Pastoral Poultry, Traditional Farming For A Modern Era

[wsmith]

I think it might be a good idea to ask a specific question and get some information collected here for future use:

So for those of you breeding and raising dual-purpose birds, can you provide some direction for people just getting started?

1. How many birds to you hold back each year? A trio, quad or?
2. How do you decide which birds to keep as breeders?
3. Does it matter if your selection for production or show? If so, how?
4. Do you flock breed or use specific breeding pens?
5. How do you set up your pens?
6. How long do you keep your breeding pens going?
7. What do you do with your birds once you break down your pens?
8. Do you feed anything different during breeding?

Ok, so now lets see if we can get some insight from this group on these questions and any others that might be pertinent to the first-time breeder.
Thanks everyone!
-Brice

1. My coop can deal with 30 hens that over-winter. Currently I have 18 birds in it. This year I will keep 10 pullets and two cockerels, 2014 breeding will be 4 hens and one rooster in each of two breeding pens for a total of 8 breeding hens and two breeding roosters. Building plans include two additional pens/coops that will each accomodate up to 12 adult birds.

2. Standard of perfection, laying potential for the hen based on current lay rate and width and depth of pelvis space.Cockerel;s are by temperment and SoP

3. Production first. Currently I don't have the time to show, but after production and temperment I breed per SoP.

4. Breeding pens. Rotational line breeding.

5. I set up my pens based on traits that need correcting or improving, and traits that need to be accentuated.

6. Until I get the amount of chicks I need for that particular years goals.

7. Evaluate them and decide who stays and who goes. Temperment, productivity, SoP, etc.

8. Feed stays the same.

 

[Mrs. K]

Several of you have mentioned Fermented feeds vs dry feed. How does it work in the winter?

My Gramma recommended feeding hot cornmeal mush to the girls when it got real cold, but the stuff froze solid, and nothing ate it. My girls would much rather have old corn bread when it gets real cold.

Most of the winter, we are often below freezing for most of the day.... so I am thinking a wet feed might only work in the summer months?

Mrs K

 

[FROMWHITEDOGHILL]

What happened to all the excitement in this thread?????

 

[bayocum]

Well I know we have just been swamped, but I'm hoping its a lull and not the end for this thread. We have had our share of predator attacks and rebuilding efforts this summer, in addition to an extremely persistant heat wave. Luckily we have taken steps to prevent losses to the heat, and those seem to have really worked so far this year. Here's a link to a post about helping your chickens survive the hot summers. Anyone else have anything to share to put some life back into this thread?

 

[SJ]

SWAMPED!!! SWAMPED is the word my friends. Living next to the Theresa Marsh here in WI has put a new meaning on swamped. I got a coyote issue currently but that goes with the territory. The drought is officially over...the garden drowned twice,(Yeah I planted it 3 times.) the farmers corn sprouts are still yellow from all the rain. But the blessing/plague of flies, gnats, mosquitos, and every other manner of biting insect has once again returned to feed all my fledglings all the protien they can handle.

Where can you get that kind of feed but on pasture?
The grasshoppers are morphing from nymph to subadults right now so I'm looking forward to watching my chickens snab them midflight in the coming weeks. The ditches held water until the fourth of July so my ducks were in heaven all of June. I slaughtered old hens and a few culls(undersize pullets) yesterday and all I can say is Wow! are my birds fat right now. All in all things are shaping up to be a great year around here for growing birds on pasture except the coyote that sneaks right in before dawn and steals the chicks out of the low branches. Dumbies should have slept in the coop where it is safe. Yep swamp life is good if you can avoid the bugs.

Growth rates took a leap this year too. All my chicks will be 12 weeks old on July 20th and most are right around 6lbs. Some more some less. I'll be posting some pics of the youngins out grazing later today i hope.

 

[outlander]

Hello! This is our first year homesteading, so we started out small with just a minor flock of Barred Rocks. Production would be cool in the future (our 40 acres came with a farm store building right down at the gate), but for now the focus is on providing for ourselves.

The flock is currently free ranged from sunup to sundown, with a bit of FF to get them into the coop at night. Thinking ahead to winter, and wanting to use the resources my land has to offer, I'm currently experimenting with very small bagged silage. After each yard/pasture mowing I bag up as much of the clippings as my back can take. I'm only using small dog poop bags, I don't want anything over what I think a daily portion should be. Then I press out the air, seal it, double bag it, label and tape, and then store in a mouse proof cupboard in the garage.

If I've done it right, the clippings should be viable for up to a year. If I've made some error or the bags are compromised, I will know immediately upon opening a bag.

Here's the thing, only one or two folks on this whole board think its a good idea, citing that silage is meant for ruminants only. We've all seen our chickens eating greens, heck...some of us even plant/sprout greens specifically for them.

It's not my intention to feed them solely on silage through the winter. I would also offer mealworms in addition to their current ration of FF. I don't want them (or me) to depend upon a bagged feed through the lean foraging season.

Am I off my rocker??

 

[SJ]

A wise man said once "Well it is better than them having to eat the snow bank." This was in reference to his dairy cows but I feel it relates to your question. My chickens will pick at dry hay bales in winter so if bagging works...sounds good to me.

 

[centrarchid]

Several of you have mentioned Fermented feeds vs dry feed. How does it work in the winter?

My Gramma recommended feeding hot cornmeal mush to the girls when it got real cold, but the stuff froze solid, and nothing ate it. My girls would much rather have old corn bread when it gets real cold.

Most of the winter, we are often below freezing for most of the day.... so I am thinking a wet feed might only work in the summer months?

Mrs K

This coming winter try soaked oats. Far from balanced but enables water intake even at coldest temperatures because birds can peck it apart.

 

[SJ]

Im gonna try soakin oats. My hens love it when oats get all swollen after some rain.

 

[Bill Matthews]

To bayocum: Seems like the threads that have the most posts are the ones where most of the people are argumentative and borderline neurotic.....Controversy attracts attention.....On one thread a few days ago about 500 posts were made between and among posters arguing over whether ignorant people should be allowed to ask dumb chicken questions.......The conversation veered from this to the ethics of raising chickens to feed to dogs and the origins of the FDA....If you really want to get a rash of immediate defensive comments and controversy started, go to the heritage sites and question the Gospel According to the Standard of Perfection....I don't know which is easier to rile, a PETA propagandist or a show breeder who thinks the Standard of Perfection ranks equal in importance to the Bible and The Ten Commandments....Keep it up...Take care and enjoy the great life in California...I just finished reading John Steinbeck's great novel, East of Eden....California is a great place....Take care...