Landrace/adaptive breeding discussion

[Molpet]

I thought about it but I don’t have an incubator and all the eggs are in the fridge. If I can get another from my friends it should be just as good

Eggs will still be fertilized for over a week. For breeding they say wait 4 weeks between roosters.

 

[Appalachickens]

Little update. Got the siding on, made of pine fence pickets. My first attempt at putting on a roof on the forest chicken shelter was a fail because rain came in steadily right onto the roost bar. So I re-designed and added a sloped 3/4 inch plywood roof with a waterproofing barrier and then the metal panels. I checked after a good rain and it seems to be working well. All that is left is putting on the doors, which will stay open after he future chickens figure out this is home. Can’t wait for spring so I can get started!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Little update. Got the siding on, made of pine fence pickets. My first attempt at putting on a roof on the forest chicken shelter was a fail because rain came in steadily right onto the roost bar. So I re-designed and added a sloped 3/4 inch plywood roof with a waterproofing barrier and then the metal panels. I checked after a good rain and it seems to be working well. All that is left is putting on the doors, which will stay open after he future chickens figure out this is home. Can’t wait for spring so I can get started!
View attachment 4265981

We all learn by doing (and redoing). It looks good!

 

[Appalachickens]

We all learn by doing (and redoing). It looks good!

Thank you! Carpentry isn’t my strong suit but I am certainly learning as I go.

 

[Wild Iris]

Update:

I think I last posted about my recently-acquired game cock who tried flying at my knees. I began enforcing my 4' personal space with him, using eye contact, voice, and gesture/movement to communicate that he needed to back off. I spoke firmly or used a sharp voice to warn him. He caught on pretty quickly and we went through a period of testing when he would check to see how close he could get, and I would remind him, and he would concede. Since then, I have not had any trouble at all. He is very respectful--turning aside or moving out of my way without having to be reminded. Even when he is chasing away another rooster, he skids to a stop & walks by me at a respectful pace before racing after the hoodlum again.

He earned his keep early this fall when he successfully engaged & fought off the forest hawk (cooper's hawk?) who had been attacking the flock. He was a bruised and a little bloody, but none of the flock was harmed.

We had a busy spring and summer. Three hens went broody, two of them twice. Total of 24 chicks hatched. At this point, 17 are still alive. I began the summer with 1 rooster and 8 hens; lost 2 hens. Now I have 12 females (7 adults) and 11 males (4 adults). I wonder whether they will continue to raise significantly more males, or whether there is some mechanism which keeps the flock proportions about equal.

I have been--and still am--concerned about the flock dynamics with so many males. So far, so good, though. The three oldest of this year's generation position themselves at strategic points and make excellent sentries when there is an alarm given. The one who was the biggest troublemaker [fighter] in his early days seems to be the smartest. Twice I have seen him round up missing flock members and bring them to the safety of the coop yard when there is danger, and he cleverly chooses to roost with the 4 laying hens in the coop so that he alone has access to them first thing in the morning. (All the rest of the flock prefer to roost in the holly tree.)

My current challenges: 1) what to do with the extra males, 2) how reduce reliance on store-bought feed & broaden their forage territory.

Also, I bought Florida Bullfrog's book--Free Range Survival Chickens--and devoured it. So much good content, no fluff. Having no personal experience with chickens, and knowing no one who free-ranges them, this book made a fantastic foundation of theory and practical advice. I so appreciate all the time and thought that obviously went into it.