Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Kris5902]

Lol well i could educate you if u ever wanted to fool with em! The quail imparticular are something of a passion of mine. Im sure you haven't faced this problem but i grew up on the mass production cornish cross birds. I never knew that chickens who get to be Real chickens have an entirely different taste and texture. The quail are the first time i noticed a major difference and ive been in love ever since.



Your right and i could totally understand how you feel that way but... these came from show winning stock. The lady mine originated from hasnt been picky about everything enough to be show winners from the jump But she had maintained enough that with only a few generations i am pretty sure we could bring home a blue ribbon. All of your requirements are still required here, with a huge emphasis on attitude because of the young children.

Boy id love to get onto enough land to have a gigantic laying flock and sell a boat load of eggs! Then id surely get a colored egg breed and a dark brown egg breed. Right now i can have roosters but not too many, not too many hens either, so im limited to my two breed focuses. Another reason for the quail

I’m at 60 birds as of Thursday... so I’m not trying to get huge... and want to focus on colored eggs (sorry again @BY Bob )

Could somebody tell me if this is a hen or rooster ?he or she is 5 months old almost six and is not crowing or doing anything and very friendly.

definitely pullet IMO, but again better and more knowledgeable help on the what breed/gender forum

 

[Ribh]

I’m at 60 birds as of Thursday... so I’m not trying to get huge... and want to focus on colored eggs (sorry again @BY Bob )

Before or after the boys one way trip...?

 

[Kris5902]

Part of the problem for me is many of the higher production birds were bred before being added to, I thinks it's called SOP in the USA.
The majority of the high production breeds will die significantly earlier than those that lay many fewer eggs. But, these high production breeds have become popular for more than just their ability to produce eggs. For many people on this site for example they may not have intentionally bought chickens to have as pets but a lot of people become extremely fond of their chickens. Nobody wants to confront the simple fact that human breeding has wiped up to three quarters of a chickens 'natural' live span off.
People on BYC for example do not want to hear, don't buy that breed because in two to three years it's likely to have reproductive issues and die. This simple truth is not good for the site and not something humankind wants to face up to.
Of course, the popular mid to high production dual purpose (what a way to describe a living creature!) are then bred more and promoted more. There is no way to put the brakes on.

Here it’s the commonness and sheer quantities of the birds that make the higher production breeds so popular. I will happily spend $20 on a chick of a more physically robust breed when I could get a POL pullet for $15 of a “production layer breed”, but my goal is to have my own girls breeding and be self producing my own chicks. Sure I’m breeding some Mutts unashamedly for the most part, but I want a bird that is healthy and longer lived than what most “farmers” are interested in. And when people realize the difference between “free range” and “pasture raised” well its a market niche here. I’m trying to strike a balance in giving the chickens good lives, and providing for them, and us, without going broke.

This is why I won't have the high production breeds & my poor man got a lecture when he started thinking about meat birds because I refuse to have CornishX on any property I own. What a thing to do to a bird! My poor man is still trying to recover from how calm & easily handled my girls are & goes round muttering that the usual methods of keeping chickens makes them psychotic. My birds are lots of things but psychotic they are not!

Of my two surviving CX Gobbler and Shanti (the runt) Shanti is a little psychotic, Gobbler more laid back. And I’m not going to hold their breeding against them, but since Big Red died they have been far less active, and the barn time has turned them into lazy indoor chickens, come spring and summer they are going to be free ranging again though with any luck. And maybe I can tame Shanti down a bit more.

 

[Kris5902]

Before or after the boys one way trip...?

After.Roostie Gobbler and Shanti, Sammy and his 3 girls plus 10 “babies” (that are starting to try and crow as well!), Chickie Hawk and his 6 ladies, Mr Marans And Bob with 12 girls each, and Barney will be left with 10 Girls. I think that math should add up...

 

[Shadrach]

Do you have a market for pasture raised where you are?

 

[Ribh]

Here it’s the commonness and sheer quantities of the birds that make the higher production breeds so popular. I will happily spend $20 on a chick of a more physically robust breed when I could get a POL pullet for $15 of a “production layer breed”, but my goal is to have my own girls breeding and be self producing my own chicks. Sure I’m breeding some Mutts unashamedly for the most part, but I want a bird that is healthy and longer lived than what most “farmers” are interested in. And when people realize the difference between “free range” and “pasture raised” well its a market niche here. I’m trying to strike a balance in giving the chickens good lives, and providing for them, and us, without going broke.



Of my two surviving CX Gobbler and Shanti (the runt) Shanti is a little psychotic, Gobbler more laid back. And I’m not going to hold their breeding against them, but since Big Red died they have been far less active, and the barn time has turned them into lazy indoor chickens, come spring and summer they are going to be free ranging again though with any luck. And maybe I can tame Shanti down a bit more.

Going broke is never a good option.
Yes, I remembered you have Cornish & I don't hold it against you... Rather I wonder @ the ethics of whoever bred this bird in the first place. I'm funny that way. Like who breeds a dog with such a squashed nose it can't breath properly & will have health problems as a result? Or a cat? I'm not anti meat birds as such but I would prefer they had better options.

 

[Ribh]

After.Roostie Gobbler and Shanti, Sammy and his 3 girls plus 10 “babies” (that are starting to try and crow as well!), Chickie Hawk and his 6 ladies, Mr Marans And Bob with 12 girls each, and Barney will be left with 10 Girls. I think that math should add up...

Your math is probably better than mine...

 

[ValerieJ]

Going broke is never a good option.
Yes, I remembered you have Cornish & I don't hold it against you... Rather I wonder @ the ethics of whoever bred this bird in the first place. I'm funny that way. Like who breeds a dog with such a squashed nose it can't breath properly & will have health problems as a result? Or a cat? I'm not anti meat birds as such but I would prefer they had better options.

I understand how you feel. I rescued a munchkin cat, and although he is quite spoiled, and thinks he's all that and a bag of chips, he is not able to do all the cat things that his instincts want him to do. I think that's very sad. But, I'm glad we have him and are giving him his best life.

 

[Ribh]

I understand how you feel. I rescued a munchkin cat, and although he is quite spoiled, and thinks he's all that and a bag of chips, he is not able to do all the cat things that his instincts want him to do. I think that's very sad. But, I'm glad we have him and are giving him his best life.

I quite agree. Lots of us have rescues, or have had rescues, of various sorts & are left dealing with the fallout from that. Just in my perfect world it would be unnecessary as it would never be allowed to happen in the 1st place. Sorry. Something of an idealist who finds reality a little hard to stomach @ times.

 

[mixedUPturk]

I’m at 60 birds as of Thursday... so I’m not trying to get huge... and want to focus on colored eggs (sorry again @BY Bob )

Thats where my numbers are a bit misleading. I only have 13 adult chickens. The rest of my numbers are quail or juvi chickens. So, i too have about 60 birds lol