Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[Windy Bay Farm]

Check out those other sites first...they have some absolutely stunning birds in the breeds that everyone desires...RIR, Plymouth Rocks, BAs, etc.  Makes me want to get in the Jeep and take a trip.... 

Come on up !! Got room for you to stay here. And 6 hours north is Cape Breton Island and the Cabot Trail... If you love the colours of Fall you'll be drooling the entire way around this mountainous, ocean side trail. Google it and take a look... You'll definitely want to make a trip !

 

[Beekissed]

I'd contact the other places that have the breeds you want and see if they will sell you a cull rooster...when they breed for excellence, they will always have to cull birds that don't have the right tail set, or comb points, or feather color...but none of those things really affect much when it comes to performance unless it would be the tail set, but that isn't major to a simple backyard flock.

 

[Darkangael]

might try here...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...my-day-learning-to-caponize/530#post_12157978   seems to be the most active capon thread. Not sure how many people capon CL's. Not really even sure how many eat them in general... http://blue-eggs.co.uk/#/standard-for-cream-legbar/4554224408  The weight of them and the standard description sounds like they'd be a nice DP, so have some meat on them. How's the breast meat development on your CL's?

I do not currently have chickens but that is the breed I plan to get they are classified as light dual purpose birds. They are intended as utility birds with the ability to be sexed as day olds (at hatch) by down pattern because males are double barred with headspot blurred stripes and females are single barred with chipmonk stripes the neatest thing about them is they breed true for the autosexing trait.

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

I'd contact the other places that have the breeds you want and see if they will sell you a cull rooster...when they breed for excellence, they will always have to cull birds that don't have the right tail set, or comb points, or feather color...but none of those things really affect much when it comes to performance unless it would be the tail set, but that isn't major to a simple backyard flock. 

Thanks for the advice, Bee. I'm going to be making some phone calls tomorrow !

 

[AletaG]

Thanks, Aleta and Bee ! It sounds as though finding a heritage breeder is what would be in my best interest but at this point I have no clue where in this province (Nova Scotia) I will find one. I know they exist just not sure where. There used to be, and maybe still is, a farm called Circle Pond farms in a place called Chester, NS. If you google it you may be able to tell me if that is a heritage breeder.

I'd just send you something next year, but importing to Canada is not exactly easy. I know a breeder who does, but it's with 4 mo old fowl, and they have to be painstakingly gone over at the border. She only goes once a year, with a few *hundred* to make it worthwhile (??) Yikes.

I do not currently have chickens but that is the breed I plan to get they are classified as light dual purpose birds. They are intended as utility birds with the ability to be sexed as day olds (at hatch) by down pattern because males are double barred with headspot blurred stripes and females are single barred with chipmonk stripes the neatest thing about them is they breed true for the autosexing trait.

Auto sexing traits are pretty nifty, but the only breed that piqued my interest was Rhodebars. And they are in such a state of disrepair, I don't have the space to work with them. Maybe some day. Do you have a solid source yet? Have fun absorbing - at least you will hopefully have time to do infrastructure before birds. That's super rare! LOL

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

I'd just send you something next year, but importing to Canada is not exactly easy. I know a breeder who does, but it's with 4 mo old fowl, and they have to be painstakingly gone over at the border. She only goes once a year, with a few *hundred* to make it worthwhile (??) Yikes. 

It sure is difficult to get poultry/fowl over the border ... Almost more headache than what it's worth !

 

[BCMaraniac]

It sure is difficult to get poultry/fowl over the border ... Almost more headache than what it's worth !

I think the simplest thing to do in terms of getting poultry from Canada to the US and vice versa is to ship fertilized eggs. That appears to have the least amount of red tape.....but then you have to get the eggs to hatch.

 

[Triple Willow]

@Bee... do you close your hoop house up pretty much completely for the winter? I'm still wondering how much cold chickens can take.

 

[mlowen]

@Bee... do you close your hoop house up pretty much completely for the winter? I'm still wondering how much cold chickens can take.

Not Bee...
My daughter lives in NH, I'm in southern Maine. Winters get into the teens & single digits for weeks/months at a time. She's never had a problem with her hens in an un-insulated coop. (I've also heard from lots of people in Wisconsin, Idaho, upstate New York and various places in Canada--low temps are OK) My coop is also un-insulated. LOTS of ventilation, no draft on the roosts. Their down keeps them pretty warm, as long as they are dry. Humidity is what causes frostbite and other problems. They get rid of lots of moisture in their breath, so they need plenty of ventilation, no matter the temperatures.

 

[armorfirelady]

@Bee... do you close your hoop house up pretty much completely for the winter? I'm still wondering how much cold chickens can take.

Not Bee either but I have a hoop coop. Other than putting the canvas down on the sides to keep the drafts out I do very little else. My hens can take below freezing temps just fine. They roost together for warmth and cover their feet to keep warm. As long as their free of drafts and have enough ventilation they will be fine in the cold. The cold doesn't bother them its the moisture in the coop from poor ventilation that causes frostbite and possibly illness.