Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[Sebrightsrock]

Thanks

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:
Does anyone have any pictures of Red Dorkings to share ?

 

[Sunflower720]

My aunt wants to raise some heritage chickens and her choices are: Speckled Sussex, Orpingtons, Javas, Dorking, and Cornish. She is having a difficult time choosing which one she wants. She would like to get either some chicks or started birds. Are there any breeders out there with decent lines of these breeds for me to contact? Thanks!

 

[bnjrob]

My aunt wants to raise some heritage chickens and her choices are: Speckled Sussex, Orpingtons, Javas, Dorking, and Cornish. She is having a difficult time choosing which one she wants. She would like to get either some chicks or started birds. Are there any breeders out there with decent lines of these breeds for me to contact? Thanks!

First step would be to decide on a breed.

 

[Maggiesdad]

My aunt wants to raise some heritage chickens and her choices are: Speckled Sussex, Orpingtons, Javas, Dorking, and Cornish. She is having a difficult time choosing which one she wants. She would like to get either some chicks or started birds. Are there any breeders out there with decent lines of these breeds for me to contact? Thanks!

The whole concept of chickens is a 180 degree turn from our instant gratification society. Hatcheries can be a good choice for some one who want's to try a bit of this and a little of that. Then after a year or two, if one desires to really get into a particular breed, this lady offers some excellent advice on how to step up in quality. It can be difficult for someone to locate quality lines when they themselves don't quite know what they want.

 

[cukooformarans]

Dick horstman has nice red dorkings. There are probably several you could talk to about orpingtons. I know Dick Horstman and hinkjc are good places to start. Yellowhousefarm also does dorkings ( theirs are white) that are gorgeous, but they are sold out for the year. Duane Urch may have some of those breeds as well. Good luck!

 

[Sunflower720]

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[trochefarm]

I'm very excited to find this thread! I'm fairly new at keeping chickens (only a year), and they are all hatcheries stock. I love my girls, but I have a strong desire to acquire and breed heritage. I'm not ready, yet, as I'm still researching...and still live in an urban area. We have some land that we are in the process of getting ready so we can move there in a couple of years (we are building up slowly so we can retire there with few expenses). I'll be monitoring this site...so much great information and advice!

 

[Arielle]

am still in that process of learning which breed will do the job I need. So in that vein, I am trying some cornish x for comparisons. At 6 weeks they waddle from food to water and can jump up to great the food dish. I can't see this as a farm steading bird, it is a sitting duck. THey are headed to freezer camp in a couple weeks.

THe speckled sussex while not of great lineage have shown me that they can cover a lot of territory and often I find a hen by herself 100 feet from another bird. I"m trying to understand the value of this . On one hand she is a sitting duck; on the other she is getting to food sources previously untouched.

On another note, I have realized the extremes in weather are a reality chickens must be able to cope with. # days of 90 degree weather and I watch the birds pant in the shade and think how can a very large chicken cope with the heat. If anyone has a thought or experience I would welcome the input.

Yellow House your avatar, of your birds I assume, look huge. The breast is very curvy as it is very full, I"m sure not the techinically correct terms. Impressive.

I"m ready to part with members of my old flock and move on. It will be a long process.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

am still in that process of learning which breed will do the job I need. So in that vein, I am trying some cornish x for comparisons. At 6 weeks they waddle from food to water and can jump up to great the food dish. I can't see this as a farm steading bird, it is a sitting duck. THey are headed to freezer camp in a couple weeks.

THe speckled sussex while not of great lineage have shown me that they can cover a lot of territory and often I find a hen by herself 100 feet from another bird. I"m trying to understand the value of this . On one hand she is a sitting duck; on the other she is getting to food sources previously untouched. This is usually a death sentence. With enough birds in the mix, there are always those that will wander off on their own. Eventually they tend to end up as a tuft of feathers in a not so mysterious case of disappearance. Cocks often attempt to bring these hens back to the safety of the flock.

On another note, I have realized the extremes in weather are a reality chickens must be able to cope with. # days of 90 degree weather and I watch the birds pant in the shade and think how can a very large chicken cope with the heat. If anyone has a thought or experience I would welcome the input. This is about selection, which I'll explain below.

Yellow House your avatar, of your birds I assume, look huge. The breast is very curvy as it is very full, I"m sure not the techinically correct terms. Impressive. Thank you. They have strong meat qualities, and proper Dorking type, which, of course, promotes those meat qualities.

I"m ready to part with members of my old flock and move on. It will be a long process. What are your goals exactly? What is of great importance, mezzo mezzo importance, and of little importance?

With the above answers, we can look at all of the different breeds that could fulfill your hopes, but this will always be theoretical. Breed descriptions in poultry are only directives. Your breeding will make or break your birds. You might procure some strong birds, but through not knowing how to select from them, you might ruin them in three years. You might get fair stock, but through proper selection vastly improve on their quality in five years. People frequently say that such and such a breed does such and such. However, in truth, it's a question of the breeder and the strain. Leghorns only lay well, if the breeder asks them to lay well. Birds are only hardy in the long-term, if breeders ask them to be hardy.

Chances are, you're not going to decide what you want and then get it. You will, like most folks, decide what you want, get the best building blocks available, and then select it into being.

EDITED TO SAY: That there are of course breeds and strains that are closer to and more appropriate for certain goals.