Tyngsboro ma chicken swap 6/23

[GardenerGal]

I have 3 different bloodlines (actually my son is raising them, as I am concentrating on Dominiques and Red Dorkings) and am always interested in diversifying the genetics with fresh genes. We love the Nankins, they are so docile.

I have just two bloodlines, but I have the feeling that until recently, most bloodlines in the U.S. went back to just a relative handful of birds from England. When I started raising them in 2002 they were "Critically Endangered" but now are becoming so common that they are off the watch list! Wonder how that happened?

Probably I'll bring some of this year's "crop" of Nankins to a fall swap.

Dominques and Dorkings... they're great heritage birds, too! One of the local historic estates has Dominiques (and descendants of some Nankins I gave them) in their working heritage farm, since those breeds were raised in New England in the early 19th century.

 

[liljunie]

I was wondering how others handle the NPIP certification. My flock of silkies is not laying yet, but I have been hatching eggs from byc'ers
and cannot seem to get everyone to the 4 month old mark for testing. Once you are certified, are any chicks born to those chickens automatically certified also?

 

[vnsseed]

I have just two bloodlines, but I have the feeling that until recently, most bloodlines in the U.S. went back to just a relative handful of birds from England. When I started raising them in 2002 they were "Critically Endangered" but now are becoming so common that they are off the watch list! Wonder how that happened?

Probably I'll bring some of this year's "crop" of Nankins to a fall swap.

Dominques and Dorkings... they're great heritage birds, too! One of the local historic estates has Dominiques (and descendants of some Nankins I gave them) in their working heritage farm, since those breeds were raised in New England in the early 19th century.

Actually they are still listed as critical by the ALBC.

http://albc-usa.org/cpl/wtchlist.html#chickens

We love our Dom's and Dorks... we have been working with multiple museums in MA and RI... I think I know which one you are referring to.

 

[GardenerGal]

Ah, I hadn't known that Nankins are still on the critical list with the ALBC. That's the first watch list I ever saw, but I hadn't thought to look at it lately. Other sources were saying Nankins are no longer an endangered breed, perhaps because some hatcheries are now selling (alleged) Nankins. Sandhill Preservation was supposed to be working on a Nankin breeding project, but I haven't seen any mention of this in years and don't know what became of the plan.

The Gore Estate in Waltham, Mass.has Dominques and some of my Nankins (and I think Nankins from Colonial Williamsburg too, now). The manager of the grounds told me that the Dominques came from plain old hatchery stock, I think Murray McMurray...
It's a cool place, the preserved residence and working farm of an early governor of Massachusetts, during the Federal Period. They have tours of the brick mansion and the farm, and it's open to the public for hiking and picnicking, etc. They raise heritage vegetables, sheep, and chickens to give visitors an idea of what would typically be raised on a "gentleman's farm" at the turn of the 19th century.

 

[Arielle]

I was wondering how others handle the NPIP certification. My flock of silkies is not laying yet, but I have been hatching eggs from byc'ers
and cannot seem to get everyone to the 4 month old mark for testing. Once you are certified, are any chicks born to those chickens automatically certified also?

yes. I had all my older than 4 months tested, then I will have the flock tested again before 12 months goes by. The ofspring are grandfathered in by the testing of the parent stock IF theyare under 4 months old.

 

[GardenerGal]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if the chicks are not from the flock's hens, (i.e. hatchery chicks or chicks given to you from elsewhere), they are not grandfathered. In my current batch of chicks are a bunch that I got elsewhere, which is why I'm waiting to have them and the rest of the flock tested, when the chicks are 16 wks.

 

[shay20]

Gardnergail, you are correct, even if the flock is tested and yiu were ti get chickd hatching eggs from elsewhere that is not from a tested flock ( hatcherys are tested so those are considered from tested flean) so any that u get fron someone that has not been tested does not lie under your testing, as the state tester would say if u take in poultry from untested flockd u r cancleing out your tested

 

[Arielle]

Gardnergail, you are correct, even if the flock is tested and yiu were ti get chickd hatching eggs from elsewhere that is not from a tested flock ( hatcherys are tested so those are considered from tested flean) so any that u get fron someone that has not been tested does not lie under your testing, as the state tester would say if u take in poultry from untested flockd u r cancleing out your tested

this is my understanding too--

 

[GardenerGal]

Thanks, Shay and Arielle.

 

[shay20]

ok Tyngsboro garden chicken swap will be on for this month and next month, it is the third sunday of the month 9am to 1pm set up can be there 10 minutes early, last month there were buyers there 8:30 am looking for chicks n chickens, the august swap will be advettised in the new england bantam newsletter, setup is free, I still have the donated items from eggcartons.com to hand out as raffle free will be for this month.