Old and Rare Breeds

[ChickenCanoe]

The excursion into trees (both native and naturalized) is very relative to poultry.

When choosing breeds to keep seldom do people understand the importance of weather. Granted, we can 'push' breeds especially with modern housing; however, it a lot more sense to choose a breed that is suited for your climate.


Here's an example:
I rec'd a letter recently from south Texas. The fellow was extremely excited about getting into chickens (that's great!). He then related to me that his two breeds of choice were Redcaps and Scots Dumpies (I'm guessing he has a thing for all things Scot). I hated to bust his bubble but those are the last breeds I'd choose for south Texas. I'm not saying they couldn't make it there, but those birds were bred for the damp cool Lowlands and Highlands.... not south Texas!

We can 'make' breeds work that were not originally intended for our climates, but it's much easier to choose more suited breeds.

Excellent point. When people ask what breed they should get, I tell them to first make a list of breeds suitable for their climate, then eggs, or DP, then match their personality to that of the breed. Then they can pick colors from the short list that remains.

Someone from south Florida asked for breed advice. They wanted friendly birds that were good layers well suited for their climate. The breeds they were looking at were Australorp, Orpington and Ameraucana.
I said people in Florida raise them but they could suffer in the long hot humid summers.
I gave them other suggestions. They thanked me for my advice.
Then chose Australorp, Orpington and Ameraucana.

quote:

Chickens raised in hot climates can take the cold better than chickens raised in cold climates can take the heat. At least that is what I have found.

Another truism that people refuse to wrap their heads around. They think chickens' preferred temperature is the same as theirs.

East Central MO is a tough place for chickens. Up to 110 and humid in summer, down to -10 and humid in winter (along with some nice weather thrown in) but after going through over 30 breeds, most Mediterraneans do well here. The one extremely cold hardy breed that does well in heat is the Jaerhon. Small tight feathered bird that never seems to suffer summer or winter.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Wow, that is impressive! I heard your birds took a quick weekend trip to Spain last time you left for a few days, but it's just a rumor, of course ...

Elevation here is 5400+, water table is deep. Cottonwoods have done okay once established but we have to make sure they get water once a month if it doesn't rain during warm months. Anywhere the soil is soft enough for them to put down roots fast they will volunteer, though.

Do you find it more difficult to keep birds in Nevada than in California? I know it's about as dry there as it is here, and I sometimes wish to move to a slightly wetter climate, but then I think about how I really don't worry at all about moisture in the coops here, and maybe it's okay to just stay where it's dry.

I admire your birds. I love white egg layers. I wish the blacks and splash were in the SOP. Is anyone trying to get them admitted?

It is definitely hotter here and the winters are very much colder so it is more extreme on both ends of the thermometer. However, it is drier which is good. It can be a bit too dry too making my coops quite dusty. I'm working on getting a bunch of leaves and stuff from local persons who want them gone. I want to do a deep litter in my coops and though its dry, I think if I can get a 5 gallon bucket of compost from someone I can sprinkle some around in all the coops and get the process going. I also can mix up a batch of LAB (lactic acid bacteria) and put it in a sprayer to just dampen the litter a tiny bit. Just enough to keep it from being too dusty.

You've found my pulse! I wish blacks and splashes were in the SOP as well. As far as I know, no one is trying to get them admitted. There aren't many breeders of good quality Andalusians out there to make it happen. We are few and far in between. All of us getting to one show to make a qualifying meet would be next to impossible. So, I just keep a few blacks and splashes for breeding and admiring.

 

[Alaskan]

Now that it is getting colder, I am starting to second guess the breeds I chose to get for this spring.

I picked,

Hamburg, Dominique, and R.C. Leghorn.

Do you think the Hamburg and Leghorn will do alright? (Obviously, the Dominique is a good choice)

I have 5 S.C. White leghorn now (yes, totally stupidity to have bought them). And I watched one yesterday walking out in the snow. She was very cold, her feet were shaking. She was only there because she thought that I had treats. And, yesterday was warmer than it has been. The last few weeks we have been between 5F and 15F but yesterday went up to 28F.

So.......the R.C. Leghorn..... Stupid choice?

The one breeder of Hamburg that has emailed with me said that his Hamburg don't like the cold.

I very much wanted breeds that were:
Historical
Thrifty
Good egg production (i prefer layers over dual purpose)
No feathers on the feet
Must have tiny combs

I don't like unhappy chickens.

 

[Pozees]

Now that it is getting colder, I am starting to second guess the breeds I chose to get for this spring.

I picked,

Hamburg, Dominique, and R.C. Leghorn.

Do you think the Hamburg and Leghorn will do alright? (Obviously, the Dominique is a good choice)

I have 5 S.C. White leghorn now (yes, totally stupidity to have bought them). And I watched one yesterday walking out in the snow. She was very cold, her feet were shaking. She was only there because she thought that I had treats. And, yesterday was warmer than it has been. The last few weeks we have been between 5F and 15F but yesterday went up to 28F.

So.......the R.C. Leghorn..... Stupid choice?

The one breeder of Hamburg that has emailed with me said that his Hamburg don't like the cold.

I very much wanted breeds that were:
Historical
Thrifty
Good egg production (i prefer layers over dual purpose)
No feathers on the feet
Must have tiny combs

I don't like unhappy chickens.

RC Leghorn should fare better than SC. I would think they should do okay. Hamburgs I know nothing about, except that they are pretty and need more folks breeding them.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Is this the time of year where the sun never comes up in Alaska?

There is a lady on BYC that gets some nice thick, clear plastic to put over the southwest portion of her hoop house and it makes a nice sun porch for her birds to warm up by.

Another lady on BYC has sleeping boxes for her birds in the winter. It's a situation where they just all pile in there together and stay toasty. That alone would help them be warmer during the day. 28 degrees isn't really all that cold. If you could construct a box that has a nice layer of dry bedding in it and let all your birds sleep together, that would help a lot, I think. You would have to remove the frozen poops from the box daily so it didn't get overwhelming. I know it gets FAR colder than that in Alaska, doesn't it?

However, I'm not sure Leghorns are a good choice for that cold of a climate. I could be wrong. If you are most concerned about laying ability, and if you don't care whether they are pure bred or not, you could get some birds that have been crossed with leghorns that might have a bit more meat on their bones, and perhaps a little fluffier too. There is always the Chantecler as well. Tiny combs, and they look like a white leghorn in body style.

Make sure your coop is not drafty which will rob them of their body heat. However, you need to maintain ventilation so they don't get frost bite on their combs and respiratory issues. Maybe you could help by making their dinner WARM. Breakfast too as it gets colder. If you feed lay pellets, just bring some in the house and pour hot water over them. It will take some practice to know how much water to use as they probably won't like it soupy. If you can get a heated dog dish or something like that, it would keep their feed warm throughout the day as well. Or warm cooked oatmeal added to it.

You probably weren't looking to increase your work load though, right?

 

[Alaskan]

Nope, no increased workload, thank you very much.

I have a great set-up, I have improved it every year. I got a mix of breeds this year, and all of the other breeds look fine. Even my little D'uccle bantams look fine, and they are tightly feathered like the leghorns.

Right now all of my chickens are in the "shed" area of my setup, so lots of ventilation. See all that open wire in the picture below? Almost a full foot tall by a total of 32 linear feet. The upper poop tray does slow down the venting in an eight foot section. But, that is still plenty in an 8x16 foot building. It also has two always open pop doors. I am on the coast, so very high humidity just naturally.

I am worried that the R.C. Leghorn will be just as cold and unhappy up here as my S.C. leghorn, just without a frostbitten comb. I was just very shocked to see the Leghorn looking so cold on a warm day.

I definitely want a purebred historical breed. I just don't like the Chanticleer or Buckeyes that much, maybe because they are also newer breeds.

Oh..and as to my temps and light..... 5 to 30 F all winter is normal, with maybe two weeks down to -10, or there about. Also, even on the shortest day I think I get almost four hours of sun, I am pretty far south. My big problems are oodles of wind, and spotty electricity.

I did just put up a coop page, but the actual coop part currently has my baby muscovy, no chickens.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/my-coop-journey

 

[saladin]

Dub those Leghorns and see if that doesn't work for you.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Leghorns are pretty hardy as are anconas.

If I lived in Alaska I'd be looking at Jaerhons, Orloffs and Chanteclers.

With those breeds you should be worry free.

 

[Alaskan]

I don't want to work with Chanteclers since they are such a new breed.

I was very tempted by the Orloffs, except that they do not lay very well.

Those Norwegian Jaerhon have giant single combs...so, no thank you!

The R.C. Ancona probably would be a great choice too, I just decided not to go with them. But, maybe they are the way to go over the R.C. Leghorn or Hamburg.

 

[gjensen]

I don't want to work with Chanteclers since they are such a new breed.

I was very tempted by the Orloffs, except that they do not lay very well.

Those Norwegian Jaerhon have giant single combs...so, no thank you!

The R.C. Ancona probably would be a great choice too, I just decided not to go with them. But, maybe they are the way to go over the R.C. Leghorn or Hamburg.

What about those White Dorkings that Yellow House and Jeremy raise? An old breed with a rose comb.