INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Indyshent]

Sooo everyone, to help out newer folks thats joined our thread, whats your favorite chicken breed? Least favorite? Best roosters, and hens? Please share your thoughts, pictures and opinions. Who is your best layers, and if you keep them for a table bird what breed has worked best?

My bad rooster experiences have been Australorps and Wyandottes. I will point out though that they were all hatchery lines and not from a breeder. Hens were also top in the flock and dominant.
All the breeds I currently keep are great, adore the Orpington most. Followed by EE/OE, Sumatra, Ameruacana, Naked Necks, RIR and WL.
Egg layers, Leghorn and comets lay daily and give us a lot of eggs.
Table birds, most of my breeds have excellent size aside from leghorn. If we have to purchase birds meant for the freezer Cornish Cross are huge at 8 weeks, and that's the hybrid we get.

Ooh, big important questions!

Favorite species: turkey. Among breeds of turkey, for personality, the broad-breasted breeds have all had very sociable temperaments and eagerly bond to humans if socialized young enough. They need lots of cuddle time. The two Black Spanish poults mark my first time rearing a heritage breed from a very young age, as unfortunately, my experience with other heritage breeds concerned older poults or adults, which isn't quite fair. BB turkeys, however, have been consistently bred for docility because only an idiot would breed a bird at such expense that is over fifty pounds and hates them. Talk about stupid. For longevity, however, anything but broad breasted... because they're heart-breakers (and bank-breakers).

CHICKENS: For numerous eggs: Leghorn, RSL/comets and EE. For pretty eggs: EE all the way... maybe with Breda (cream), Welsummers (darker brown with speckles) and Marans (dark, dark brown). For friendliness: Orpingtons, Brahma. For quirky personalities and curiosity: Welsummer, EE, Leghorn, Wyandottes. For beautiful plumage: Wyandottes, Sumatra. For meat: Cornish Cross. Roosters: I've had no human aggressive roosters, but the best ones with the ladies are Sumatra. Best for children: Brahma, Silkies. For broodiness: Welsummers, Australorps

GUINEAS: for being clowns, alarm systems, conversation pieces, noise violations, the murder of threats (they've been known to kill snakes and hawks) and the eating of ticks

DUCKS are funny but messy and rapacious. Eggs are very tasty. I've yet to have a duck that enjoyed my company once being turned out into the yard. So far, I've had good broodies but poor mothers. Mallard-derived ladies are noisy but lay well. Muscovy don't lay as well, are more sensitive to cold, fly well, and are super quiet. Mallard-derived breeds sound like old men telling dirty jokes, and they are impervious to cold.

 

[Leahs Mom]

a chilly weekend - hopefully y'all have been able to avoid snow, unlike we are getting some sleet & flurries up here in the mitten state

We had snow or sleet/ice pellets on the back deck when I got up this morning. Nothing stuck to the ground.

And...
My Buckeye "chicken nuggets" have been out in the barn since I brought them home. They're now 1 week old and doing fine in the cold weather with their heat plate. Sleeping all night and active and happy during the day...even thought the temps are in the 30's the last couple nights.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
There are a few of us that invite folks to learn about "the one bad day" and how it all works. @racinchickins and I both invite folks if its going to be an all day event at one of our houses. That way you can experience hands on, and you can have help of others that do it on a regular basis.. There are other members that also process for food. I don't enjoy it, but I want to know what my family eats is healthy food that I grew here from day 1. DH or nephew usually does the actual deed but I can and will do it myself. Thats why I always recommend to go to a hands on event. My family on both sides are from farming backgrounds, so it has always just been what we did. Honestly, my first time keeping chickens was well over 30 years ago and they were meant for the table.
Your other option is to take them to a butcher if you realize you are not comfortable with it. Its not for everyone, for sure.

a chilly weekend - hopefully y'all have been able to avoid snow, unlike we are getting some sleet & flurries up here in the mitten state

UGH!!!! Noooo!!!

Quote: Thats awesome news! Thats next on my want list for sure!

 

[racinchickins]

Hi All.

Been off for a while, had to read through a hundred-some posts to get caught up.

Congrats on hatches and condolences on losses.

Lots going on here.

Hatching has started. Dark Cornish, American Bresse, Gold Partridge Brahmas and 2 Peachicks! Muscovy and another pea egg in the hatcher now, some of the muscovies are pipped. In the incubator I have turkeys, another pea egg and also Bresse eggs for a customer.

Broodies everywhere - both peahens are sitting on nests. I have 4 scovy hens on nests and two turkeys also. I've been breaking broody chickens left and right, but allowed my super reliable phoenix to sit on some hopefully olive egger eggs, and have a Java sitting on a pea egg and a turkey egg. First of the broodies should be hatching something soon!

Need the rain to stop! the yard is trying to figure out if it wants to be either a jungle or a swamp! Hopefully will dry out over the nest few days so I can mow.

 

[Indyshent]

Hi All.

Been off for a while, had to read through a hundred-some posts to get caught up.

Congrats on hatches and condolences on losses.

Lots going on here.

Hatching has started. Dark Cornish, American Bresse, Gold Partridge Brahmas and 2 Peachicks! Muscovy and another pea egg in the hatcher now, some of the muscovies are pipped. In the incubator I have turkeys, another pea egg and also Bresse eggs for a customer.

Broodies everywhere - both peahens are sitting on nests. I have 4 scovy hens on nests and two turkeys also. I've been breaking broody chickens left and right, but allowed my super reliable phoenix to sit on some hopefully olive egger eggs, and have a Java sitting on a pea egg and a turkey egg. First of the broodies should be hatching something soon!

Need the rain to stop! the yard is trying to figure out if it wants to be either a jungle or a swamp! Hopefully will dry out over the nest few days so I can mow.

Broodies were everywhere here, too. I relocated nests and that seems to be unintentionally breaking some (or at the very least, it's making them forget which nest was theirs). My spider sense is telling me that I'm going to be throwing a lot of eggs away soon.

Also believe some of the newly laying pullets may be egg-eaters. Gotta figure out who's starting it (know lots of them will try to finish it, but I don't want to get rid of every hen that pecks at a broken egg). Have a feeling its the BCM and/or an OE that are doing it, which really sucks because their eggs are lovely.

Also regretfully needing to downsize more hens still. I'm usually one for keeping the really personable ones and giving everyone else the boot... but the pretty eggs are calling, and so are the pretty feathers. Blargh

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
Not having anything broody, and really wish the Scovys would! I will take eggs Tuesday if none of the ducks step up. Really surprised Physco the most broody duck I have hasn't took a nest over yet. We have so many puddles and mud, and more rain coming this week. DH finally was able to mow tonight at least. All my coops got lots of fresh grass clippings tonight too.
Egg eaters are a challenge for sure. I have the best luck breaking the cycle by adding protein and putting golf balls in the nest boxes Making sure the nest box is dark also helps..

 

[Greenthumb83]

There are a few of us that invite folks to learn about "the one bad day" and how it all works. @racinchickins
and I both invite folks if its going to be an all day event at one of our houses. That way you can experience hands on, and you can have help of others that do it on a regular basis.. There are other members that also process for food. I don't enjoy it, but I want to know what my family eats is healthy food that I grew here from day 1. DH or nephew usually does the actual deed but I can and will do it myself. Thats why I always recommend to go to a hands on event. My family on both sides are from farming backgrounds, so it has always just been what we did. Honestly, my first time keeping chickens was well over 30 years ago and they were meant for the table.
Your other option is to take them to a butcher if you realize you are not comfortable with it. Its not for everyone, for sure. 
UGH!!!! Noooo!!!

Thats awesome news! Thats next on my want list for sure!

Hands on practice would be awesome. That's so cool that you guys do that. I'm not afraid of cleaning them...just that cut that ends their life. I've never killed anything. My family has no farming background and I've never pulled the trigger whenhunting. But It gives me so much pride to start a farm, so that my children grow up this way. We are starting with pigs in Spring and I'm really excited about that.

 

[ellymayRans]

My single duck egg due to hatch tomorrow has an external pip! I only got 4 MW poults hatched from the 10 that made lockdown. Surprised they developed as most were from the eggs my dog brought home. Thought id have an amazing success story with those considering they lived to develop. .

I found my chocolate scovy hen behind a pallet because when i walked by it last night i heard trilling. I pulled the pallet out and she had a nest of feathers and 25 eggs!!

 

[Indyshent]

Not having anything broody, and really wish the Scovys would! I will take eggs Tuesday if none of the ducks step up. Really surprised Physco the most broody duck I have hasn't took a nest over yet. We have so many puddles and mud, and more rain coming this week. DH finally was able to mow tonight at least. All my coops got lots of fresh grass clippings tonight too.
Egg eaters are a challenge for sure. I have the best luck breaking the cycle by adding protein and putting golf balls in the nest boxes Making sure the nest box is dark also helps..

It's probably due to the sudden changes that your scovies aren't stepping up their motherhood game. They like picking their nesting areas and don't have a lot of cover in their current set up. If you have access to a big dog igloo, they might try for it, but with all the stress of confinement and massive flock loss (particularly of alpha members), I'm kind of amazed they're laying at all.

 

[Candy442]

Cuddles. The BEST chicken in the world to me.
April 23, 2014 - May 14, 2016
She died in my arms a few moments ago. Sadness beyond words....