Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Cindlady]

Hi All

Going to try a couple of short bursts!

I can't spell worth sh!t either...yet I read and comprehended at a collage level in the 5th grade! I guess it' s fairly common with people with high IQ's (not bragin' just sayin') it's a form of dyslexia (also common with high IQ's) Thank goodness for spell check!!!

I also think the younger you start the easier it is to learn to do and do without. As you get older, easy looks more and more appealing.

Many things I did the "hard way" or "old fashion" when I was younger... can't see doing that now!

Jim... that reminds me... DH wanted to know if we got the parts, how much would you charge to build a plucker?

CU all later!

Tatter.... this will help with breeds.....
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

 

[tiki244]

Well I am not a very long winded person so am not sure if I can answer this. But I believe it started when (not sure on date 1940s-1950s) people wanted to breed for production purposes only, streamline their chickens, and get rid of the bakyard flock. Turning the chicken raising industry into a factory farming process. The leghorns were used for producing eggs as they tolerated small spaces and were small birds for the size of egg they layed. And the selection process was made by breeders to pick only the hens for breeding offspring that were the least likely to be broody.

 

[tiki244]

Hi Cind

here is one link
http://albc-usa.org/EducationalResources/downloads.html

The meat birds used to be Plymouth Rocks, and others. Some time ago (no mind for dates here) People liked the black feathered birds for meat because then they could easily tell if they had been plucked right. The commercial industry then started crossing Rocks with cornish to get a better meat bird, faster growing etc. They have genetically engineered these meat birds today and not sure if they are gmo's. I am sure you know much about this and the factory farms treatment of both animals and humans. However I am now on the edge of being kicked off this forum by speaking of such things..

 

[Tatters]

Alright, I get that, but, but, but the backyard flock is coming back, or at least from what I have read (hobby farms magazine)...so what tiki says makes sense, but there has to be chickens out there that do broody and make good mothers, right? Not all chickens were for the egg farms, right? Wyandottes, Buckeyes, Dominques....was the Leghorn the only breed that went into these production facilities?

 

[tiki244]

O I edited my post above for the meat birds and added a heritage chicken link. I have some banty leghorns that make excellent mothers. And some silkies that cannot hatch any eggs because they are too busy fighting over them. These are exceptions to the rule. I had a silkie mom who did hatch some babies and I noticed everyday she had one less egg, then one day I caught her eating the new chick.

The handy dandy chicken chart that cind linked is a good one too.

 

[tiki244]

The Buckeyes that Bigz and TerriO have are heritage fowl. However, if you were to buy some buckeye chicks from a hatchery (correct me if I am wrong someone) they would not be heritage. There is a list of charecteristics on the albs to qualify as a heritage chicken. I am off to get another BYC link.

 

[Tatters]

Quote:
Thank you for the link. I have it up and am reviewing it. Chickens are cannibals? I didn't know that. Hmm, maybe I will need a bigger coop than originally thought so as to figure out how to keep the chicks and hens together...of course this gets the old gears a working again

 

[tiki244]

This is a link to heritage Rocks. If my memory is correct, it has a ton of information in it about the heritage fowl and whys and whats. The author is a very knowledgeable man.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=399477

 

[Tatters]

Just when you think you figured out what you want, someone comes along and gives you things to think about that make you second guess the first choice

 

[tiki244]

I personally have wanted to get some dominiques and buckeyes (utilitarian wise) too, but havent. Not too fond of the wyandottes, but I do have some partridge banty wyandottes and they are very pretty. I definitely have enough chickens for now.