Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[3riverschick]

Hi BeeKissed ,
Did this this bird have coarse or fine textured skin?
Thanks,
Karen

 

[Beekissed]

Really?? I was appalled at the fat on this bird! For a layer, she is way too fat, so I was pretty ashamed at her fat level. You'd really love to see the old WR I processed the other day....5 yrs old, one of a flock of 14 LF that were only getting 1 1/2 c.~for the entire flock!~ of fermented feeds per day and free ranging the rest of the day. When I processed her I was again appalled at the level of fat on the bird but couldn't really knock down the feed amounts much more than I already had!












Her gizzard!!!

 

[har]

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.

Hi OleSandhiller I am sure you are going to enjoy them. I do enjoy mine and they came from Jeremy as chicks. Scott

 

[Canieldonrad]

You really need to get some canned broth off of those birds. Liquid gold.

 

[thedragonlady]

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

This is a very young pullet,who was quite relaxed, and did not have her tail up.When her main tail is complete , the topline will change.She has good , wide feathers for a juvie. Those feathers will smooth down after a bath too.

Weak main tail feathers, and too short tail coverts,add to a cushion look. It's best to judge these young birds on the yard, moving.Amazing what happens to toplines then.

 

[Beekissed]

Hi BeeKissed ,
Did this this bird have coarse or fine textured skin?
Thanks,
Karen

It was normal in texture, so I'd say fine. Her feathering was lovely, glossy and deep. She laid large eggs and was laying well. The structure of her tail head made her vent have a sort of an overbite, so when she was open and laying, her vent was very leaky and her bottom was always red and excoriated from fecal matter. At first I thought she had gleet and I'm still not convinced she didn't, since the place I got her from had very poor livestock care...but she had good probios in the feed and all other health systems seemed healthy enough.

 

[Beekissed]

You really need to get some canned broth off of those birds. Liquid gold.

Yes! And this broth was after most of the fat was trimmed off the birds and the skin had been discarded...but they still had enough fat to produce some lovely, buttery fat and golden, flavorful stock.

 

[thedragonlady]

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

I've had slouchy birds at home, that turned into electric chickens at a show.You'll know when you show her ! I really like this girl.

 

[cbnovick]

I've had slouchy birds at home, that turned into electric chickens at a show.You'll know when you show her ! I really like this girl.

Thanks Vickie...guess we'll see how animated she becomes at Tucson.

Beekissed---When handling this bird, I don't get the impression that her cushion or weight for that matter are due to fat deposits...at 5 months, this bird feels rock solid....but that is an interesting theory..and your BA's photos prove that theory for that particular bird indeed. You never said how tasty she was...

I saw the lovely canned broth though. Impressive!!

 

[ronott1]

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.

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.

Australorps are prone to fatty liver disease. It has to do with their high egg laying ability. I found out about this due to a couple of mine dieing and going in for Necropsy. The condition makes them add fat--it does not indicate over feeding.

Still, that hen must have made great soup!