Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Quote:
Oh, I knew you weren't aiming that at anyone in particular. I just know I talk a lot about different fantasy projects that will never likely come to fruition and it got me to thinking about why, and whether or not it was really a bad thing.

I am not the one with the Rocks. I believe that person is in Fairbanks and is hatching away with the stock as we speak. I had a cobbled together flock of Delawares (half hatchery stock, half second-hand breeder stock) which I gave away when I moved, and a few Orloff pullets from Welp which have me head over heels for the breed. I'm glad I tried some different breeds, hatchery birds and otherwise, because now I do have a better idea of what I want. For example, I will never get another single combed breed!

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

Quote:
WOW this is one of the best write ups on heritage meet i have seen... can i use it on my website??? if you will let me and give me your name i will give you the credit with a link to you??? i have been wanting to do a write up on it but im not that good with words lol...

thanks Elias

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

some thing i have never heard mentioned here on BYC... a friend of mine does this in PA... it requires more space to keep more birds expesily roosters... that is to skip years... he has 3 breeds... only hatches and raises one breed a year... so his breeders are 3 years old when he breeds from them... it is slower improving a breed this way... but he says this is the way to get very hearty and long living/producing birds... and he says that you really change your mind on witch birds to use as breeders after the 1st year... plus you can then give each breed the attention you need come breeding time... he keeps about 50 of each breed and a lot more roosters than most people... then he just uses the few best birds to breed from... hatches out about 100 chicks and then culls down to 50 or so buy that fall... if u wanted more than one breed and yet wanted to have some diversity in your flock i think this could really help some ppl... IMO i would only do 2 breeds but it works for him... he has been doing it for about 15 years...

just a thought after reading this whole thread... very informative Yellow House Farm thanks so much for starting this thread... Elias

 

[cybercat]

Elias I could see that working great. Birds are not fully matured by 6 months. That takes over a year just like in any animal. In the heritage it is really noticable how much year 2 or 3 they have grown. My first batch are year 3 this year and I see alot of differance in them now. They look great compared to first year.

 

[Jared77]

The Delaware comes to mind in this. This seems to be a breed that become the property of the hatcheries almost exclusively. Indeed, I don't believe it was ever a traditional homestead bird, but a production broiler that has turned into an amazingly reliable producer of a LOT of very LARGE brown eggs. I am so excited to see people interested in these birds right now and am eager to see these current egg-laying abilities retained while fanciers put the broiler type back on the breed. The Delawares are in the position to become the ultimate dual-purpose super chicken if people don't initially get too bogged down in color and pattern, IMO, but there's no reason all the old breeds couldn't be like that.

Just got caught up on the pages I missed since I've been so busy.

Anyway I had to quote this because your right. The Delaware has definate potential to be superstar. Then again I think the New Hampshire could easily surpass the Delaware in stardom if there was any effort put into them. When you compare them side by side size is similar, rate of lay is similar, rate of maturity is similar, and the red feathers don't detract from the carcass. Plus your not breeding for pattern. Its a solid colored bird which is tough enough to maintain, let alone complicate it with a pattern. Thanks but no thanks.

I come at it from a slightly different perspective. Rather than fall in love with a breed, I'm trying to find a breed that will fit my property/demands and I don't think I'm alone in this thought process either. Its more about function than looks. So through that selection of traits your going to have pretty good birds because they suit that persons needs.

I honestly go back and forth between LF Wyandottes, and LF Buckeyes when I look at heritage breeds for what best fits my homestead flock. My birds need to be cold tolerant as I'm not heating the coop or putting vaseline on any combs. Ive got better things to do with my time than deal with frostbitten combs here in the Winter Wonderland we call Michigan. We have lots of snow, and its cold from Nov till April. Its not unheard of to trick or treat or hunt for easter eggs with snow on the ground. My goal is to have spring chicks and process my culls in the fall. 20 weeks is my target age to process by. Rest of the time I'm collecting eggs to consume. They need to be good layers to give me enough chicks in the spring but I don't need leghorn kind of production either.

Id thought about Rocks, Orps and Australorps but the single comb is a big deterrant. Frostbites not fair to the birds so I eliminated them. Honestly if there still was a pea combed Rock Id have those in a heartbeat. Ive even considered crossing a Buckeye and a Rock to get a pea comb on that big rock body and the hens lay large eggs. Because for me its more about need than breed. I have zero interest in making some new "shiny pebble" breed. If after a generation or 2 nobody would even know how I got them, they'd just be my mutt homestead chickens. That make me a bad person? Am I not one of those 1 in 100 people thats been mentioned? Maybe, but for me thats why I have chickens. They are a crop not pets. They produce, and are harvested. Its a sustainable crop just like my fruit trees. No plan on getting rich of that pairing, just me doing what I think might be best for me. Maybe I'm wrong and if I am Id scrap the project, filling the freezer in the process and start over. Its nothing Im serious about, but its crossed my mind more than once.​

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Jared, I think we're on the same page. Utility and hardiness are my list-toppers, too. And I agree with you on the New Hampshire, as well.

For the record, birds bred for utility without any fancy color patterns, et cetera, meet my "shiny pebble" criteria, too. When I say that, I ust mean a breed (or even an individual bird,) that catches my eye for one reason or another!

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Quote:
WOW this is one of the best write ups on heritage meet i have seen... can i use it on my website??? if you will let me and give me your name i will give you the credit with a link to you??? i have been wanting to do a write up on it but im not that good with words lol...

thanks Elias

Greetings Elias. You may certainly quote this if yo wish. I believe that the link to our website is right under out user name.

Cheers,

Joseph

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

I decided this summer to start a Lavender Orpington project. I had a heck of a time finding a utility strain of black orpingtons to breed them with. I didn't want show quality birds with weak frames. I wanted the big, dual purpose birds. I ended up ordering from Sandhill preservation center. They had to send my chicks in 2 seperate shipments. To keep my orpingtons warm they included a few different breeds including Partridge Chanteclers and Black Dorkings (I ended up with black, bichen and gray). I absolutely love these two breeds and now I find myself questioning why I wanted to breed this new lavender colored orpington when the black is so much prettier. I am going to separate the 3 breeds this spring and I am seriously considering not doing the lavender at all after this year. I'd like to focus my efforts on the chanteclers. They are gorgeous, hardy and have a good disposition. The dorkings are very nice birds and I would love to work on that breed because they are so old, but with that huge comb they won't do well around here. I wasn't fortunate enough to get a rose comb out of them.
I was also going to order Broilers this year from a local hatchery. I've been reading a lot about how much better heritage breeds taste. So now I am reconsidering that and may just raise some of my chicks for butcher.

 

[RareBreedFancier]

Quote:
I've been reading this thread with interest and this really stuck out to me.

I simply can't find quality SG Dorking chicks here. The breeders simply don't sell chicks. Most only sell adult birds because they want to see what they will be like once grown.

I am currently hunting for a nice male to pair with my hens as my male has serious faults. However, if I can't find one I will have to use the one I have and cull very hard and replace him with a better son. I'm not thrilled at the thought of using a male I'd like to cull but if he's the only one I have I need to start somewhere.

I feel I have a much better chance of getting a good male from a breeder than I do females or chicks. The fact I'm specifically after a male makes it pretty obvious I am interested in breeding and improving the quality of my stock.

It's going onto fall here but my girls look like they are getting ready to lay soon. I'm planning on doing some test hatches to see what pops up in the chicks. I'll have a good idea what to expect by spring and hopefully have a new male by then too.

 

[RareBreedFancier]

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Very, very interesting idea.

I am interested in Brahmas which I've been told take forever to mature and will look quite different at 2yo than they did at 1yo but in reality few people wait till 2yo to breed them. I was told the same is true for several heritage breeds. It would be a way of working two breeds and not being compromising numbers of each breed hatched each year. (I wouldn't do 3 breeds but 2...? Quite possibly.)

Good thing I'm out of town and roosters aren't a problem here.

I shall defiantly give this thought.