Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[beaglady]

So, here's what I do. I cull heavily in fall. The only birds I keep through the winter now is 1.) First year pullet. They'll lay up a storm. and 2.) my breeders for late winter/early spring breeding. That's it. The days of cheap feed are long over. Tending and husbandry is more difficult in the winter as well. But, by June, the flock will have ballooned to it maximum number.

I try to do the same. My pullets are just starting to lay. A few of the ones hatched in early spring started laying in December. I think that there's going to be another round of culling (sorting, not butchering) around March. I do incubate, and like to hatch in early spring and again in late fall, to keep young ones laying through the winter.

I just found this thread and have to go back through the older posts. I like your philosophy and am trying to get back to my flock functioning more sustainably.

 

[saladin]

I try to do the same. My pullets are just starting to lay. A few of the ones hatched in early spring started laying in December. I think that there's going to be another round of culling (sorting, not butchering) around March. I do incubate, and like to hatch in early spring and again in late fall, to keep young ones laying through the winter.

I just found this thread and have to go back through the older posts. I like your philosophy and am trying to get back to my flock functioning more sustainably.

That's a great way to get winter eggs, but there is also another. Choose old breeds that were/are winter layers.

 

[Arielle]

I believe the best way to evaluate layers is in early spring. If a bird isn't laying in March/April, she's just not a layer.
However, the best time to cull, I believe, is in fall. Why feed non-layers through the long winter? The conundrum is that those two seasons don't match.

So, here's what I do. I cull heavily in fall. The only birds I keep through the winter now is 1.) First year pullet. They'll lay up a storm. and 2.) my breeders for late winter/early spring breeding. That's it. The days of cheap feed are long over. Tending and husbandry is more difficult in the winter as well. But, by June, the flock will have ballooned to it maximum number.

Looks like you cull twice-- only non-layers, or poor layers too? (Does this apply to the ISA's too or just the heritage girls?)

Quote: I'm still reading the older pages too!! I'm only at 25 . . . . or 35 .. . . . .

If I understand your method, you do not expect all your spring pullets to be laying by the end of December, but you do expect out put by March.? Is culling for production simply a yes or no vote? Or does rate of production influence the decission? Or even egg size?

Quote: Saladin-- other than sussex, who else would you suggest as a winter layer?

 

[Cedarknob]

WHo marks hens/pullets that lay in the early winter??? I have a number of slackers and I'm wondering if it worth marking the the pullets/hens that ARE laying right now in case I need this information later. Wht do each of you do to promote winter layers IF that is a consideration. Maybe that is a separate question.

I don't mark the hens, I am hatching the eggs laid during the winter without supplemental light or heat for the hens; no surer method of breeding winter layers that I know of. I expect and accept laying to drop off some because some additional energy is required to survive the cold, but believe that by going to the added trouble of hatching winter eggs I insure that both sire and dam are those best suited for winter production. [These are from my project pen and currently being colony bred; my quality Cornish are not designed to be good layers or winter layers, and the males quit breeding during our winter weather. Their conformation arguably makes them the ultimate table bird, but they were never meant to be a dual purpose breed.]

 

[beaglady]

If I understand your method, you do not expect all your spring pullets to be laying by the end of December, but you do expect out put by March.? Is culling for production simply a yes or no vote? Or does rate of production influence the decission? Or even egg size?

My earliest hatches were marans, and they usually take longer to start laying then some other breeds. A couple of them started before the Solstice, and those are ones that I will keep and hatch for sure. A few others have started this week. Any that have not started by March will not have their eggs hatched, and will probably not be here by next winter. I'm starting over with marans after finding out the hard way that you can easily lose what you once had if you don't keep selecting for improvement.

For my use, production includes body size for meat, long period of laying and decent egg color. I'm not fretting about color patterns, side sprigs on combs, or the usual things discussed on marans threads, which is why I'm here. Eventually, I'll concern myself with egg size.

 

[Fred's Hens]

If we hatch out production grade chicks before Memorial Day, which we do, yes, they will all be laying by Thanksgiving. That is why one has strains like this. Their purpose in life is egg production. If such birds are not in lay, and their leg coloring and feathering displays whether or not they are in lay, they serve no purpose and are culled before Christmas. No if, ands, or butts about it. This is a farm, so that's just life out here.

The heritage fowl hatched in April and May are NOT expected to enter lay until the following February and won't be judged negatively until March or April. The old line Barred Rocks take 32 weeks to come into lay and the old Rhode Island Red lines take 30 weeks as well. The roosters cannot be judged as to their worthiness until they are almost a year old. The slow feathering, slow growing, slow maturing aspect of standard bred, heritage line birds is such that there can be no hurrying. Hope that helps.

By the next fall, only breeder stock of the heritage fowl is fed through the winter. All I need is two males and 3 or 4 females. That's it. From them, over 50 chicks can spring. Economics play a big part of a successful homestead.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

My earliest hatches were marans, and they usually take longer to start laying then some other breeds. A couple of them started before the Solstice, and those are ones that I will keep and hatch for sure. A few others have started this week. Any that have not started by March will not have their eggs hatched, and will probably not be here by next winter. I'm starting over with marans after finding out the hard way that you can easily lose what you once had if you don't keep selecting for improvement.

For my use, production includes body size for meat, long period of laying and decent egg color. I'm not fretting about color patterns, side sprigs on combs, or the usual things discussed on marans threads, which is why I'm here. Eventually, I'll concern myself with egg size.

I'd fret about side sprigs. It's one thing to subordinate the minutiae of color breeding to the necessity of developing strong stock, but things like side sprigs, wry tails, etc... can lead to a big mess that makes your otherwise great stock worthless to anyone outside of your backyard.

 

[beaglady]

I'd fret about side sprigs. It's one thing to subordinate the minutiae of color breeding to the necessity of developing strong stock, but things like side sprigs, wry tails, etc... can lead to a big mess that makes your otherwise great stock worthless to anyone outside of your backyard.

I'm not saying I'll never care about them, but if I'm starting from a closed flock, given the choice of a large bird with a comb fault, or a small one with a good comb, I'd think it would make sense to select for size first. I'm probably more likely to eat my culls than sell them, so it may not matter. I don't know for sure. I'm still figuring things out.

 

[saladin]

Looks like you cull twice-- only non-layers, or poor layers too? (Does this apply to the ISA's too or just the heritage girls?)


I'm still reading the older pages too!! I'm only at 25 . . . . or 35 .. . . . .

If I understand your method, you do not expect all your spring pullets to be laying by the end of December, but you do expect out put by March.? Is culling for production simply a yes or no vote? Or does rate of production influence the decission? Or even egg size?




Saladin-- other than sussex, who else would you suggest as a winter layer?

Cubalayas are great winter layers. As a matter of fact, the entire Oriental Class lay predominately in the winter. However, the class as a whole is not known for great egg production. Cubalayas though would be at the top of that class for egg production. Mine produce around 150 eggs a year per hen.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: LOL, I finally figured out that not all heritage birds are dual purpose birds! THe cornish are meat birds, not layers. How many males and how many females in your flock of project birds?