Free range breed advice

[PeaShack]

I haven’t had any luck finding the LFs here. Only the bantams seem to be available, and I’m not sure how well those would mesh with the rest. I considered adding them a few years ago, but since I couldn’t find LFs back then as well, I dropped that idea.

Do you think they would thrive in an LF group? Some of the girls here can be intense, and both boys have Brahma and oriental gamefowl/aseel blood, so they are quite large

Standard phoenix are on the smaller side….slim, agile, and well-flighted for a chicken. I imagine the bantam versions are probably kept more for ornamental purposes and would have lower egg production.

If kept free-ranged on acreage the standard Phoenix should be fine with the heavier Brahma/aseel as they will go further out to forage during the day.

Because of my concern for introducing disease into the flock (we have indoor rescue parrots too), I’ve only hatched out eggs that I’ve ordered off eBay or hatched the eggs of my current chickens. Shipped eggs are hit or miss with hatch rates…but it does give you the opportunity to raise breeds not available locally!

 

[fluffycrow]

Standard phoenix are on the smaller side….slim, agile, and well-flighted for a chicken. I imagine the bantam versions are probably kept more for ornamental purposes and would have lower egg production.

If kept free-ranged on acreage the standard Phoenix should be fine with the heavier Brahma/aseel as they will go further out to forage during the day.

Because of my concern for introducing disease into the flock (we have indoor rescue parrots too), I’ve only hatched out eggs that I’ve ordered off eBay or hatched the eggs of my current chickens. Shipped eggs are hit or miss with hatch rates…but it does give you the opportunity to raise breeds not available locally!

I see. So the bantam version really isn’t worth the trouble. Sounds like even the standards might be unwilling to intermingle and breed with the rest of the group.
Oh I have no issues with not going locally, last year I incubated eggs that came from across the country; my issue is with eggs sourced internationally, because I don’t want to deal with importing anything.

I’ve yet to find a breeder of the standard phoenix here, though I admit it’s been years since I checked eBay. Not exactly popular here either.

 

[PeaShack]

I see. So the bantam version really isn’t worth the trouble. Sounds like even the standards might be unwilling to intermingle and breed with the rest of the group.
Oh I have no issues with not going locally, last year I incubated eggs that came from across the country; my issue is with eggs sourced internationally, because I don’t want to deal with importing anything.

I’ve yet to find a breeder of the standard phoenix here, though I admit it’s been years since I checked eBay. Not exactly popular here either.

If the group is chill , I’m sure they would intermingle

 

[fluffycrow]

If the group is chill , I’m sure they would intermingle

That they are not !
The girls are all quite “spicy”.

The boys are young, so I don’t really know how they will be, but given that the head cockerel is willing to fight mastiff-type dogs, I don’t think he will be too accepting either.

I still hope that I can get some standard phoenix at some point, once they become a little more widespread here

 

[Perris]

Oh I have no issues with not going locally, last year I incubated eggs that came from across the country; my issue is with eggs sourced internationally, because I don’t want to deal with importing anything.

This is just kite-flying, but could you do a day-trip to S Italy via ferry? You might be able to pick up some hatching eggs of Italian breeds that way? And they would be adapted to the same sort of climate as you have.

 

[fluffycrow]

This is just kite-flying, but could you do a day-trip to S Italy via ferry? You might be able to pick up some hatching eggs of Italian breeds that way? And they would be adapted to the same sort of climate as you have.

I know of a lot of people who travel across the border for a day or two to pick up eggs and chicks. Some have family ties, others have acquaintances. I have none, only local friends and family.
The landrace eggs I was talking about in my OP would be from an Albanian landrace, or of Albanian descent, as a fellow keeper here gets them every time they visit their family.
Big Red and his brother were, to my knowledge, a Pakistani line, possibly first generation, while Galadriel’s mother was from Turkish Brahma lines.

I would first like to exhaust all local and within the country options before going to our neighbouring countries myself.
Not that I’m totally against a little trip to Italy

 

[KF0002]

I have seen some very red-necked naked necks. We lived in Utah where it can get pretty hot in the summer and I will say I often wondered if they were getting a little sun burnt but it almost looked more flushed than actually burned if that makes sense.

I’m going to tag someone who I know also has some naked neck experience and might even have some free-range ones @KF0002 can you speak to Turken mothering skills?

My Naked Neckers are just the perfect hybrid blend for vigor and they are excellent layers. Most of my Naked Neckers free-range and do very well. My Naked Necker hens haven't went broody that I know of yet, but we collect their eggs daily to discourage broodiness. They are heat hardy, and winter hardy. They have survived 90-100 degree weather and freezing weather with ease. They are disease resistant and robust against illness. I know they aren't much to look at, but they have certainly grown on us. I 10/10 recommend Naked Neckers. My current flock leader is a Nacked Necker, and he won the top rank against the Leghorns, Legbar/Leghorn crosses, and other various roosters free ranging. They are tough birds. And gentle.

True story: my husband got our first Naked Neckers by accident. A friend of his hatched them a couple years ago and decided he didn't want them, so my husband brought them home (they were maybe 3 weeks old) and turned them loose in the yard with the free-ranged chickens. No brooding, no pampering. Well the little chicks survived somehow and they thrived and grew into integral flock members. I enjoy them.

 

[KF0002]

A recent fox attack has brought the population down by 50%. It had always been the goal to bring in new blood at some point, as this year any possible broodies would be hatching the fifth generation. With a hatching problem that seems to be genetic, I would rather outcross now, before we run into inbreeding issues in a year or two.
So now my task is to find suitable breeds. Since free ranging is still a top priority (but unfortunately not currently possible due to this persistent fox, though I’m hoping that can change soon) I need breeds that are compatible with that lifestyle. Heat tolerant breeds are also a must. Our summer temps are no joke; the Brahma that lived here for a while were close to actually melting. Broodiness is the third and final ‘big’ one. Unfortunately I need a lot of that. Currently there is only one hen that has brooded, so it would be a requirement for this breed and/or landrace to brood naturally.

I’ve narrowed down the list to the following breeds (keep in mind that this list also takes into account what I can find here. I’m not particularly interested in importing, or anything of the sort): Araucanas, Turkens, Dongxiang Lukedanji, Aseel (hens), Fayoumi and an unrelated strain of the landraces I currently tend to.

Some of the breeds mentioned possess traits that in my eyes at least, don’t seem favourable for a free range chicken.
Fortunately or not though, my job ends at introducing the breed to the current gene pool. I’ve learned that I’m a very poor judge of what can and does survive out on the property, so I’ll let natural selection do its thing after that point.

I come with this post, however, to ask for personal experience with any of the above mentioned breeds. Are Araucana really as broody as cited in most books and online info pages I have read?
Are turkens as good at free ranging as people claim?
Any of you that free range, I would love to hear feedback on whether or not you would even consider any of these breeds. I suspect the vast majority of you will say no, and you wouldn’t be wrong!
But options here are somewhat limited. There might be a chance to secure a dozen or so eggs of a different landrace, which would be sweet, but I’d much rather have a solid plan in place, before going out and chasing something that could lead to a dead end. Best case scenario, I manage to bring an unrelated breed as well as a landrace to the property

Our best free-ranged chickens are hybrid mixes, with some Game mixed in. They are tanks and evade predators extremely well. They roost way up high in trees and are fast. So maybe get a variety of breeds available to you and let them mix and reproduce amongst themselves. They will eventually produce their own line of landrace.

 

[fluffycrow]

My Naked Neckers are just the perfect hybrid blend for vigor and they are excellent layers. Most of my Naked Neckers free-range and do very well. My Naked Necker hens haven't went broody that I know of yet, but we collect their eggs daily to discourage broodiness. They are heat hardy, and winter hardy. They have survived 90-100 degree weather and freezing weather with ease. They are disease resistant and robust against illness. I know they aren't much to look at, but they have certainly grown on us. I 10/10 recommend Naked Neckers. My current flock leader is a Nacked Necker, and he won the top rank against the Leghorns, Legbar/Leghorn crosses, and other various roosters free ranging. They are tough birds. And gentle.

True story: my husband got our first Naked Neckers by accident. A friend of his hatched them a couple years ago and decided he didn't want them, so my husband brought them home (they were maybe 3 weeks old) and turned them loose in the yard with the free-ranged chickens. No brooding, no pampering. Well the little chicks survived somehow and they thrived and grew into integral flock members. I enjoy them.

Well this all sounds great! Seems like they’re not quite as broody as I would have hoped.
Heat tolerance seems excellent, so that’s good.

I don’t expect any of the males to assume any top position in the hierarchy, but I do like the broodies to fight off any hen that is too rough with the chicks. They should also be able to stand their ground enough, the hens here are quite bossy.

What’s their maturity like? I’m guessing on the slower end of things?

 

[fluffycrow]

Our best free-ranged chickens are hybrid mixes, with some Game mixed in. They are tanks and evade predators extremely well. They roost way up high in trees and are fast. So maybe get a variety of breeds available to you and let them mix and reproduce amongst themselves. They will eventually produce their own line of landrace.

That’s the goal! The base is a Greek landrace that should be perfect for the environment here.
Problem is, not a single one of those ever went broody. Not exactly landrace-like…

So at some point I hatched an egg from an Oriental Gamefowl male and a Brahma hen. That chick grew up to be a beautiful hen, and she goes broody! So now her genes are present in quite a few members of the group, four, to be exact. The head rooster is of her blood as well.

I hope to introduce more breeds into the mix, to avoid any genetic bottlenecks and issues that might arise (Perris might remember that one. Two years ago a single chick hatched with its organs outside its body, and I was thinking broody error. Well last year two more chicks hatched, but they were in the incubator. I never intervene while a hatch is underway, so this seems like a particular mix of genes that ends in this malformation).

Turkens seem like the most probable candidate right now. The lack of natural brooding frightens me a bit, but they seem perfect otherwise. Well, maybe they creep me out a bit but that’s not reason enough !

Later this spring I’m going to take a look at those Albanian landraces I talked about; they might be the second addition. As far as I know, the keeper only uses broodies