Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[RedRidge]

Around here it's beef, lamb, chicken, pork, venison, or squirrel. The first three we raise... pork a neighbor raises, and well... The last two we raise also. ;-)
I dislike goats tremendously (both the may and the milk), and rabbit is simply too labor intensive (course so is squirrel which is why those are on the bottom of the list - but I do love squirrel meat). Yum!

I should rephrase my comment however as I normally word that incorrectly... I don't raise quality meat, I raise quality forage and use animals to convert it to quality meat, milk, eggs, and honey. ;-) Quality forage is the key to raising all of them.

 

[gjensen]

What do you guys have hatched out so far, or planning to hatch out?

 

[hellbender]

Around here it's beef, lamb, chicken, pork, venison, or squirrel. The first three we raise... pork a neighbor raises, and well... The last two we raise also. ;-)
I dislike goats tremendously (both the may and the milk), and rabbit is simply too labor intensive (course so is squirrel which is why those are on the bottom of the list - but I do love squirrel meat). Yum!

I should rephrase my comment however as I normally word that incorrectly... I don't raise quality meat, I raise quality forage and use animals to convert it to quality meat, milk, eggs, and honey. ;-) Quality forage is the key to raising all of them.

We have the same situation with pork. Won't have one on the place, but only because we don't have to. No shortage of wild game here either.

Rabbits...labor intensive? Not to me...but to each their own. I have a trio of Florida Whites and I have a couple really nice NZ white does to hybridize and create a bit larger carcass.

Something really strange is happening here. My son sold almost every one of our Australorps, as many of you know. We were going to 'cut back' and work on SOP NNs. The NN project is still moving forward but there have been some detours.

My son and I had 'Joked' about bringing in some Austra-Whites to 'play with, on a very small scale. He's not joking and it's not small scale, as far as I'm concerned. 50 Austra-White pullets have been ordered from Cackle Hatchery to infuse into the laying flock....eventually covering the best of them with our best production NN cocks. Doesn't feel like much of a 'cut back' to me, especially when he's pulling out NN eggs for the bator.

I'm happy to see him jumping right in because there is a market for the eggs but I've made it clear...I'm available all Spring, Summer, Fall and early Winter but Ol' dad's butt is headed very far South this coming Winter...about 2 weeks in Costa Rica and for as long as I want in Brazil! I really do like Brazil.

EDIT: George, I was hoping the last two or three paragraphs answered your questions about what's happening with/to some of with regard to chickens.

 

[Arielle]

Around here it's beef, lamb, chicken, pork, venison, or squirrel. The first three we raise... pork a neighbor raises, and well... The last two we raise also. ;-)
I dislike goats tremendously (both the may and the milk), and rabbit is simply too labor intensive (course so is squirrel which is why those are on the bottom of the list - but I do love squirrel meat). Yum!

I should rephrase my comment however as I normally word that incorrectly... I don't raise quality meat, I raise quality forage and use animals to convert it to quality meat, milk, eggs, and honey. ;-) Quality forage is the key to raising all of them.

Took me a few years of figuring this out-- I remember a conversaion with an older friend about helping mares conceive and carry to term and she did not see the value in green forages-- hay and grain was good enough. I know better now.

I would eat rabbit and squirrel is someone else did the first step, I don't mind dressing.

I do like that I can put a 25-20# turkey in the oven for the time it takes to process 1 chicken.

But I like that the chickens are better omnivores.

Bees are on the list for next year-- figure I will do something in logical order for once-- get the forages and flowers going first. THough, haha, the bees will need to travel miles to collect enough to meet their needs.

 

[Arielle]

What do you guys have hatched out so far, or planning to hatch out?

Waiting for buckeye chicks.
Trying Konza hybrid chicks.
Waiting for BA eggs for hatching..

Will definitely hatch some colored eggers like EE, OE and greens. Sorry, but white and brown are boring. Look much prettier with some color mixed in.

 

[ocap]

What do you guys have hatched out so far, or planning to hatch out?

Buff Brahma, buckeye, black australorp, and silver penciled Wyandotte all large fowl.
eventually cutting back to one breed, hoping the Buff Brahma work out, they give me the most pleasure.

 

[3riverschick]

Sweetie finally laid an egg today. Been a long wait. She was laying fine early in the winter.
Then Knight and Day decided he didn't want the light in his coop and pecked it out.
I replaced it and he did it again. By that time, the cardinal rule had been broken. " never change
the lighting for layers in the winter once it has been established". That was it for Sweetie.
No more eggs. So today was a welcome surprise. She is the outcross hen and I do not know
her strain. But my girls were laying sporadically even in spite of the bitter winter. I'll be breeding
Sweetie to Knight and Day who is full brother to the laying flock. So I am hoping he will pass
on some of their laying power.

On a sadder note, I need to cull Rocky today. He is the least of the three brothers. Has done
fine job caring for his laying flock this winter. but now I need to put one of the more worthy
brothers in with the laying flock. I will miss him, he's a good boy.
Best,
Karen

 

[RedRidge]

What do you guys have hatched out so far, or planning to hatch out?

13 bator hatches and 2 broody hatches.
I hatched only 2 groups of pure Rhodebars but most were F1 Rhodebars.
Some serious culling is beginning to already happen there. ;-)
A few of the other hatches were Rose Comb RIR (Underwood line).

 

[BGMatt]

What do you guys have hatched out so far, or planning to hatch out?

Have about 80 Buff Leghorns on the ground from 1 week to 7 weeks of age. Think I'm done with them for the year since there's still 2 dozen in incubator. Have been waiting on eggs and fertility from the Langshans, have one Blue LF, one White bantam, 2 Blue Bantam and 4 Black bantams out so far, but all of those numbers will be rising sharply in the next few weeks. Setting 16-20 Large Fowl and similar numbers of Bantams weekly now along with the occasional Spangled OEGB egg.

Target numbers have been adjusted for Langshan due to late start and a complication with Whites, aiming for 50 Black Large Fowl, 25 Black/White Split Large Fowl and 25 Blue Large Fowl. Aiming for 50 Black Bantams and 25-30 Blue Bantams. Still hoping for about 25 Spangled OEGB

This is an expansion year, so out of those I'll be culling down to 2 quads of Buff Leghorns, a quad of Black Langshan LF, a trio of the Split LF, and a trio of Blue LF, a trio of Black Langshan bantams and a trio of Blue Langshan bantams. Hoping to keep two pair of Spangled.

 

[har]

What do you guys have hatched out so far, or planning to hatch out?

Hatching or have hatched Delawares, Project Delawares, New Hampshires, Black Sex Links and Cornation Sussex.