Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[TACEYPERKINS]

Thank you sooo much for the info Bob. I will let you know how things are coming along. It is all great information and I'm sure everyone will love it! By the way, I love this thread!


Oh, Bob, forgot to ask you..... Did you ever find out about that Ralph Sturgeon book? Is it possible to get it reprinted or copied, or a copy put in pdf on the net for people to resource? I have been looking and can't find one.
~ Tacey

 

[RareBreedFancier]

Thank you all.

For some reason I can't find where I can read the whole book off those links but I shall keep trying.

I do love the old poultry books, a wealth if information that would otherwise not be available.

I think I will be penning the two pullets separately and alternating the cockerel between them. Though I think they are full sisters I'm not certain they are and it makes sense to maximize the available genetic range. I do actually have a third pullet but she also is missing her 5th toe (same as the cockerel) and since that is a dominant gene I can't see much point in breeding her to him because I want to cull everything with 4 toes this year. It's a very basic fault I want to stamp out because I know it's going to keep cropping up in future generations because the single recessive can hide in birds that look correct.

I hope the pullets aren't carrying po+ but I expect that they are. If they do produce all 5 toed chicks I will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[buffalogal]

Quote:
Yet another reason to keep just one breed!

No, it's a reason not to keep an off colored bird if you only keep one breed. If you have five or ten or twenty or fifty of them running around, then they aren't "exceptional".

Then again, if you're going to let your birds free range in an area with known predators, the best thing to do is keep a LGD. If you have a predator problem, get a LGD, and if necessary, keep adding them until there is no longer a problem. Works for sheep, goats and poultry.

 

[biomistake]

Rarebreedfancier

Thank you all. big_smile

For some reason I can't find where I can read the whole book off those links but I shall keep trying.




Rare if you have put the book into google book search and opened the link there should be an option to download them on the upper left hand side of the page. Depending upon some of the links they are web only versions. If you need any help with it please feel free to PM/email me and I will be glad to help.

 

[Jake Levi]

I found Call of the Hen on amazon.com, new, paperback and used, so I ordered the paperback.

Great thread, voices my own thoughts on Heritage Breeds, we also need to be thinking of eating our own culls, best place for them.

 

[Jake Levi]

Back to the thread basics, in my two breeds I am hoping to hatch 30-50 chicks each year to grow out to started before any culling, probably 2 mos old at least so needing a good growout facility to raise them by sexes, by ept I hope to know which pullets will stay, and which can go to new homes, or the pot. My roos probably will have til Thanksgiving, then leave or meet the pot. I am hoping to winter 3-4 cockerals along with one or two older roos.

By this time I will have conformation scores on all, plus egg laying records on the hens, so I am sure the 3-4 of the bottom egg number hens will also be replaced. Along with the bottom scoring older roo.

Flock numbers I am hoping to be between 20-30 hens and 2-3 roos.

This is my hoped for plan, we shall see how it goes. Egg production, standard and correct conformation are the 3 guidelines.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Well, I have to eat some humble pie. My much better half has declared that I cannot get out of Anconas.

Thus, we remain a two breed farm after all. Ach Du Liebe!

We're thick in the middle of hatching and setting. I really enjoy this part. We're culling hard right out of the incubator for the Dorkings.

The hatching and seedling starting room in the basement is all set up with and in order, which always help to make things flow smoothly. Toe punckers, wing bands, journals, etc... I enjoy watching fertility trends and egg size. Matt John likes to stress the need to start culling before one hatches by selecting for egg size. We have a fun, old-fashioned egg scale on the work bench. All of the eggs have to hit larger or even extra-large to go into the incubator.

What a great way to get ready for springtime!

 

[pasofinofarm]

Oh my... what an awesome topic! I am going to get back here and read all 17 pages as soon as I get in from milking the cows! We use heritage breeds for eggs, meat and milk on our farm... check us out at www.nonesuchfarm.net

Melissa

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Quote:
Oi! I have Dexter envy......

Welcome aboard!

 

[Robert Blosl]

I got a message today and have heard from many of you who live in the cold part of the country such as Ill, Iowa Minn, Wisconsin etc. are worried about getting single comb old time breeds because of the cold. The thought process is a Heritage Breed with a Rose Comb. Is it necessary?????

How many of you who live in the cold part of the North have trouble with singe combs freezing. Do you wish you had Rose Comb birds or do you find that you can have your favorite breed and its really not a big deal.

What do you do to prevent your birds from getting frozen combs?

Maybe if some of you will write about this subject it will help some of the beginners who are worried about this fear.

Regardless if you have standard breed or hatchery birds they all have single combs alike so please tell us what you do.

bob

Here is a old time breed that could make a great large fowl for any hobby farm and the culls would taste fantastic.