Heritage Poultry

[Andy Carson]

Thanks for the thoughts Erika. I did not realize that the Cornish are not very vigorous… Are you aware of any strains/sources of Cornish that are more vigorous than any others? Even knowing which strains/sources are particularly non-vigorous would help be narrow down my choices.

[dominiquer60]

They only strains that I am aware of are show bird strains that have a reputation for being poor breeders and slow growers, but remember that heterosis creates the vigor. There may be hatcheries that offer a commercial cornish line, but I have not paid attention recently so you will have to look and see. I would choose such a line over the exhibitions strains.
Erika

[Andy Carson]

I have been doing some reading about the work that Don Schrider and the ALBC (American Livestock Breeds Conservancy) has done with the Buckeye chicken. It’s pretty impressive what can be accomplished with selective breeding alone. It really made me reevaluate the utility of the hybrid cross. I am still sure that hybrids would be a good idea, but only if I have a source of good quality birds to cross (as Erika points out). If these strains do not exist in the way I would prefer them and I must carry and maintain them myself, the whole thing turns into a bigger project than I had wanted it to be. I have read before that it is probably best to simply pick a breed that you like and stick with it. Perhaps this is the best advice… Just thought I would share my thoughts. If anyone is interested, it’s pretty easy to google up some of Schrider’s and the ALBC’s criteria for evaluating meat birds and breeding recommendations. For the buckeye, these criteria were able to reduce the butchering age from 19-20 weeks down to 16 weeks and increase the live weight by a full pound! Pretty interesting stuff! http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/4/4-2/alternatives_to_the_cornish_cross.html

[Mac]

Hi all,
Just my opinion, but my favorite heritage breeds are Barred Rocks, Buff Orphingtons, and Rhode Islands. I have found them to be the best layers and the best eaters. And they do real well down South in our awful heat.
Mac

[bivol]

@dominiquer60 14586 wrote:

I ate the 4 year old Red Broiler hen, I cooked her all day long in a crock pot and later added veggies and then added some dumplings. I brought her to farmer potluck and she got rave revues and no one would have thought the bird was an old hen. I will let you know how the 9 year old Rhode Island Red/ Brahma cross cooks up. I don’t know about cooking older water fowl, but with chicken, cook the bird all day long until the meat falls off the bones, and I know that you can even cook it further until the bones are soft enough to eat.
Good Luck and let us know how the old geese turnout.

i’m (hopefully) not mad when i say old hens are the best and most economic chicken to eat: we used to put one in the pot and cook it with all the vegetables like for a chicken soup for about 2 hours. and then take the chicken out and roast it for about 40 min, or deep fry it.
most delicious meat, far better than young meat! has stronger aroma but without fat – fat is in the soup!

LOL i remember when a single chicken, prepared in this style, (accompanied by a big bowl of soup, lots of mashed potato and even more salad) fed 7 or 8 people a good lunch (and we like to eat!)

…no-one stayed hungry.

[mitchmaine]

the recipe for chicken soup around here is take a rock and put it in the bottom of your kettle and just cover it with water. add your vegetables and skin out the chicken, cut him in half and place him in the kettle. boil for two hours, simmer for three more. pour off the soup and vegetables, throw away the chicken and eat the rock.

[Andy Carson]

🙂 That’s funny Mitch!

[Andy Carson]

I ended up deciding on Buckeye chickens. They started hatching today. Very cute… Just thought I would share.

[dominiquer60]

Congratulations Andy, Best of Luck with them!
Erika

[Robert MoonShadow]

I’ve been thinking about getting buckeyes, as well…seem like good fit for pasture. Where did you get the chicks/eggs?

[Andy Carson]

Robert, I got my eggs from David Puthoff at buckeyechickens.com. He is a nice guy and sent me 42 eggs when I only paid for 32. The downside was that nearly half the eggs candled clear at 2 weeks. I had a blood ring on two additional eggs, and 12 of the remaining eggs have hatched. Today is day 21, so I hope there might be a few more. Still, not great for starting with 40 eggs. I have to say that this is the first time I have hatched eggs myself, so can’t really exclude the possibility of some type of “user error” that I am not aware of. You will have to take this info for what it’s worth.

[dominiquer60]

Andy,
I think that you have done well hatching for the first time, especially with a rare breed. Having good fertility with many of todays purebreds is not easy, and rare breeds tend to be closely related and more difficult to reproduce. Add to it the difficulty of hatching in a home (I assume) with fluctuating temps, humidity and air pressure, and you have done well.

Some years are just bad hatching years, the last time I tried hatching some Dominiques, in 2004, I set 90 eggs in 3 different attempts and got one cockerel. That same year professional/ and top notch hobby breeders all over the country were having a hard time of it too, number were down everywhere in the purebreds.

So good job, and if you are lucky next year they will do a great job of it themselves.

Erika

[Robert MoonShadow]

Has anyone ever dealt w/ Sandhills Preservation? They’re located in Iowa and sell heritage day-olds. Was thinking of dealing w/ them, and wondered if anyone has done so, before.

[Andy Carson]

Finished my new chicken coop this weekend. I still have to make a run for it, but the chickens were growing so fast and I had to get them out of the basement… The house itself is 6×12 feet. I opted for a permanent design to house the chickens that I will breed in the future, as I am concerns about predator protection for the tractor designs is used year round. I still plan to use tractors for the broilers. A question for you other chicken keepers out there. What do you use for fencing in your runs? I have read that hardware cloth is the best and it is even better to have a full roof. I think this makes some sense, but it is taking a bite out of my pocketbook… Chicken wire is so cheap, and as the coop is right next to my horse pasture, I can tie into the electric easily so it could easily be a chicken wire, with an additional electric wire at 1 foot and 5 feet (or thereabouts). I could also put some lines over the tops to keep hawks from swooping in. Or perhaps I ought to just go for full enclosure… I’m kinda “on the fence”… When I’m home, I am going to give the chickens the run of the horse pasture too, but want to keep them in a smaller, more secure area when I’m not around to guard them. The chickens are definitely going to be locked in the coop at night no matter what. I included a couple photos, as people seem to enjoy these… These are the buckeye I hatched out at a little over five weeks now.

By the way, I have the full cast of north American predators (minus the big ones). I have seen raccoons, possums, red tailed hawks hanging around. I have heard coyotes yipping at night, and seen quite a few foxes hit on the road (even though I haven’t seen one in action). I have also smelled skunks from time to time. I haven’t seen sign of weasels, but I don’t think that means they aren’t around. I have heard from others that there are bears in the area, but haven’t seen sign and personally think people are exaggerating a little…

[Author]

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