Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[bnjrob]

Hear Hear! Don't forget - Bob himself had his Mohawks and I would hazard a guess they tasted just like chicken...

 

[ocap]

Just a quick note to let the breed shoppers know what my breeds are doing in the frozen north. Australorp, Brahma, Orpington, Wyandotte and silkie all hiding from the winter wind and snow. The Buckeye(s) are the only ones out braving the temperatures of 18degrees F and eight miles per hour winds with light snow.

 

[3riverschick]

Anyone looking for show quality Heritage Speckled Sussex:

Here ya go. LF= Large Fowl :

FEATHERHILLS FARM (LF)
Tony Albritton
509-995-7284
email Us
16405 Orchard Ave, Caldwell, ID 83607
All bred to the Standard of Perfection. Large Fowl: Speckled Sussex,
White Wyandotte, Rhode Island Red. Bantam: White Plymouth Rock,
White Leghorn. Narragansett Turkey, Pilgrim Geese. NPIP#91-121.
Tony Albritton of Idaho has excellent large fowl has Speckled Sussex .
See his ad here on Page 3 : http://www.exhibitionpoultry.net/downloads/ep3-5.pdf

ABA, APA Judge Gary Overton ( Mr. Sussex ) (LF)
1436 Wolf RdW Alexandria, OH 45381-9339
Phone number 937-839-5626

Walt Reichert (LF)
Simpsonville, KY
502-722-2951
[email protected]
Speckled Sussex

Best Regards,
Karen in western PA, USA

 

[TeaChick]

I started off with hatchery RIR and I lost 2 hens to egg laying problems before they even got to a yr old.  Still I have hatchery chicks in my coop right now growing up into a nice layer flock.   But I'm hoping to sell at least half of them this spring as laying hens.  I much prefer the 3 heritage hens I have.  However I can clearly see that it will take me a couple of seasons at least to expand my heritage flock.  During this time I choose to rely on easy to obtain hatchery chickens for eggs.  Some day though most of my layer flock will be from my heritage RIR that just did not make it to the breeding pen.

This is basically what I'm doing.
Bought pullets from Tractor Supply,
Use them for layers as I get my heritage breeding program going,
Slowly phase them out and/or use them as brood hens and for eggs,
Etc.

 

[TeaChick]

I prefer the look off the Dorking.

 

[TeaChick]

It's nice to remember the value of the smaller breeds, and that small doesn't need to mean scrawny. One can have a nice meaty carcass on a smaller bird. Bigger has advantages, but it also has disadvantages. Here's a comparison pic: The bird to the right is a Dorking; the one to the left is an Ancona. They're both great birds.

These are the new open air grow out pens we made earlier this year. Did not anticipate using them during winter, but I still have not culled my late hatched pullets and cockerels, so they are still living in there. And doing great even with the ice and cold we've been having - not quite as cold as OK but pretty chilly for TX. The Mottled Java cockerels inside. The "apartment" is 4 feet deep. It started out as 2 ft deep but then we decided to expand it to keep more older birds in there while giving them more room. You can see the hanging water bucket and the string for the hanging feeder that come from the ridge pole. Back of the pen. This is actually a chicken tractor and has wheels and pull cable to attach to tractor/riding mower/truck to move it. The footprint is 8' x 10' and 8 feet tall. The back here has a flap that is opened and hung on chains when it is hot to allow air to flow through while giving sun shield during the late afternoon/evening. These are situated with the front facing south/southeast. The flap is down now as a winter wind break for the run. Front and sides. Tarp is on for the winter, under it and on the front, you can see the shade cloth - necessary for about 10 months out of the year because there is no other shade available. I leave a 2ft space open at the bottom to allow better air flow but the shade cloth can be dropped to the ground if necessary. We have several different styles of large chicken tractors. So far this is my favorite. I prefer the good breeding stock to have a coop that they can be shut in for predator safety - and hope to be culling soon and getting the chosen "keepers" into a tractor with a full coop on it. This design will be easy to put a wall onto the front of the apartment along with a chicken door. And the back wall can have a door for easy cleanout. This style has been the cheapest and fastest to build of all of the designs we have tried out.

I like this design! I'm stealing this idea too. Lol

 

[TeaChick]

Yes, Scott, speedy recovery, as Lual said.

 

[TeaChick]

Many apologies. I'm mobile and quote and replies and auto correct are against me. Lol

 

[ronott1]

They are rare, but not a Heritage Breed. Heritage includes Standard as part of the definition, and Penedesencas are not a recognized breed in the US.

I should have said:

Today, Spain is the only country that recognizes Penedesencas as a breed, and only the black variety is acknowledged there.

Still a great Breed for places that are very hot.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

They are rare, but not a Heritage Breed. Heritage includes Standard as part of the definition, and Penedesencas are not a recognized breed in the US.

I think Ron was suggesting them as a dual Purpose breed since others where bringing up non heritage breeds.
They lay well , are heat hardy cold hardy enough and lay very dark brown eggs.
We are trying to gain numbers of Penedesenca here in the U.S and working hard at it.

There are 4 varieties.
Black
Crele
Partridge
wheaten

Partridge can lay very very dark eggs and can be the darkest of any chicken though over the years some of the darkness has gone.
also a close cousin Empordanesa is a very very old Spanish breed
which look similar and lay dark eggs as well.

Chances are good Penedesenca would be the most alert and heat hardy breed in your flock

Just a little info on the breed