Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[gjensen]

It is good to see the hens with their chicks. I enjoy that, and have a couple here. But . . . what I do not understand is why want to hatch so late. June hatched chicks will not come into lay until November at the earliest, possibly December (the shortest days of the year), and as a result, not fully come into lay until February, March, etc.
To me, that is out of any seasonal rhythm, "unnatural", especially not productive, etc. etc. POL pullets in December is not farming. Farming is full of practical considerations, and practically speaking, December is the worst month of the year to come into season for a bird. There is a lot of waste involved when we do not flow with the seasons. Ironic considering.

 

[bnjrob]

It is good to see the hens with their chicks. I enjoy that, and have a couple here. But . . . what I do not understand is why want to hatch so late. June hatched chicks will not come into lay until November at the earliest, possibly December (the shortest days of the year), and as a result, not fully come into lay until February, March, etc.
To me, that is out of any seasonal rhythm, "unnatural", especially not productive, etc. etc. POL pullets in December is not farming. Farming is full of practical considerations, and practically speaking, December is the worst month of the year to come into season for a bird. There is a lot of waste involved when we do not flow with the seasons. Ironic considering.

Many of us living out here in Oklahoma and Texas are behind on hatching due to weather. We've had nothing but rain, rain, and more rain since January, causing so much mud and havoc that breeding and hatching has not been able to kept on schedule. While hatching this time of year is not ideal, due to our intense heat in summer, it can be a necessity when the weather does not cooperate during late winter and spring.

 

[Beekissed]

Bnjrob....I think that's just as practical as those who hatch early to escape the heat of summer, ironically speaking.

You hatch when it's best for you and your birds.

For me, I love it when pullets are coming into lay in late fall and early winter....right when my older birds may be slowing down and taking a break, recovering from late molts, etc. It's perfect timing and very practical, while following a more natural cycle for the chickens. I'm not dealing with ornamental or meat type birds but good old standard dual purpose birds that lay decently in the winter months and mature around 5-6 mo. They've fattened all summer on forage and are coming into lay right when I want them to, just when the older hens need to molt/recover from molt/etc. It's a cycle many old time farmers use to keep eggs all year round for family use and keep a rolling flock. By spring the pullet's eggs have increased in size and all the kinks are worked out of their reproductive system, so they are ready for good breeding. Ironic considering.

 

[Fentress]

It is good to see the hens with their chicks. I enjoy that, and have a couple here. But . . . what I do not understand is why want to hatch so late. June hatched chicks will not come into lay until November at the earliest, possibly December (the shortest days of the year), and as a result, not fully come into lay until February, March, etc.
To me, that is out of any seasonal rhythm, "unnatural", especially not productive, etc. etc. POL pullets in December is not farming. Farming is full of practical considerations, and practically speaking, December is the worst month of the year to come into season for a bird. There is a lot of waste involved when we do not flow with the seasons. Ironic considering.

Add to this the slow growth rate of the BR that I have and you have a completely different schedule/rythm. Not sure yet if I can deal with that. I think something is amiss with the broodies. Chicks are associated with Easter, granted that date can vary, but in general it is in early spring, but few hens go broody at that time, a few do, but in general it is May/June and even July. What's up with that? Not consistent with the rest of the bird world.

 

[ronott1]

Add to this the slow growth rate of the BR that I have and you have a completely different schedule/rythm. Not sure yet if I can deal with that. I think something is amiss with the broodies. Chicks are associated with Easter, granted that date can vary, but in general it is in early spring, but few hens go broody at that time, a few do, but in general it is May/June and even July. What's up with that? Not consistent with the rest of the bird world.

Chickens are not native to our latitude. They are from a place that is closer to the equator. They will not have a cycle of reproduction that matches our seasons.

 

[Fentress]

Chickens are not native to our latitude. They are from a place that is closer to the equator. They will not have a cycle of reproduction that matches our seasons.

That makes sense, but they are associated with Easter. Ducklings are as well and they would be native. May not be anything to it, but it's such a strong association I thought it might mean something. April/May is the perfect time for them to come off, at least in my neck of the woods, but I know it is still too late for many people and what they have planned.

Another enjoyable sight is a brood, about 6- 8 weeks old, recently divorced from their mother, running with the adults, acting like their somebody. Big and Proud, they are somebody, their part of the flock, even if they are on the bottom rung of the ladder. This an advantage of hatching within the flock, there is no transition or introduction of the brood to the flock.

 

[Talithahorse]

I agree with Beekissed. Most Broody hens wait until later in the spring. This actually makes sense even in our "latitudes". Early spring tends to be very very damp (at least in our neck of the woods) Since chickens are naturally ground dwellers (even if some of them get pretty high in the trees), an early spring nest is a wet nest. I tend to follow the natural rhythms of my chickens although I do prefer that the summer months when I can keep a close eye on the youngsters (I am a teacher by trade). When my silkies go broody, that is when we start hatching. My luck with the incubator has been dismal at best and overall my silkies do better than I do. I have gotten a few more silkies in the hopes that having 4-6 hens vs 2 hens will increase my hatch rates. I pull out the silkie eggs and replace them with my heritage eggs. I have one silkie that is really good at both hatching and raising the babies. The other silkie will sit like nobodies business but she is horrible at taking care of the chicks. As a result as soon as they pip I pull them to the incubator to hatch and then the kids raise them.

To each their own and if you have a system that works for you and your birds, then go for it. I do not have chickens for business purposes so I do not have to look at the bottom line. If I have eggs to eat, chicken in my freezer and an entertaining backyard, then my "bottom line" is in the "black". I keep heritage breeds to preserve history, not because they are the "best", grow the fastest, biggest, or produce the most eggs. I do choose breeds that served the heritage farm well, when being self reliant was the most important trait and having a good history story makes it even better. Makes my history lessons in school come to life. (REALLY, those are what chickens were like when Ceasar was around? Or George Washington had chickens that looked like that?) Makes history real and personal.


Now back to looking for a dexter cow.....

 

[chickadoodles]

I read on the Heritage thread a couple years ago that is want eggs through the winter to raise pullets that will come into lay in Sept. or Oct. I did it last year and I have plenty of eggs. j/s

 

[ronott1]

I read on the Heritage thread a couple years ago that is want eggs through the winter to raise pullets that will come into lay in Sept. or Oct. I did it last year and I have plenty of eggs. j/s

Yes!

If a pullet comes into lay before the hours of day light are too low for laying, they usually(always a variable) will lay through the first winter without supplemental light. They will not molt until the next fall, so are around 1.5 years old before molting. Unless they go broody, they lay straight to the delayed first molt.

Natural or production?

 

[Beekissed]

I'd say natural. It's not like anyone is forcing laying by extending daylight hours with lighting. If the bird's body is doing this without any unnatural interference, I'd say it's as natural as can be. A pullet won't molt fully in her first year anyway and will do a light molt in the spring.