Old timey chickens

[Mojo12]

Hi all. I realize this might not be the most popular thing, but my ancestors were all farmers. Their chickens ran around loose all day and went in the coop at night. Nobody incubated eggs or tried to build fancy houses or pens for them. There was a shed right next to the smokehouse. Nothing fancy at all. Chicks hatched under hens, hens raised chicks, and on and on and scooby dooby dooby. When it was time for a chicken dinner, someone went out and "wrung" a neck or two. I spent summer vacations seeing the old time way of raising & harvesting chickens. My Aunt Marg would grab a chicken in each hand, swing them around a couple of times & they were suddenly separated from their heads. It was just the way things were done back then. An uncle used an axe on the chopping block. I'm OK with that, for those of you who can do it. It's just not me. I'm in it for the eggs & because I think chickens are cool. Me? Not wringing necks! But how hard is it really to get more chickens from the chickens yow have? Is all the incubator stuff necessary or can I just let nature take care of things? Do the hens not take care of their eggs/chicks? Are incubators a necessity? . Yep, I'm ignorant.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

If you want hens to raise their own young, you need to get breeds that are known for going broody. Many modern breeds have had that tendency bred out of them, thus the incubators being needed. But there are still many breeds that are more of the heritage breeds that will care for their own young.

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

Tend to go broody:

Buff Oprington
Marans
Silkies--they will hatch anyone's eggs and adopt chicks as well.

There are others -- just google it.

 

[Farmer Viola]

Your ancestors probably had heritage breed chickens. Most of the "heritage breed" chickens you will see nowadays are actually production hybrids mislabeled.

Modern chickens have been hybridized for the highest production possible. That means the highest number of eggs per year. Chickens who go broody do not lay eggs, thus they are not kept in the gene pool for production breeds, have no mothering instinct, etc.

You can still find high quality breeders and heritage breeds, you just have to look in the right place. Research the genetics and the source the breeder gives you, find out how far back their breeding program goes, what they breed for, etc. Avoid hatcheries or chickens from unknown origin.

 

[WalnutHill]

X2 on Farmer Viola's response. Hatchery standard breeds, while they may indeed be purebred, are not selected for desirable characteristics, they are mass produced. Think "puppy mill" standards. The only way to get quality birds for show, table, or egg laying is to selectively raise them for several generations, or buy from someone who has already done the work and continues to improve the flock.

I am starting my own line of Narragansett turkeys. I started with the best hen and tom I could find, then replaced that tom with an even better Porter line tom last fall. I am now hatching my first "home bred" turkeys. If I am lucky, I will have one or two of better quality than their parents, and will keep them for next year (along with the parents). I have a great repeat customer base for heritage turkeys, so the less than ideal birds will not go to waste. The trick is determining which are the best birds before they are mature, as my harvest date is just before Thanksgiving. So some of it is in predicting how they will continue to frame out and flesh out, after separating any birds with shallow or V shaped ribcages, with short or knobby keels, with crooked or roached backs, with short shanks...all of which are still perfectly good tasting, but not what you want to keep in a breeding pen.

We buy production red layers (Golden Buff/Golden Comet/Red Sex Link/Cinnamon Queen type) from a well known and good rated hatchery which are indeed very good egg layers when they are of good quality. However...about 2 out of 10 need to be culled by 24 weeks for failure to mature, poor conformation, reproductive issues, or general unthriftiness. I will start breeding my own backyard birds when I live in a place where I can have a rooster or two. Meanwhile I have to be content with having to start 20% more birds than I need for the desired production levels. We've bought from several hatcheries...many times the eggs come from contract growers and there does not seem to be a good deal of selection going on. As we buy about 150 laying hens a year, we see the variation in quality with every purchase.

 

[Northie]

I'd say you're asking the right question in the right place. Check out the breeds tab at the top of the page and see what you can find in the reviews. Look at what kind of birds are compatible with your climate, which ones are well known for going broody and being good mothers along with being decent dual purpose birds. Meaning they lay enough eggs and have a decent amount of meat. Keep in mind they won't be the same as a grocery store chicken those are typically Cornish crosses