Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[catdaddyfro]

That makes sense for sure...I will have to check with Desertmarcy (Tucson) to see if she's experienced the same with her pure german strain. My rocks' combs seem average sized thus far.

The NH have a tendency to be larger combed anyhow see the floppy leghorn type combs on the girls? this one of the few or maybe the only one American class breed that SOP allows for the comb to flop on the female. Still goes back to some of my doubting that NHs are truley developed from RIR stock solely but that's an altogether other deep an way out there topic too. J/S

Jeff

 

[catdaddyfro]

Single combs don't seem to work here at my location due to river effects ( moisture) but I would like the meat qualities of his NH. Mixed with my other stock with out SC. All a plan at this point.

JOeseph I wonder as the butchering season has arrived if anyone would post a pic of what their birds look like dressed and include if possible live wt at harvest, wt of carcass, and if any one weighs deboned breast meat, or whole legs. I'm sure this is too much work and probably only hands on evals are conducted.

A friend is supposed to send me a black copper maran from her meat project. My marans are devoted egg layers and lack the muscling I was expecting. sigh. Hoping this new blood will help beef up my current stock.

Buckeyes, wyandottes chantecler , RCRIRs+ect.....there are many other non single combed breed types comparable to NHs to use esp in the meat supplying/developing dept. to use than to have to try and breed up a RC NH line unless its just and absolute "must do so" for a project. You would be freezer fulls ahead going another route though,

once again JMHO only LOL

Jeff

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Jeff,
Are there specific lines that you are thinking of?? SO many have not been kept up.

I think I have had it drilled into me that I will never be a good breeder of birds, so I"m persuing the cross bred route for the most part.

I"m still down sizing what I have to make room for the meat project birds and hoping to get buckeyes from Mr Rhodes over the winter. I promised myself no more hatching of the hatchry types I have as they only lay eggs and I can only eat so many eggs!! lol

I would rather have a meat bird and eat their eggs.

 

[catdaddyfro]

Jeff,
Are there specific lines that you are thinking of?? SO many have not been kept up.

I think I have had it drilled into me that I will never be a good breeder of birds, so I"m persuing the cross bred route for the most part.

I"m still down sizing what I have to make room for the meat project birds and hoping to get buckeyes from Mr Rhodes over the winter. I promised myself no more hatching of the hatchry types I have as they only lay eggs and I can only eat so many eggs!! lol

I would rather have a meat bird and eat their eggs.

Not particularly but one that would probly be good for say wyandottes would be Frank Reese Jr. he is in the meat marketing business so I'm sure his wandottes would be bred for such on the others you would have to source them out I'm into dual purpose not meat only so much but my dual purpose males provide what i require and you have to do something with them from hatching to get the girls its just an extra + too me.

good luck with your searching

Jeff

 

[fowlman01]

Jeff,
Are there specific lines that you are thinking of?? SO many have not been kept up.

I think I have had it drilled into me that I will never be a good breeder of birds, so I"m persuing the cross bred route for the most part.

I"m still down sizing what I have to make room for the meat project birds and hoping to get buckeyes from Mr Rhodes over the winter. I promised myself no more hatching of the hatchry types I have as they only lay eggs and I can only eat so many eggs!! lol

I would rather have a meat bird and eat their eggs.

Why do you think you can't breed birds?

Walt

 

[saladin]

Thanks for the suggestion-- hadnot thought of that. I would need someone to show me how to do it one I get over the tramatizing factor. Has taken a while to deal with butchering-- I still have to work up to it. NOt sure I am ready to dub. ANd certainly not on my own. I appreciate the suggestion though.

It is really not that hard. If done in the dark of the moon then there is little to no blood whatsoever. Dubbed 3 stags on Monday by myself; maybe a thimble full of blood between the 3.

 

[colburg]

I often find myself pondering the old ways of life, and came up with a question. Which breeds would do well without supplemental food where their only nutrition is bugs and native weeds? What did well(or maybe I should say survived) on farms during the great depression?

I suspect that they all may physically survive, but shouldn't some of them continue to provide decent eggs and meat. Possibly Mediterraneans? What about some of the Americans? Isn't this what buckeyes were bred for?

My apologies if this has been answered before. I have read this entire thread, just don't remember if it's in there or not.

colburg

 

[Fentress]

Farm Fowl would have benefited from the resources created by agricultural/human activity such as scattered grains in the barn, fields etc. How about some maggots in the cow pies! Yum Yum.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
Like being a surgeon-- technique is everything!

 

[Arielle]

I often find myself pondering the old ways of life, and came up with a question. Which breeds would do well without supplemental food where their only nutrition is bugs and native weeds? What did well(or maybe I should say survived) on farms during the great depression?

I suspect that they all may physically survive, but shouldn't some of them continue to provide decent eggs and meat. Possibly Mediterraneans? What about some of the Americans? Isn't this what buckeyes were bred for?

My apologies if this has been answered before. I have read this entire thread, just don't remember if it's in there or not.

colburg

IMO this is always worth revisiting.

Fast growth requires plenty of calories and protein to sustain that growth rate. Either a bird can hustle for it ( assumming the land has the nutrients available) or we feed them, or a combination.

Or slow growth is permitted to match the nutrients; again , we can influence the nutrients available, and that is what I have been learning about this year. ( My animal science back ground is that we put all the animals in a stock pile and put feed in front of them. lol I'm learning new ways via Joseph, Sugar mtn farn, Salatin, and others)

I see different birds capable of diferent situations.

My bo and ss are good hustlers compared to the rest of what I have. Oh, the BC marans are good huslters too.THese travel the greatest distances. THe BO and SS are hatchery and marans are not; the EE and Ameraucanas go regularly to the back yard to graze but no further.

I don't have any experience with the mediterranean breeds or the buckeyes personally, so they may do better than what I currently have.

I did have one little mongrel hen that was a great broody. She disappeared and was gone, only to return with 13 chicks. 1 failed to thrive and died. She raised up the other 12 for 4 months taking them down to the shed by the woods every day where the coyote lurk. I was very impressed by her ability to keep every one growing well ( no pellets down at the shed) and out of reach of the coyote.

HTese days I"m looking at electric fencing . . . . but that is another story.

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Joseph, what do have for grasses and grains that are maturing or have matured to finish off those nice looking hens? Or doyou finish with a few weeks of corn?