Foraging And Feed Effeciency Comparing Breeds

[maranfarmer563]

My game free range from hatch,the roosters fight a little in the spring. There is a natural pecking order. Its a dominance over breeding rights. During the summer roosters avoid each other. My top guy has 10 hens, others only have about l each that chose them. The roosters sound the alarm if a hawk is spotted. Hens dive for cover. The hens will fight for the chicks. I saw a hen fly 10 feet in the air to chase away crows trying to get her new chicks. In winter when snow is on, they all eat together in a flock like laying hens would.

 

[maranfarmer563]

In late fall you could pen this years cockerels together for fatting up,they are already grown just give high protein feed to put weight on. You cannot put in a older cock or they will fight. When they free range, lower ranking roosters can run away.

 

[BethanyS]

do you have an idea of how many eggs a hen lays per week when freeranging?any they lay through winter?

 

[maranfarmer563]

I have milk crates with gulf balls in them for nests. They lay very good spring and summer trying to procreate. If they go broody and hatch chicks they stop for a couple months. Very slow laying in winter but I feed light. We have very cold winters so most of the energy goes into keeping warm .

 

[Arielle]

@Arielle~ hi

What is your general opinion of the Buckeye? Worth it, not especially worth it.....?

@maranfarmer563~ games fascinate me. How do you manage multiple cockerel or what method would you suggest if one wished to maintain a flock and grow out the cockerels for meat?

M

I'm still new to buckeyes.

They are heavy birds, solid. ANd easy to be around. GOod health and no losses except due to racoon. IMO they are a reasonable alternative to cornish crosses.

I love the look of the bird-- real birds that meet the SOP requirements. NIcer tail set, many are WIDE. One of the best looking boys tries to hussle me!! lol Sweet how he dances for my attention. SO far they are staying and others are being shown to the freezer.

Have you considered a good australorp??? I had a few hens sit ALL summer and well into the fall. Dedicated sitters, keeping my eating eggs warm all day.

 

[mymilliefleur]

I move my hens on pasture every 2-3 days in net fencing. I feed them lots of kale, turnip greens etc, and a bucket or 2 of barn litter as well as scraps, to supplement their feed.

I have fond that super layer breeds such as isa brown, production leghorns etc, even though they do lay a lot, tend to spend more time at the feeder
then older more traditoinal breeds such as susux, andulusian, etc, I have also fond them to be less thrifty.

Different breeds work for different people depending on climate, feed etc.

 

[Arielle]

Welcome to BYC!

Nice to hear more ideas and experiences!! What is the source of your traditional birds, hatchery or breeder types? I"m wondering if that makes a difference.

I have been trying to wrap my head around all this for a few years now. In reality there is a bird for eveyone's needs. I am torn between two vastly different needs. One to have some thing to survive when all hell breaks loose and the bird needs to be able to work toward feeding itself; and a bird that grows quickly and puts on a lot of flesh and can be in the freezer in a short time. RIght now I prefer the latter as I can fill the freezer quickly with a heavily muscled bird. But that same bird requires more feed that is also high protein. THat kind of feed seems to need to come from a bag.

 

[mymilliefleur]

Good question. most of my birds I have hatched myself, but the parent stock was given to me, or came from a hatchery. I had a leghorn cross and an andulusian hybrid layer and both of were egg laying machines but as soon as they started molting they would become pale and thin, even though they contenued to lay. I have also had more lice problems with them as well. games are probably the best for all around thriftyness and are the best foragers, but they are more seasonal layers.

yes, I have the same thoughts. I do like the sexlink roosters. they are large and forage so much more then the cornish meat birds and there so much more flavorfull!

 

[maranfarmer563]

My game take dust baths and I haven't had lice problems. I am having hawk problems this week. Lost one of my favorite broodys, "half tail", her chicks are almost grown.

 

[mymilliefleur]

Sorry about your hen. the games tend to range more then the other chickens, and so I lose more of them. I lost my oldest hen, a 12 year old game, ''old mama'' to a fox last summer.