Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[fowlman01]

Not exactly a homesteading question, but I am hoping to take some birds to my first show this fall, White Chanteclers and a non-recognized breed. For the non-recognized breed, there are accepted LF UK and German standards, a draft LF standard by the breed club, and the accepted ABA standard for bantams. I was thinking about printing one up and affixing to the cage for the judge to reference as I'm only taking them for feedback and figured without a standard to reference, they can really only judge condition. But I wasn't sure if this was allowed... Also, which standard would you recommend?

From a homesteading perspective, I am really enjoying these Chanteclers. Good sized birds, big eggs, and the chicks hatch fast and clean. I haven't butchered any yet, I only started with two decent pairs and am trying to build up a flock, but I can tell by feeling them they will make a nice carcass. So far so good.

If you are talking about the Spitzhauben or creme Legbars, use the US, draft if it has been prepared for the APA. If not tell me what breed and I will make a suggestion.

Walt

 

[RiddleMe]

Quote: Thanks Walt, the breed is the Russian Orloff. My concern is the draft is in it's infancy, I'm not sure if it's even been submitted to the APA committee for input yet (although I'm sure you would know

). I'm also not sure how closely it meshes with the existing ABA standard, and understand that might be an issue down the road.

 

[fowlman01]

Thanks Walt, the breed is the Russian Orloff. My concern is the draft is in it's infancy, I'm not sure if it's even been submitted to the APA committee for input yet (although I'm sure you would know

). I'm also not sure how closely it meshes with the existing ABA standard, and understand that might be an issue down the road.

We try to keep the descriptions used in the ABA the same for the APA, but not always. We have had people inquire about the Orloffs..and the new Orloffs are not the same as the Orloffs originally in the APA Standard.....people will tell you different but they are not the same and even have a different comb. The British or German Standard will work for the show you are attending. There has been no serious attempt to get them into the APA Standard.

I would find out who is judging the Orloffs and have the show secretary give the judge the Standard.

Walt

 

[DesertChic]

I am so excited! I finally found a breeder of Silver Grey Dorkings who's selling hatching eggs. The SGD was the first chicken breed I "fell in love with" and had decided to keep as my heritage flock, but then couldn't find any. And suddenly....tah dah! I am so exciting to be able to add this breed to my flock.

 

[RiddleMe]

Quote: Thank you for your answers. I've seen that bit of misinformation wrt the old Russian numerous times, and try to correct it when possible. Sometimes I get an argument that it was just a different name for the same comb but when I point out the Russian was supposed to have long, pendant wattles and the Orloff shouldn't show any wattle, that usually convinces them.

 

[Ifish]

I had a nice long chat about chickens with my Wife's Grandmother the other day. She was born in 1926 on a farm in North Central Maryland and has lived on a farm her entire life. While they were focused on Dairy until the '60's when they switched to Angus, they always had chickens until about 30 years ago. The main breed was leghorns. They used them for eggs and meat back then. Neighbors had Plymouth Rocks or Leghorns as well.

The Leghorns were the area favorite for meat and eggs, as well as the hardiness. She explained that she had never seen a Red chicken until she got married and moved up to PA. A neighbor out the road had Rhode Island Reds.

Tending chickens was her job as a kid. She explained some of the behaviors we still deal with today, and how most of their feed came from eating with the hogs and cows. They would have to fight with the dogs for the table scraps, sour milk, and stale corn bread. Many times dead chickens were fed back to the flock as the dogs would get them and leave scraps or the carcass all together, because there were too may chickens for the dog to deal with.

Later on in time Mamie Eisenhower always liked to run into My wifes Grandmother and purchase some of her eggs. She still doesn't know why exactly since they had some chickens on the Eisenhower farm. She guesses it's because of the way she raised them, while at that time "Rich Farmers" were feeding grain to chickens.

I made a long story short, but it was fascinating to listen to her recall past memories. This is how most of these breeds lived back then and still can today on a modern farm or homestead. Just thought I would share a bit from it.

She also explained that the leghorns they had back then look nothing like today's leghorn. I'm guessing she is going off of the production leghorns as reference, and makes me wonder if leghorns as she described still exist.

 

[Beekissed]

What an opportunity to talk to living history! Thank you for telling it here...those little vignettes of a life past are harder and harder to find. That she knew Mamie Eisenhower is just fascinating.

My grandmother raised leghorns mostly too, as well as a other breeds mixed in for broody hens and such. She never bought any chicken feed, that's for sure. She had a barrel of field corn sitting right in the coop and we'd shell off a few ears for the chickens every day, but they free ranged for the rest of their diet. I keep wanting to move my flock back to that kind of feeding and in the good forage months I'm almost there....just a cup and a half of FF for the whole flock of 14 in the good months. I want to identify the birds that stay in good condition and still lay well on that kind of feeding and then breed those birds.

 

[Ifish]

What an opportunity to talk to living history! Thank you for telling it here...those little vignettes of a life past are harder and harder to find. That she knew Mamie Eisenhower is just fascinating.

My grandmother raised leghorns mostly too, as well as a other breeds mixed in for broody hens and such. She never bought any chicken feed, that's for sure. She had a barrel of field corn sitting right in the coop and we'd shell off a few ears for the chickens every day, but they free ranged for the rest of their diet. I keep wanting to move my flock back to that kind of feeding and in the good forage months I'm almost there....just a cup and a half of FF for the whole flock of 14 in the good months. I want to identify the birds that stay in good condition and still lay well on that kind of feeding and then breed those birds.

I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Keeping a flock like that today would be fun to try and an amazing goal. A time long passed where food waste was at a minimum and chickens were at the bottom of the livestock hierarchy. The stories she had about the dogs and chickens getting into it over the sour milk were priceless. She said the dogs knew that they were not allowed to hurt the chickens, and the chickens seemed to know it.

Seems keeping other livestock was the key to the poultry success she had over the years. The cows and hogs were fed each day, even through winter. Corn Silage being a bulk with a "Chop" mix for the youngins. The Corn Crib was a popular place for the hens to hang out and that is where she would catch them when needed for the table. So long as you have other livestock to feed through the winter, the leftovers may be enough with some table scraps. It sounds like you have it down and are making great progress. What breed are you working with?

 

[Beekissed]

Primarily, WRs but I have a few other breeds thrown in there. I find the WRs to be pretty feed thrifty if started out early (2 wks) on free range and seem to maintain their considerable bulk and excellent lay on minimal feed compared to other dual purpose breeds and they are great foragers if started out at that young age. The BAs come a close second, though they don't lay on the heavy meat like the WRs, they will usually out lay them in the end. Both will lay well on mostly foraged feeds, so that's a huge plus.

I do have to feed normally in the winter months, as I have no larger livestock any longer, but you are exactly right....Granny had cows and hogs that the chickens would hover around and pick up feed from when they got the chance. The dog and the chickens still fight over the good stuff in the kitchen scraps, just like in your wife's grandmother's time. He too knows he can't hurt them and they will get brave and dart into the danger zone but he usually eats fast enough to get the good bits.

This season I'd like to see if I can stimulate my breeding pullets to go into a broody mode and brood some of their own eggs while still in the breeding pens, after I have taken what eggs I want to incubate elsewhere. To me that would be the ultimate flock~forage for most of their diet, breed and brood their own chicks each spring and get that out of the way early on during good spring forage, raise the chicks on foraged feeds and then I could cull the flock down in the fall for wintering over. Do it all again next spring. This line I'm working on comes from broody stock, so I'm hoping to make it all work.

 

[Ifish]

You know, I never asked how they got their chicks. Not sure how I forgot that, But I will ask her. I gotta go over every day to take care of the farm work.

White Rocks seem to be great. I was interested in them, but we decided that all white or al black birds were not for us. Though, she did reference all white Plymouth Rocks in one of her stories. there didn't seem to be any differentiation between the whites or barred. They were all Plymouth Rocks it seemed, and color was not referred to. Same with the Leghorns. They had leghorns, both white and brown. Us making a difference between the two was funny to her.