Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Quote:
I'm really afraid you're right about this. I am ordering a few from Ideal just to see if I can handle the care. My coop and run here will be covered and enclosed, but I do want a hardy bird that I don't have to pay "special" attention to.

Also, glad to hear you have heritage rabbits, too! Rabbits are my first love, but chickens are quickly gaining. I fully intended for Silver Fox to be my one breed, but it just so happened that I got good stock in Thriantas and I've become completely obsessed with them. Too bad they're slow growing 5 lb-ers!

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Hi Kathy! I understand "type" as synonymous with shape. I could be wrong here. It has been my understanding. I have found that most of the deperately rare breeds are small in their current manifestations. So, for clarity as to my intended meaning. Hoffman Houdans are shaped like Houdans. They are however on the small side, which is not a surprise. MMCM Houdans are not shaped like a Houdan even if they are bigger that the Houdans I've seen from Hoffman.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Quote:
I'm really afraid you're right about this. I am ordering a few from Ideal just to see if I can handle the care. My coop and run here will be covered and enclosed, but I do want a hardy bird that I don't have to pay "special" attention to.

Also, glad to hear you have heritage rabbits, too! Rabbits are my first love, but chickens are quickly gaining. I fully intended for Silver Fox to be my one breed, but it just so happened that I got good stock in Thriantas and I've become completely obsessed with them. Too bad they're slow growing 5 lb-ers!

Well, slow or fast, I'm sure they're delicious.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

On the practicality of one breed vs. several for a homestead:

I forget who it was that discussed allowing their birds to free range and raise their own young, but clearly that is one strong argument for single breed. You are letting the chickens do all the work for you and natural selection is insuring a good homestead bird, if not one that meets the requirements of the show table. Furthermore, if you are collecting and hatching, your resources are funneled into one breed, one goal. It allows you to have so many chicks running through that you recognize the finer points of selection because you have so many to compare each bird to.

Trust me, I understand the allure of multiple breeds. I have, what do they call it, "shiny pebble" syndrome? BYC is a terrible enabler in that, seeing gorgeous pictures of so many awesome breeds. Kathy's birds definitely have me entranced! I couldn't choose between those breeds, either. LOL. Thank goodness for mother nature narrowing it down for me.

In addition to the Orloff, I find myself attracted to some of the Northern landrace breeds that have a plethora of colors, such as the Icelandic and the Hedemora. I like the more relaxed approach to poultry-keeping that they offer, and the possibility for a more colorful flock of a single, pure "breed", but the more Americanized and standardized breeds definitely have a lot on them for production.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Quote:
I got my first Anconas over 20 years ago. In 97, I added Dominiques, and in the last two years, Buckeyes. I like to spend at least ten years getting to know a breed, but don't feel compelled to limit myself to one 'signature' breed of chicken anymore than I would limit myself to only one variety of tomato or basil.

Well, deciding to limit one's self is a personal decision. Specialization versus generalization always is. I think they both have merit, but I do think that they are different and will lead to different destinations, which, I suppose, is neither good nor bad. I do think that it would be very difficult to develop a truly super strain in any one breed while deviding one's attentions among several breeds. Impossible? Well, what's really impossible nowadays? Likely? I think that's a different story.

For example, we have the side project in RC Anconas, but they receive very little attention in though or deed. But everyone is different, and breeds are different.

Let's take Kathy's NH's and Barred Rocks. They are all in excellent condition, and therein lies a luxury. Not only can they be maintained, but, should something go wrong, they are much easier to replace. If one works exclusively with La Fleche for 5 years or even ten years and breeds them to a high level of productive perfection, it is very likely that there will be no flock of similar quality to which one could turn should there be difficulty. Indeed, there could be no choice but to bring in a genetic that could undermine years of progress.

The ALBC talks about conservation flocks, meaning flocks of fifty breeders that represent a genetic treasure. I think about this often. In my mind, I almost liken it as a symbiotic relationship in which I serve that which serves me. Though I may not always want to limit myself to White Dorkings, it may be what is best for them. If I am in the position to provide that space, than maybe it would he a fine adventure to do so. Am I obliged to do so? Of course, not. Is there a unique opportunity in doing so? Yes, I do believe so.

 

[junglebird]

Thanks you so very much for starting, and nourishing this thread!

I'm in my first year of chickens. I aim to build a self-replenishing homestead flock of utility heritage breed(s).

Goals for my flock include:
* Predator resistant, good foraging skills (for forested "pasturing")
* Self-replicating (some good moms)
* Meat production (what I know as European style with texture and "real fowl" flavor)
* Limited egg production (for setting hens and feeding few mouths)
* Disease resistant (my chickens aren't quarantined from wild turkeys and birds)
* Heat tolerant (we have mild winters, and hot summers)
* Amusing/neat to look at (yes, that's essential, makes me happier to do their bidding every day)

Last year, my first year in chickens, I started with hatchery stock of New Hampshire, Barred Rock, Black Australorp, and Buff Orpington (then added on a couple of Marans and an Ameraucana cross from a neighbor). I enjoy these breeds, but find them a little overly eggy. So, this year I'm trying some hatchery stock that is weighted more towards meat production: Dark Cornish, Red Laced White Cornish, Silver Grey Dorking, Mottled Java, and La Fleche. Next year, I'll devise a breeding plan based on these 2 years of experience (carrying some birds over from each flock and adding new). This will move me towards either choosing a breed to commit to, or going rogue to build a consciously designed mutt flock. (I suspect my flock will be mostly mutt, with a limited heritage breeding project growing from inside of that.)

A few questions:
I read the post, a few pages back about housing ranging birds vs breeding birds, but here's a question about rotation. If I take birds out of my foraging forest, and confine them to breeding pens, when they come out of breeding what is involved in integrating them back with the foraging group? How do people manage that?

Also, of the heritage dual purpose breeds, which are known for ease of processing? If you're breeding for good feather quality (tight web, sheds water and less torn up in breeding pen - learned about that from one of Bob's posts), are you also breeding for more difficult processing?

And, which breeds are known for utility/decorative feather production (did I read that Dom or BR down used to be harvested live off the bird for pillow making?)?

 

[KenK]

Very interesting discussion. I raised chickens years ago and am planning to start back this spring. My focus will be on the production of food with emphasis on meat over eggs. I'm probably one of the few participants here who thinks a cooked egg is disgusting, I practically have to go outside when my wife cooks one. : )

The idea of having one breed and working to improve it makes a lot of sense to me. My family raised Angus cattle and my dad was continuously striving to improve the herd by diligent culling and searching out appropriate bloodlines to add.

So, suggestions for breeds to look at with these characteristics:

Sustainable
Emphasis on meat over eggs.
Hardy and heat tolerant

A breed that is relatively easy to find reasonably good quality birds to start with, either by buying day old chicks or hatching eggs.

 

[cybercat]

Junglebird, I will be taking hens out of flock and a male to breed with them. Once that is done male is to be releashed back to flock and females kept in broody coop to collect eggs for broody hens. If the bred hens do not go broody they will be releashed back into flock also. I do not see a reason to worry how they will intergrate back in. That is up to them to work out. Since they will be put into main coop at dusk they will be let loose with main flock in morning.

Ease pf procesing is one of those strange stories that goes around without alot of facts or truth. One has to do a few things to process chickens. One lock down without food for 24 hours. Cleans out digestive track. I perfer lockdown for longer and give a sweet feed to finish bird off. Less movement mean muscle more relaxed. A couple of weeks does the trick. Taking feathers off is easy with right tools. Scalding and a good plucker. You can make a plucker for $8 and use a drill. Or if you perfer more hands on use gloves with rubber plams and stroke feathers off. Another is just to skin the chicken. The rest of the bird just takes practice.

I can tell you my chickens are tight stiff feather birds with very yellow skin. It took us half hour on first chicken after a hawk killed it. That was fresh killed and we skinned it. Hubby did that while I locked up chickens in coop. He had his brother on the phone to walk him thru butcher since he never did a chicken before. His grandmom did them he was too young then.

 

[cybercat]

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For breed selection try this site. It list alot of traits to help you out.

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

 

[spartacus_63]

Here is a question to rack your brain What is a Semi Monitor Chicken House? Who was the inventer of such a building? bob

Bob, the Semi Monitor chicken house refers to the roof design and I am not certain of who invented it, but they have been using this as a model for many many years at the Iowa State University, there is even an Iowa model monitor building.​