Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[Beekissed]

Lucky you! I'd be sparking up a conversation with that lady as often as I could, if I were you. I wish I could still talk to my grandmother and hear her tell about her life all over again...it was very interesting, though she never met Mamie Eisenhower. That is just really neat.

My mother calls all barred birds "Domineckers"....

That was a favored breed back in the day in these parts, so when she sees BRs she still calls them that name.

I don't know how they were back then, but the BR and WR are as different as night and day now, as are the PR from the other two. Maybe not if one is sourcing heirloom standard bred stock, but from a hatchery source they are very, very different now. The WR are just heavier, more finely feathered, and more calm than the BR.

I know folks think they are just a plain, white bird but to me they are so snowy white that they sparkle in the sunlight, with the red of comb and wattle showing up all the more starkly because of it. They are like royalty next to all the other birds and even walk like it...slow, dignified and regal. More of a strut than a walk, really. When I think of the word "chicken" the WR hen is the picture that comes to mind...nicely rounded breast, clean white plumage, red, red comb, orange/yellow legs and feet. Perfect!

 

[Ifish]

Lucky you! I'd be sparking up a conversation with that lady as often as I could, if I were you. I wish I could still talk to my grandmother and hear her tell about her life all over again...it was very interesting, though she never met Mamie Eisenhower. That is just really neat.

My mother calls all barred birds "Domineckers"....

That was a favored breed back in the day in these parts, so when she sees BRs she still calls them that name.

I don't know how they were back then, but the BR and WR are as different as night and day now, as are the PR from the other two. Maybe not if one is sourcing heirloom standard bred stock, but from a hatchery source they are very, very different now. The WR are just heavier, more finely feathered, and more calm than the BR.

I know folks think they are just a plain, white bird but to me they are so snowy white that they sparkle in the sunlight, with the red of comb and wattle showing up all the more starkly because of it. They are like royalty next to all the other birds and even walk like it...slow, dignified and regal. More of a strut than a walk, really. When I think of the word "chicken" the WR hen is the picture that comes to mind...nicely rounded breast, clean white plumage, red, red comb, orange/yellow legs and feet. Perfect!

I've had some good conversations with her. They used to preserve pork by cutting it up, putting it in a pan of some kind, and covering it with lard. They would store it out in the summer kitchen and grab a pan when needed. She loved to stick her fingers in it and pull out some raw pork and eat it. So much lost knowledge and arts. I need to just go sit with her and take notes about everything.

This was just the first convo directly related to chickens. I'm sure that I will have time for more in depth discussion with her. For 88 yo, she is sharp as a tack.

 

[Beekissed]

Oh, wouldn't the food safety germophobes go spastic over a tale like that?

Raw pork, preserved in lard!!! And she's 88...funny how all that "dangerous" stuff they ate back then kept folks strong up into their elder years and we are all crippling around with aches and pains in our 40s.

 

[Ifish]

I thought the same thing about the Pork when I heard it.

Didn't want to go off topic.

But this homesteading knowledge is priceless.

Wife wants some white egg layers to go with our New Hampshire flock once we get the chicks and get going. I told her to buy some from a friend for easter. After hearing about how leghorns (legerns) were used for meat to, and the stories about them, I might try to find a couple just to put in the laying house.

 

[Beekissed]

I thought the same thing about the Pork when I heard it.

Didn't want to go off topic.

But this homesteading knowledge is priceless.

Wife wants some white egg layers to go with our New Hampshire flock once we get the chicks and get going. I told her to buy some from a friend for easter. After hearing about how leghorns (legerns) were used for meat to, and the stories about them, I might try to find a couple just to put in the laying house.

I agree! Many of her generation are now dying and that homesteading knowledge is lost. It's a shame. I've been trying to carry it on in my own life and teach my children the same. My mother is 80 and she's a walking history book of old, homesteading knowledge and I try to learn all I can from her. When I was 10 we "went back to the land", built log cabins, lived off the grid...way off, homesteaded 110 acres of land and many of those old homesteading ways were just a way of life for us.

I think all of this is very pertinent to the topic, as this is the very root of heritage breed chickens....what were they like back then? Did they have to have medicated feed to survive? Did they have to have high pro feeds to lay well?

You may have to get Leghorns from a breeder that breeds to standard in order to get any that may have meat on them. The current hatchery stock birds are mighty skinny, no matter how much you feed them up. When I was young they were still meaty enough to make a good meal, even the hens, but nowadays they are pretty small.

 

[Fentress]

I agree! Many of her generation are now dying and that homesteading knowledge is lost. It's a shame. I've been trying to carry it on in my own life and teach my children the same. My mother is 80 and she's a walking history book of old, homesteading knowledge and I try to learn all I can from her. When I was 10 we "went back to the land", built log cabins, lived off the grid...way off, homesteaded 110 acres of land and many of those old homesteading ways were just a way of life for us.

I think all of this is very pertinent to the topic, as this is the very root of heritage breed chickens....what were they like back then? Did they have to have medicated feed to survive? Did they have to have high pro feeds to lay well?

You may have to get Leghorns from a breeder that breeds to standard in order to get any that may have meat on them. The current hatchery stock birds are mighty skinny, no matter how much you feed them up. When I was young they were still meaty enough to make a good meal, even the hens, but nowadays they are pretty small.

I'll second that. Even the supposedly dual purpose breeds from the hatcheries have poor meat qualities. That is why I got standard bred stock. The Meditteriean breeds properly bred should make decent fryers, probable not so great as roasters. Yellow House has some nice pic's of his birds (dressed) back on this thread. I can't rememeber the breed name, starts with an A.

 

[Fentress]

Ancona

 

[Regin]

@Ifish Yes Please DO tell us more!

 

[gjensen]

The meds vary from the very large Minorca, to the small Leghorns and Anconas. The Spanish often have some size and flesh, and can be heavy in the hand.

Many of the Mediteranean breeds would have more dense flesh, probably reflecting the more recent Game influence. The Catalana would be otherwise because of the Asian breed influence (Cochin Chinas which were not as we now Cochins now). The games, in particular the Orientals have a different texture of flesh, which would include the pure breed Cornish games. This type of flesh was known to be good for recipes like gumbos etc. because it chopped and held together well during cooking.

The Minorca's standard weight is as heavy as the Rocks, but they are taller and longer. The large frame takes time to develop and THEN fill out.

The Catalana is a dual purpose breed, and used as one in their country of origin. They are the Spanish equivalent of the French La Bresse, especially known for the production of capons.

The Meds, because of the tighter feathering, are often heavier than they appear. The fluff on soft feather breeds can be misleading.

The Mediterranean's claim to fame, and rightfully so, is the production of eggs. Also their activity level, and feed efficiency. It is my opinion that they are better suited for a true homestead type setting where input was a concern. They are often not as nutritionally needy, and are especially good at rustling up their own.

The smaller Mediterranean breeds are best used in recipes, frying, and or grilling etc. They are known for their quantity of flesh, but they get there fast and for less feed.

There are large dual breeds that lay white eggs like the Dorking etc.

There was some white egg dual purpose American breeds, but they have largely been lost to time. There was a time that regionally, white eggs was preferred egg color. Now we associate the egg color with an industry.

There was some remarks on how layer flocks were managed some time ago. It is helpful to remember that for many of those the production of fowl meat was not a priority. They were not concerned with making them a large investment. They were a side venture for the production of eggs. Dual purpose meant salvageable hens, extra cockerels, and fresh poultry meat was seasonal. They were not as they came to be known later. It is helpful to have a view on the evolution of poultry keeping. Specialization with poultry came later after the turn of the century. Where their was specialization before (like the fattening batteries for Sussex etc. in England), poultry meat of that sort cost as much to purchase as what is more expensive now. We have a tendency to mix paradigms. Equalize then and now.

Earlier Dominiques were not standardized and unimproved. They came in single comb, and rose comb. Any barred bird was considered a Dominique. There was game influence, and the name Dominique was a reference to color. The most original "Dominiques" were a color variety of game fowl that began to be crossed to Asian fowl, considered as dunghill games by some. The earliest Dominiques were not as we know them now, and when the old timers spoke of Dominekers they referred to both early Rocks, and Dominiques because what identified them was the color pattern. There are still gamecock breeders that refer to the color pattern with the same. So when we read and hear of Dominekers etc. we are hearing or reading of a mixed lot. Of course they were developed and Standardized along the way. It is just helpful to understand where the different applications came from.

 

[Ifish]

I agree that they'd need to come from a breeder. I would not have the time to put into breeding them right now, just want a couple for white eggs to make the wife happy.

@Regin What would you like to hear? I would like to stay within the scope of this thread.

@gjensen thanks for the info. Do you recall the names of any of the American White Egg breeds? The Domineckers were popular around our area before grandma was born. Some of the country boys around here still refer to barred chickens as Domineckers.