Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[Beekissed]

I have Blue, Black and White...unfamiliar with the Partridge. All of my hens are solid breasted and thick thighs. They have a nice spread to their pelvis/legs and broad backs.
The 3 year old Blue hens do lay better numbers than the White hens...but I don't know the age on the White hens. I purchased them fully grown when Bo Garrett was reducing some from his White flock pen.
Excess bum fluff can affect fertility but does not impact laying. When in the breed pens, I do pull excess down around the vents to improve the egg fertility.
An eight month old cockerel can weigh 7 - 9 pounds. An older hen can weigh in at about 8 pounds. A late maturing bird, I don't butcher the cockerels earlier than 7 or 8 months of age because I wait to cull for the breed pens until I can really see the type.
A few of my hens have actually gone broody more than once this year...they make great incubators...making keeping them worth the feed they consume.

Thank you! They are not a breed that is readily available in my area and would have to be imported, but I've read good things about them and would find them a great addition to a sustainable DP flock as working broodies....beautiful working broodies! I find them to be a much better option for broodies than silkies...much better.

 

[har]

forgot to add this quick side shot I caught late this afternoon...feather width is good just have to wait and see if it will lift....I am not counting on it though

She is a big nice looking girl!! Scott

 

[3riverschick]

We tried the same thing - they grow, but the wind either stunts them or breaks them off. The natives are more branched but the tallest we have were maybe 4' tall.

You must have some native plant up there which grows tall. What could you use?
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

Quote: Dragonlady, what is the fix for a cushion like this? I ask for the other poster as well as myself.
Can it be fixed by a particular complementary mating or is it polygenic?
Thanks,
Karen

 

[Beekissed]

forgot to add this quick side shot I caught late this afternoon...feather width is good just have to wait and see if it will lift....I am not counting on it though

She really puts me in mind of a BA I had a while back...big cushion, underslung tail, deep chest but not quite the right...shape, for lack of a better word. When I culled her I found the most huge fat deposits I have ever seen on a chicken in my whole life..the biggest being right under that cushion.



Below is the cutaway of that fat pad, showing how very thick it actually was....approx. 1/2 in. thick.

 

[Canieldonrad]

Oh man... I'd have loved to use that bird for soup and dumplings. This looks delicious!

 

[Beekissed]

Oh man... I'd have loved to use that bird for soup and dumplings. This looks delicious!

Oh, you ain't seen nothin' yet...look at the rest of her fat!!!!

I don't overfeed my flocks and these birds forage actively all day long, so plenty of exercise...so, I'm thinking this has something to do with genetics and the resulting increased storage of fat in this body type? I've never really had a chicken with this body type before this one and I'd never seen this level of fat storage in these areas, so genetics vs. feed/exercise? Could this be the cause of "cushion" on some breeds that is needing to be removed from the genetics in order to remove that cushion? I had never realized that genetics played such a role in the way chickens store fat, but I should have guessed by the differences in how humans do the same.

 

[Canieldonrad]

Well they did publish a study this year that determined some humans have a genetic disposition for obesity. I can definitely see this being true for birds as well.... I am in awe of this bird.

 

[OleSandhiller]

Greetings. I lost my entire flock of RIR to a dog attack( saint barnards). I was in need of some good breeding stock to rebuild my flock. I called Jeremy Woeppel (XW Poultry Ranch) at Chambers Nebraska. He said he had some young New Hampshires he could spare. I live 35 miles to the north, so I made a date and purchased 12 pullets and 2 roos. That was yesterday and they are already growing on me,I like them. I can see myself putting a lot of time and energy into this breed. Here are a few pics. Thanks XW.

 

[thedragonlady]

Aren't sun chokes, Jerusalem artichokes? I think I looked those up before. Thanks for the tip, I had no idea they got that tall. I tried to grow sunflowers this year to provide relief from the afternoon sun. I started late but I really expected them to get taller than 36". I used some of my black oil sunflower seeds. They grew well, just not big enough to make a difference.

The Jerusalem artichokes will work, but not provide as much shade as Hops. Sunchokes require lots of water to get tall also.You need most of your heavy shade at the top of your run. Think of the angle of the summer sun.