Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[GrammasGarden]

Thanks Karen for the encouragement ! As my family are 5th generation Florida settlers mixed with Seminole Indian I would love to help preserve some heritage chickens originating or pioneered in Florida. Any idea where I can find out about any such breeds ?

HI GrammasGarden,
 Welcome to the thread! There is something you can do,
even if you cannot have a large breeding operation.
It is very important that heritage breeders have a
secondary flock so if the main flock has some kind of
disaster, the bloodline isn't lost. One way to do this is
to have folk who are willing to safeguard the bloodline
in their backyard flock or a satellite breeding program.
If birds from the same bloodline and flock are kept
500 miles apart, after 5-6 years their descendants can
be used as a limited outcross to each other. Because
of the decisions of the different owners and the different
environments in which they live. The birds from the
same flock and bloodline become more like cousins
than siblings. Even if you are only hatching a few each year.
And  even if you aren't hatching any chicks, just holding
the bloodline in reserve can be invaluable. As we have
seen in recent years when noted flocks have been decimated
by predators or fire. With "reserve" birds, there
is a place to start over again without having to rebuild the
strain from the ground up.
 Best,
 Karen

 

[Pozees]

This past summer I went to an Alternative Crop field day through the local extension office. I just wanted to see what could be grown well here. Hops was one of them. One old farmer gave hops a try this year and though he had frames set up for them to grow 20 feet in the air, they weren't that tall, however, contrary to advice given him, they actually produced a good load of hops for him. I was thinking I would get a few to cover my runs with as well. Cascade was the better variety here.

Cascade, good to know! I would expect they won't get as tall as advertised here, few things do, but if they grow enough to provide shade I'll be happy.

Thanks Pozees! Actually, its going to be a long time til I can get going on this. My husband is out of a job right now as the company he worked for shut down so just going to the feed store makes me

Regarding Mareks, you can run turkeys with your chickens and that little act will make them immune to Mareks. The turkey has a form of Mareks that is milder than the one that chickens get. You won't even know they have it but it will make them immune to the other variety.

I remember you telling me this earlier, and have been thinking of adding Midget Whites to the flock this next spring.

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

I am so pleased with how well Knight N Day ( my "keeper" male from this year's hatch),
is coming along. He is the spitting image of his sire, Junior, tho a bit smaller because I
am not as experienced in raising fowl as Walt B. is. I have my breeding pens set for next
Spring. Knight N Day is in with the new pullet, "Sweetie". I am so excited to see what
this outcross will produce!
My 3rd choice cockerel " Tux", is in with my best layer, his dam, "May" (my avatar).
This is a full sibling inbreeding to see what recessives are in the strain. Tux's hackle is a
bit further down the crest of his neck than I like, however the 2 sides actually meet
underneath his chin. That's exciting, and something I have been hoping to see.
The remaining cockerel ( pet quality "Rocky") is in with the egg flock because I think
they do better with a male to anchor the flock. The rest of the pullets are starting to
lay so we have lots of eggs each day.

Best,
Karen

Karen

Just a question as I'm trying to understand....do I understand that one of your matings is "Tux" over his dam "May"?? If so, can you explain how this is a sibling inbreeding? Many of the long time breeders refer to mother/son, father/daughter breedings as "linebreeding".....just trying to get my head around it as I have single mating father/daughter pens set up now myself

Thanks

 

[thedragonlady]

Mainly because I get wind (and I mean WIND) from every side but the east. If I had the east side fully open like the Woods Style, I would come out to roasted birds. Our sun is BRUTAL from the time it comes up til the time it goes down!

I've pretty much decided that with world economics being what they are, plus I believe in Biblical prophecy to the point that I don't think its going to get any better, but rather worse and I doubt very highly that many people will be looking to buy Andalusians. They haven't up til now and they won't in the future either. I think I'm going to cut back on my birds. However, I still want them to have a nice place to live. Right now, the barn I have is PATHETIC but its better than no barn around here. I want to build two 6 x 20 barns (keeping me under the limit for building codes that require permits for anything over 120 sq. ft.) that will both be divided in half so I probably will have a slightly altered design than what is shown in my drawings. Thus, I will keep 4 small flocks of large fowl and that way I'll be able to give them more room to run around. Free ranging here is something of a joke but they'll be able to range freely in a very large yard for each pen. That's the best I can do for them. In their main yards, they'll have some plantings to munch on that will be mostly wired off and they can eat what grows through and I will get some kind of fruit trees (mulberry?) for shade and seasonal fruit. Also, someone on another thread recommended some Seafoam roses that only grow 3-4 feet tall but spread out something like 10 feet so they make a nice place for the birds to duck under cover in case of hawks or needed shade and they grow tons of rose hips for Vit C in the coming winter.

I'll also have 4 small flocks of bantam Andalusians with pretty big yards.

This, once built, will save back pain too.

Bridgette Riddle in California did pretty well with her Buttercups. I don't know if she still raises them but she may. It seems she is increasing in the number of breeds she raises but hey, if she is successful with them... more power to her.

There is a knitted windscreen fabric that is also a shade cloth. The British breeders use it to cut the wind in their paddocks.Since heat is such a problem, why not simply build covered runs with one wall solid? You back the sleeping coops up to the wall, and use the wind screen on the sides to cut the wind.This is basically what I do in SC.This keeps a nice DRY run for the birds, as mine are sand 18" deep. Easy to rake up and screen the sand every day. The dry sand will really cut down on parasite loads too.

Portable kennel panels make nice runs, and because they ARE portable, do not usually qualify as a structure.I roofed mine with colored steel panels, so the birds are very secure.

I'd be careful about planting roses for the birds to hide under. I have one big Knockout bush in my orchard that I have to keep limbed up, or the Orps will tear their combs and feathers on the thorns.One hen came up limping this year, and I pulled a rose thorn out of her foot. Big hydrangea bushes do a much better job of giving the birds shade, and hiding places. Mine all have bird netting in the canes, so even when bare in the winter, the birds have protection.

 

[Wisher1000]

I don't have mine finished, but thought I would share a few pics of the breeder barn I am working on. Unfortunately, I can't seem to be able to upload pics at the moment, so I will try to add them later.

I had heavily wooded land cleared for my breeder barn. The site is at the foot of a hill and has a shallow drainage ditch between the barn and the hill. Rain run-off should be directed around the pad the structure is on, if not, I will have it cut out deeper.

When finished, the entire structure will be 24' (North to South) and 16' (East to West.) I would have preferred to have had the long side facing south, but the lay of the land made it necessary to use this placement. I am building only half of the entire structure at this time to spread the expense out a bit while giving me some usable space now. Phase one is the eastern half so it is actually a shed roof with the tall side facing West. This will allow lots of afternoon sun in for the winter and hopefully, phase two will be completed in the early spring, providing shade on that side from the summer heat. There is a tree line about 50 feet from the barn, so it will not be in the direct sun in the summer.

I used some stick and root filled soil to build up the floor, then covered that with about 8" of sand, the natural soil is red clay under the coop.

The unusual thing about my design, IMO, is that there are solid walls of OSB to a height of 4' and the upper half is 2"x4" welded wire, all the way around. I saw a pic of a coop made this way and thought that it might work well in our weather conditions. I am in the deep south, and heat is much more of an issue than cold. My current coop has an interior space and a covered run area. The chickens refuse to sleep inside, instead, preferring to sleep in the rafters of the covered run year round. It has floor to roof wire on three sides. That has been the case for two years and I have only covered the wire once, when we had a cold snap that lasted a week. Last winter, I didn't put up tarps or plastic at all. I never even had to use a heater for their water.

I hope that with the walls solid up to 4', the birds will be able to get out of the wind if they need to and will also be able to roost in the open air above that height. I will not allow them to get up as high as the layer flock does, but will provide roosts just above the solid walls so they will have a place in the breeze in the summer. If necessary, I will tarp or cover the wire on one or more sides to provide more shelter, but I am not sure it will be necessary. I can also open ventilation "windows" in the solid walled areas if the temps at floor level get too hot. I am excited about this design, but will watch closely to catch any problems as early as possible.

 

[ronott1]

I don't have mine finished, but thought I would share a few pics of the breeder barn I am working on. Unfortunately, I can't seem to be able to upload pics at the moment, so I will try to add them later.

I had heavily wooded land cleared for my breeder barn. The site is at the foot of a hill and has a shallow drainage ditch between the barn and the hill. Rain run-off should be directed around the pad the structure is on, if not, I will have it cut out deeper.

When finished, the entire structure will be 24' (North to South) and 16' (East to West.) I would have prefered to have had the long side facing south, but the lay of the land made it necessary to use this placement. I am building only half of the entire structure at this time to spread the expense out a bit while giving me some useable space now. Phase one is the eastern half so it is actually a shed roof with the tall side facing West. This will allow lots of afternoon sun in for the winter and hopefully, phase two will be completed in the early spring, providing shade on that side from the summer heat. There is a tree line about 50 feet from the barn, so it will not be in the direct sun in the summer.

I used some stick and root filled soil to build up the floor, then covered that with about 8" of sand, the natural soil is red clay under the coop.

The unusual thing about my design, IMO, is that there are solid walls of OSB to a height of 4' and the upper half is 2"x4" welded wire, all the way around. I saw a pic of a coop made this way and thought that it might work well in our weather conditions. I am in the deep south, and heat is much more of an issue than cold. My current coop has an interior space and a covered run area. The chickens refuse to sleep inside, instead, prefering to sleep in the rafters of the covered run year round. It has floor to roof wire on three sides. That has been the case for two years and I have only covered the wire once, when we had a cold snap that lasted a week. Last winter, I didn't put up tarps or plastic at all. I never even had to use a heater for their water.

I hope that with the walls solid up to 4', the birds will be able to get out of the wind if they need to and will also be able to roost in the open air above that height. I will not allow them to get up as high as the layer flock does, but will provide roosts just above the solid walls so they will have a place in the breeze in the summer. If necessary, I will tarp or cover the wire on one or more sides to provide more shelter, but I am not sure it will be necessary. I can also open ventilation "windows" in the solid walled areas if the temps at floor level get too hot. I am excited about this design, but will watch closely to catch any problems as early as possible.

You might need a Golden Feather membership. I had problems with uploads when mine ran out last week.

 

[cgmccary]

Thanks Karen for the encouragement ! As my family are 5th generation Florida settlers mixed with Seminole Indian I would love to help preserve some heritage chickens originating or pioneered in Florida. Any idea where I can find out about any such breeds ?

I cannot think of any breed specifically originating in Florida; however, the Spaniards brought the White-Faced Spanish to the region probably making it one of the first breeds to inhabit Florida. The Cubalaya originated, as the name implies, Cuba but they tolerate the heat and humidity well.

 

[Pathfinders]

Laura.....gotta tell you a funny

From the first time I saw your avatar, and tag line......I thought you were the "wife of an ENT"....as in a wife of an EAR, NOSE and THROAT specialist.....been meaning to tell you that

Happy Friday

LOL!

No. My husband is a newspaper tech. I am an Entwife, ala Fimbrethil, wife to Treebeard (who is my favorite Ent from the Lord of the Rings series.)

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Entwives

 

[ronott1]

I cannot think of any breed specifically originating in Florida; however, the Spaniards brought the White-Faced Spanish to the region probably making it one of the first breeds to inhabit Florida. The Cubalaya originated, as the name implies, Cuba but they tolerate the heat and humidity well.

There is an, I think, Mohawk line of RIR in Florida that is very old. They would be great for you. There is an amazing community or Red breeders on BYC that will support you to the Max.

 

[ronott1]

LOL!

No. My husband is a newspaper tech. I am an Entwife, ala Fimbrethil, wife to Treebeard (who is my favorite Ent from the Lord of the Rings series.)

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Entwives

To be fair, it is a very obscure reference since There was no description of Entwives in the Series and they were all dead by the "second Age" while the story was in the period of the "Third Age".

Sorry....Now back to those beautiful birds....

Seriously, if you want to practice with very nice reds that are not too pricey and hard to get, order 12 RIRs from Dick Horstman. I was looking at my two pullets today and was struck by how shiny they are getting at 30 weeks old.