x2
German New Hampshire
- Thread starter crazyhen
- Start date
Yeah, I would for sure be interested in some eggs or day olds next spring. If you can help feel free to PM or email, otherwise I will be making some inquiries sometime soon.
Quote:
You are right 22wks is good. Mine were not that early. I did get an egg @ 23, but I average the pullets. Mine were not as early as yours. I had a pullet or two that waited until 26 wks. Just for conversation I would say a 24/25 wk average. I will check my calender (we count eggs). Where do you live? The reason I ask, is I always wonder what our heat does to me. They don't eat as much at 95+ degrees. I seam to do better if I can get chicks in the brooder in Feb. This year we were in the mid nineties in early May, and never caught a break until the end of the summer.
I think if your pullets average 22 wks. then they are doing well. That is where I want to be. So for me, unless an earlier hatch makes a difference, I want to improve by a couple weeks. New Hampshires should come into lay early, and mature faster than many pure breeds. That is what made them popular in the beginning. If they came into lay a month earlier than their counterpart the Rhodes then they had a month head start on the egg count. I love this breed, so I want to see them able to do what they are supposed to. Otherwise it would be like a game that wasn't game. It wouldn't be a game.
Originally the Europeans didn't pick up on this breed because they were pretty. They liked them early on for practical reasons. At the time most of them did not have the luxury of keeping them for pure enjoyment. Many European farmers picked them up for their functional advantages. The Germans probably kept breeding them as much for their looks, as anything through time. Still, the New Hampshire was developed by the original breeders for commercial reasons.
New Hampshires is my favorite breed, and always have been. I had a pretty good flock of Rhode Island Reds from an old farmer in the Low Country of South Carolina. I raised up a few generations and really enjoyed the birds. I relocated my family, and gave the flock away. As we settled in, I tried to get some of the birds that I had. They were gone.
Now these were pretty good birds. They were not quite as dark as the Red breeders like, but they had a nice body. They came into lay at 24-26 wks, and laid 220 rich brown eggs of good size and shape. I had no idea what I had. Who knows what or who they were related to, but that flock is gone.
Since I was most interested in the New Hampshire, I decided to start a flock of New Hampshires. I have been working on it for the last four or five years. I had no clue that they were this hard to get. Every year I hatched a batch, or purchased some chicks. The hatchery birds were not where it was at. I bugged every person I could come up with. I seen Ron Presley on here yesterday. I asked about his two years in a row. I tried Braden's, that he lost in a flood. I tried getting with many people. It never worked out. I googled every possible combination related to New Hampshires. I visited local shows. I got an address off a show card, and wrote letters. No Luck. Then I caught on that people were starting to use the word heritage, and I googled Heritage New Hampshires. The Heritage Breeders site came up, and I combed the list of breeders. I found Kathy's name. This was after I contacted everyone on the ALBC list and SPPA list. I contacted her, and she was generous with information. She did leave it open ended though. I couldn't remember the abbreviations on that website, so I googled it again. I noticed this site and her auction. Then I seen why I didn't get a definate answer. She had no idea who I was. After seeing the auction, I did not intend to miss the oppurtunity even after the prices were going up. I had no intentions of losing.
The auction was for ten eggs. If I had a pair hatched out, I would have been very happy. I caught some flack for bidding that much money on shipped eggs. There is even a thread on showbird, showbid, something about that auction. The most common comment was about being a fool. Even Jim's Farm Stand comments were not complimentary. I do believe if they had known how hard I tried to get good birds, or knew me they would have thought differently.
Now to finish writing my book . . . Kathy was very helpful and offered to hatch the eggs. She did, and even hatched me another batch. She helped me alot. I finally had a good start with not just good birds, but excellent birds. I loved the darned things when I opened the box. They were exceptionally vigorous, big, and healthy chicks. They were alot better than the hatchery New hampshires even "out the box".
Matt, I am not writing this to just you. I am taking the oppurtunity to express what I think of these birds, and the breed in general. I haven't taken this lightly, and intend to do the best I can with them. There are not many good New Hampshires out there. At least for someone like me that hasn't been in the right click and out of the loop. I think all of us that has them should do the best we can with them. I want them to do what New Hampshires should do and look as good as they do. If they lay well and early, dress out early, look this good, this easy to manage (as calm as they are, most people don't like flighty birds), I think they will continue to grow in popularity. What more can you want? You could show them, have them as nice lawn ornaments, and make good use of them. I think they are the total package. I do expect to do some selecting though. 22wks POL, 14-16wks. to dress out, 200 eggs per year of good quality, and look as good as they do. That is my goal with mine.
I hope a couple of you send Ron free eggs. He knows what he is doing, so will likely do well with them. Personally, I will not have enough eggs for myself this spring. In fact, I would like to purchase some more eggs or chicks (hint, hint). I am hoping to have 100 chicks of this breed to grow out this spring, and earlier than I have the past two in case the heat sets in early again.
You are right 22wks is good. Mine were not that early. I did get an egg @ 23, but I average the pullets. Mine were not as early as yours. I had a pullet or two that waited until 26 wks. Just for conversation I would say a 24/25 wk average. I will check my calender (we count eggs). Where do you live? The reason I ask, is I always wonder what our heat does to me. They don't eat as much at 95+ degrees. I seam to do better if I can get chicks in the brooder in Feb. This year we were in the mid nineties in early May, and never caught a break until the end of the summer.
I think if your pullets average 22 wks. then they are doing well. That is where I want to be. So for me, unless an earlier hatch makes a difference, I want to improve by a couple weeks. New Hampshires should come into lay early, and mature faster than many pure breeds. That is what made them popular in the beginning. If they came into lay a month earlier than their counterpart the Rhodes then they had a month head start on the egg count. I love this breed, so I want to see them able to do what they are supposed to. Otherwise it would be like a game that wasn't game. It wouldn't be a game.
Originally the Europeans didn't pick up on this breed because they were pretty. They liked them early on for practical reasons. At the time most of them did not have the luxury of keeping them for pure enjoyment. Many European farmers picked them up for their functional advantages. The Germans probably kept breeding them as much for their looks, as anything through time. Still, the New Hampshire was developed by the original breeders for commercial reasons.
New Hampshires is my favorite breed, and always have been. I had a pretty good flock of Rhode Island Reds from an old farmer in the Low Country of South Carolina. I raised up a few generations and really enjoyed the birds. I relocated my family, and gave the flock away. As we settled in, I tried to get some of the birds that I had. They were gone.
Now these were pretty good birds. They were not quite as dark as the Red breeders like, but they had a nice body. They came into lay at 24-26 wks, and laid 220 rich brown eggs of good size and shape. I had no idea what I had. Who knows what or who they were related to, but that flock is gone.
Since I was most interested in the New Hampshire, I decided to start a flock of New Hampshires. I have been working on it for the last four or five years. I had no clue that they were this hard to get. Every year I hatched a batch, or purchased some chicks. The hatchery birds were not where it was at. I bugged every person I could come up with. I seen Ron Presley on here yesterday. I asked about his two years in a row. I tried Braden's, that he lost in a flood. I tried getting with many people. It never worked out. I googled every possible combination related to New Hampshires. I visited local shows. I got an address off a show card, and wrote letters. No Luck. Then I caught on that people were starting to use the word heritage, and I googled Heritage New Hampshires. The Heritage Breeders site came up, and I combed the list of breeders. I found Kathy's name. This was after I contacted everyone on the ALBC list and SPPA list. I contacted her, and she was generous with information. She did leave it open ended though. I couldn't remember the abbreviations on that website, so I googled it again. I noticed this site and her auction. Then I seen why I didn't get a definate answer. She had no idea who I was. After seeing the auction, I did not intend to miss the oppurtunity even after the prices were going up. I had no intentions of losing.
The auction was for ten eggs. If I had a pair hatched out, I would have been very happy. I caught some flack for bidding that much money on shipped eggs. There is even a thread on showbird, showbid, something about that auction. The most common comment was about being a fool. Even Jim's Farm Stand comments were not complimentary. I do believe if they had known how hard I tried to get good birds, or knew me they would have thought differently.
Now to finish writing my book . . . Kathy was very helpful and offered to hatch the eggs. She did, and even hatched me another batch. She helped me alot. I finally had a good start with not just good birds, but excellent birds. I loved the darned things when I opened the box. They were exceptionally vigorous, big, and healthy chicks. They were alot better than the hatchery New hampshires even "out the box".
Matt, I am not writing this to just you. I am taking the oppurtunity to express what I think of these birds, and the breed in general. I haven't taken this lightly, and intend to do the best I can with them. There are not many good New Hampshires out there. At least for someone like me that hasn't been in the right click and out of the loop. I think all of us that has them should do the best we can with them. I want them to do what New Hampshires should do and look as good as they do. If they lay well and early, dress out early, look this good, this easy to manage (as calm as they are, most people don't like flighty birds), I think they will continue to grow in popularity. What more can you want? You could show them, have them as nice lawn ornaments, and make good use of them. I think they are the total package. I do expect to do some selecting though. 22wks POL, 14-16wks. to dress out, 200 eggs per year of good quality, and look as good as they do. That is my goal with mine.
I hope a couple of you send Ron free eggs. He knows what he is doing, so will likely do well with them. Personally, I will not have enough eggs for myself this spring. In fact, I would like to purchase some more eggs or chicks (hint, hint). I am hoping to have 100 chicks of this breed to grow out this spring, and earlier than I have the past two in case the heat sets in early again.
Quote:
geof40, are you from New Hampshire, or live in New Hampshire? If so, you definately should have good New Hampshires.
geof40, are you from New Hampshire, or live in New Hampshire? If so, you definately should have good New Hampshires.
gjensen, I am located in extreme southern Alabama. I'm about 6 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. I live in one of the most humid areas in the U.S. and we had a very hot summer. My chicks were a late april/early may hatch so the were a little late. The NH have done very well so far in this climate. I was worried about them adjusting because they came from Indiana but they have grown well and gotten good size and matured quickly.
I showed in my first show this past weekend and done pretty well. I didn't win it all but the birds were a little young to be there so I was happy. I got a lot of great comments about the NH's and a lot of people wanting to get some of them when I hatch. I'm not sure how many I will sell because I am concentrating on quality and not quantity but after I hatch for myself I should be able to fill some orders. I have a pretty large flock as I got a pretty big batch from Doug.
I showed in my first show this past weekend and done pretty well. I didn't win it all but the birds were a little young to be there so I was happy. I got a lot of great comments about the NH's and a lot of people wanting to get some of them when I hatch. I'm not sure how many I will sell because I am concentrating on quality and not quantity but after I hatch for myself I should be able to fill some orders. I have a pretty large flock as I got a pretty big batch from Doug.
Quote:
I will send Ron chicks if he can wait until spring.
And you, George...... you know you have chicks from me when ever I have them available.
I will send Ron chicks if he can wait until spring.
And you, George...... you know you have chicks from me when ever I have them available.
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Well my girls didn't do quite that well. Yes, you are in a hotspot. I was concerned about the heat with these guys. Germany isn't exactly hot. Now these girls didn't like the heat of course, but I didn't lose a single one. I wondered if I would lose one when I got them. They did quite well, which was good. My hatch wasn't as late as yours either. March. I will see how I do next year. I still will hatch as early as I can. I think I have my pullets picked out, so we will see.
On a side note, you aren't an Auburn fan are you?
Well my girls didn't do quite that well. Yes, you are in a hotspot. I was concerned about the heat with these guys. Germany isn't exactly hot. Now these girls didn't like the heat of course, but I didn't lose a single one. I wondered if I would lose one when I got them. They did quite well, which was good. My hatch wasn't as late as yours either. March. I will see how I do next year. I still will hatch as early as I can. I think I have my pullets picked out, so we will see.
On a side note, you aren't an Auburn fan are you?
I have communicated with Ron and will send him eggs in March - I think he is closer to me and the eggs would not have to travel so far, but Kathy, you are great at shipping chicks, so maybe we can both help him out?
Gjenson - I think you are not that far away from me - I am about 30 minutes west of Asheville, NC. How far is that?
Gjenson - I think you are not that far away from me - I am about 30 minutes west of Asheville, NC. How far is that?
gjensen, yes I am an Auburn fan and I'm also a fan of who ever plays Alabama....
. If you live in Alabama you have to choose sides!
Hi Kathy and Beth. I would like to get New Hampshires from "both" of you as early this coming Spring as possible. I would also like to have some shipped to Bill Braden in Oklahoma as well. I talked to him yesterday and sent him pictures as well.
I've looked at the pictures posted to this thread and know what I am seeing. I've spend years searching for honest to gosh NH's and the closest Bill or myself has come has been from Matt John. And the only issue we had with them was the size.
I want to tell Geo Jensen that I do remember talking to him and appreciate his comments. I would never sell anything that I wasn't satisfied with myself.
What I see in these birds are a lot of what we've lost in the American gene pool. I can remember when you could actually get big robust perfectly colored birds from most any hatchery. But, not anymore. So naturally I'm very excited about this German line.
Ron
I've looked at the pictures posted to this thread and know what I am seeing. I've spend years searching for honest to gosh NH's and the closest Bill or myself has come has been from Matt John. And the only issue we had with them was the size.
I want to tell Geo Jensen that I do remember talking to him and appreciate his comments. I would never sell anything that I wasn't satisfied with myself.
What I see in these birds are a lot of what we've lost in the American gene pool. I can remember when you could actually get big robust perfectly colored birds from most any hatchery. But, not anymore. So naturally I'm very excited about this German line.
Ron
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