared plays a part to.

 

[Beekissed]

Many seem to determine if a breed is cold hardy by if they have a pea or small comb, or not...to me that makes no sense at all. That has nothing to do with a breed or bird's tolerance to the cold and has more to do with less chance of a comb becoming frost bit or not~and that has many factors involved beyond the size of the comb, IMO.

To me, cold tolerance has to do with the ability to live, thrive and produce well~with allowances for winter hormonal fluctuations and their influence on laying production. Saying a single comb variety is not cold hardy is like saying a pea comb variety wouldn't do well in a hot climate. Like production levels, this is something that can be individual to the bird and not necessarily a breed trait only.

That being said, I do think it's wise to keep breeds that have a tendency to produce better in your particular climate and not try to fight an uphill battle such as trying to cull a Mediterranean breed flock to get those that will thrive well in a Minnesota winter.

 

[gjensen]

I am talking about meat production and egg production. I have had experience with leghorns--not much meat on them. I would not use them for a dual purpose breed.

My Basque hens lay very well and grow fast so they are good a Dual purpose breed.

Also, my Basque hens have been very heat tolerant. None of them have died in our heat. It gets up to 115 here each summer and it is that hot from May to October. They only get water and shade too. I live in the same place as Kim--where entire flocks of chickens die in the summer. One local breeder with marans lost 15 in one day.

Like I said, I am going off of experience. Two summers ago I hatched out several hundred basque hens for a local egg farmer and he did not have them die in the heat either.

Personal experience speaking here, not an Internet rumor for me!

So you are saying that they are better for meat than Leghorns. I can certainly see that. Especially that Leghorns are small compared to many breeds. Especially the commercial Leghorns that have 4lb hens. Some heavy bantams almost weigh as much. LOL.

Remember, I did say that I did not doubt that they did well during hot summers. I do not doubt that at all. Many strains and breeds will.