Prepping for self sufficiency as it involves Chickens (aka prepper)

[ocap]

Can anyone describe the buckeye rooster aggression level toward people? Is this your first flock?Harvey Ussery has a good book called "The Small-Scale Poultry Flock'. He discusses some breeds and management ideas. The book is available on Amazon.com.

I took the idea of another on this thread and purchased Buckeye chicks. They are four weeks old and the most friendly of the three breeds and actually tops anything I have ever seen. I would be flabbergasted if they change and become aggressive toward me.

 

[Glory Bee]

I took the idea of another on this thread and purchased Buckeye chicks. They are four weeks old and the most friendly of the three breeds and actually tops anything I have ever seen. I would be flabbergasted if they change and become aggressive toward me.

It will be interesting to see how they handle the midsouth heat. I was thinking they were definitely cold hardy though.

 

[ocap]

It will be interesting to see how they handle the midsouth heat. I was thinking they were definitely cold hardy though.

It is snowing now in Kansas City area, where is the heat we had last year?

 

[cuppycake]

It is snowing now in Kansas City area, where is the heat we had last year?

It's just now warming up in Michigan. I'll take that over the crazy weather we had last year. 70s in Feb and then snow in April. Desimated the fruit crops

 

[blaundee]

I view my involvement with chickens primarily as a source of food and the joy of raising beautiful, friendly birds a benefit. I never intend to show my chickens for ribbons but I will go to those shows looking for great roosters that will boost my hens ability to create great dual purpose chicks. Please search out great threads on BYC and recommend them here if it will aid me in being self sufficient. Recommend great breeders of quality dual purpose chickens that are members of BYC and will ship roosters to those of us that want to improve our flocks with birds that are near the standard but not show quality. Give your reasons for selecting a particular breed or breeds as it/they pertain(s) to producing food. Off the grid ideas are welcomed since loss of "layer ration" or "hen scratch" is a possibility by those that frequently visit this thread and we might be required to grow our own feed. Also, off the grid means not being able to incubate and must have hens that will be successful mothers.

As far as mother hens go, game chickens are by far and wide the very best mothers (Aseel, OEG, Shamu, etc)- extremely protective of their nests, will fight to the death to protect their young, and tough, durable hens who can withstand a long setting period, which is how I manage the setting hens. If you take the chicks AS SOON as they are hatched & dry and add more eggs to the nest, the hen will continue to set for quite some time- I can get 12 weeks from one hen! But if you do it this way, you'll need to take extra care of the hen, putting her feed & water right in front of her so she doesn't get sick from setting so long. If she has her food & water, she will be fine, and you'll get a bunch of babies. I prefer to hand rear mine anyway, because it makes them gentler, so this worked out VERY well before I had an incubator, and I still do it when the hens go broody.

I too am looking into growing ALL of my chickens feed...

For breeds, Cochin/Rock crosses make EXCELLENT eating birds that can easily withstand the extreme cold, but you'll need to butcher before the summer comes. Also, Aseel/Rock crosses make great eating birds, possibly better than the previous cross- which makes sense because Cornish were bred from Aseel.

 

[blaundee]