Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[TeaChick]

Had to cull my Jersey Giant last night.
She'd given up the fight, had to cull her.

 

[normanack]

yes the grain product more times than none is usually corn it is the cheapest out of the other popular ingredients (soy and alfalfa) as they are also way higher in protein percentages too sorta like buying regular unleaded or super premium gasolines LOL

Jeff

I find feathers and ash (burned feathers?) in layer mash here. Is that a good source of protein or an unintentional addition?

 

[thedragonlady]

OK folks, a friend is trying to make some decisions about where she is going to go with her poultry flock this coming year. We would like some input from more experienced breeders. Keep in mind we are looking at quality, standard bred birds, not hatchery stock.

Right now one decision is Plymouth Rock vs Orpington
My take on them is that they are about the same size bird, they should be about the same meat wise. I believe that they lay roughly the same. I *think* but am not sure that the orps may tend to be a bit broodier than the rocks. Any other pros or cons?


If you have a different breed that might fill the bill a bit better, please make some suggestions!

Her wish list;
Big eggs, good layers
good meat birds (ie cockerels grow quick to broiler/roaster size) old hens have some meat left on their bones
tolerate cold down to about 10 degrees
tolerate the heat well (she gets over 110 degree days in the summer)

I can't speak for everybody's Orps, but my Buffs will dress out a lot heavier than a Rock the same age.Cockerels will dress out at 5-6 lbs at 4-5 months old. Mature hens dress out at 7+lbs. they are also much more pleasant to deal with.

 

[catdaddyfro]

I find feathers and ash (burned feathers?) in layer mash here. Is that a good source of protein or an unintentional addition?

google feather meal

no its an intentional additive very high protein content but not much else, makes for a great filler. Its just hard to get a good commercial mass produced feed as they are going to go with the cheapest get by for making major profits just enough so that it will meet the low end of the scale for demand, its no different than most any other product. You can get the GOOD stuff but it'll cost a primo buck too. J/S

Jeff

 

[bnjrob]

I find feathers and ash (burned feathers?) in layer mash here. Is that a good source of protein or an unintentional addition?

You should see the information put out by some Extension agencies regarding how to feed chicken feathers and chicken manure to cattle as protein. That was an eye opener to me.

 

[hellbender]

I feed everything here the same amounts of corn(atleast 50%) in all the rations I have 6 Columbian Rock boys all with varying amounts of yellowing/brassiness and I have one WR male that is on the same diet all are within a month of age the WR has no signs of brassiness anywhere pure white so someone will have to come up with a lot better than I've ever read on corn causing this as I'm personally experiencing the effects right before my eyes. I too think if most knew the exact amounts of corn in the popular/conveniently readily available on shelf feeds they would probly be amazed maybe even astonished.

Jeff

Right you are! That's why I make my own.

I do use some cracked corn in a limited way but I don't like soy and reduce it to almost none in the diet of my chickens.

 

[Bluetick340]

Anybody got words of wisdom on breeding australorps. I am two generations removed from hatchery birds with them. Seems most bird don't look like the standard I see in pics on the web. So many look real show type, which look orp, or Wyandotte to me. kick it. Who has good ones...... Start where you are ............ Whith what ya got. Right?

 

[gjensen]

Anybody got words of wisdom on breeding australorps. I am two generations removed from hatchery birds with them. Seems most bird don't look like the standard I see in pics on the web. So many look real show type, which look orp, or Wyandotte to me. kick it. Who has good ones...... Start where you are ............ Whith what ya got. Right?

Sure, and nothing wrong with bringing something in to improve what you have.

There is a lot of wisdom in not being afraid to start over. You know what your birds have or not.

I do not think there is anything wrong with bringing something better than what you have in for improvement either. Most breeds could use another good strain or to. As long as you are making progress and breeding to a standard.

I here a lot of this and that. One view this, and one view that. One thing I have seen is how rapidly improvement can be made breeding to one side.

The only real example I could use from experience is with a friend's reds. he had some ideal hatchery birds. The type was all over the place, but they were pretty dark, and were good layers. I was gifted a nice Red male. We put him over his birds. In a couple generations, his flock of Reds is not looking bad.
Now there are some nice Reds out there, so I am not saying he should go to the Nationals with them, but they are really a nice flock of Reds. They are vigorous and they lay real well.

I don't think anyone would recommend going this route if there is good options out there, but if you want to work with what you have. What would it hurt? You can improve your flock, learn a lot, and enjoy doing it.

 

[3riverschick]

Had to cull my Jersey Giant last night.
She'd given up the fight, had to cull her.

Oh TeaChick,
I am so sorry. I know she was special to you.
Sad regards,
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

Exactly it is genetic related, autosomal red bleed though, not corn oils. WR are said to be recessive white covering barring(black) they were developed from sports of the BRs. There are/or may be some strains that are dominant White but not as common as recessive white.

Jeff

I agree. I think,... I have to find reference for this,... I think,... if you are getting brassiness in your eb (Brown) based Columbian Rocks, it's because there is not a correct balance in the hue of the underfluff and it is affecting the top color of the plumage. As catdaddyfro said, there is no autosomal red or eb in WR.
Best,
Karen