Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[thedragonlady]

42 chicks off for people, with 16 to hatch Wednesday, for juveniles to ship in May. I may breed my inbred Monty son to the old ladies, when they go back to laying, and hatch 20 , or so, for me to choose 2 from. All of you people boggle me with your numbers ! More power to you though ! Sounds exhausting....yawn.

 

[hellbender]

me too. The meat (vinade) of the goat ( chevre).

You'll have to admit...it sounds better than 'goat meat'.

 

[hellbender]

42 chicks off for people, with 16 to hatch Wednesday, for juveniles to ship in May. I may breed my inbred Monty son to the old ladies, when they go back to laying, and hatch 20 , or so, for me to choose 2 from. All of you people boggle me with your numbers ! More power to you though ! Sounds exhausting....yawn.

The numbers I've been proposing are just what Jason is intending for the laying flock...and I'll amend that number now...He actually ordered 65 Austra-Whites. Odd number? To me, yes. 50 seemed more than enough...but then, why not 75 or go hog-wild and get 100! He would have saved about 25 cents per bird...

EDIT: I got curious...he paid $2.37 per bird (pullets), additionally, he paid $10 for Mareks Vacc. and almost $28.00 for shipping.

My bar bill for lunch will be that much per day in Costa Rica (including tip) so it's not a great outlay of cash...I'm just moderately bewildered and he knows and seems to enjoy it.

But that's my boy and I love him.

 

[gjensen]

Hopefully your health won't have too big of an impact. Looking forward to seeing some of those Catalanas growing out. You never know what breed is going to grab your interest, glad to hear you're enjoying the breed so much! New Hampshire's are definitely in need of more champions too, we have a guy out here that is doing some amazing work with them in Oregon.

There are some excellent breeders of Leghorns out there, most are not very internet compatible though, which is a shame. I do think it is a breed that appeals to more mature folks though, as a kid I kind of dismissed them because they were just kind of a chicken...now I really appreciate the smooth flowing lines and classic look. Hopefully will be adding other varieties here in the future, but started with something that is totally new to me in the solid color Buff and looking forward to the challenge.

I will share a few pictures, Hopefully, I will be fortunate enough to hatch a few better than what I have.

I thought I was doing ok with the NHs. I was not doing anything to brag about, but I got lucky and hatched a few I liked. There is a lot to work on with them to. No one has NH large fowl where they should be yet. And to be frank, I do not think a lot of the bantams out there. Ironic that they are vocally the most critical of the large fowl that we do have, and have been at it the longest. I have seen a few decent ones, but wonder what we are thinking with most. I hate to sound like that, but I could not resist it.

Now the Leghorns is another story. There are some absolutely excellent Leghorns floating around, and I cannot see why they are not more popular. At least those that are into them are really into them and know what they are doing. When I look at pictures of Leghorns in the earlier years, I see the same breed as I do now. Just more refined now than then. I can't say that for many breeds. I think we all could learn from the good Leghorn breeders that have been at it for a long time.

I agree that some breeds are acquired tastes. Maybe it is like wine. Start out with the fruity stuff, and graduate to the finer stuff. LOL.

I might try some Dark Brown bantams one day and get a feel for the color. I will admit that I am bit intimidated, but mostly because I have no experience with it. It is a little easier of a transition from the NHs black tailed red to black tailed buff. Not really easier in practice, but getting my head wrapped around it.

Yes, Buff will be a challenge for me to. I get the basics, and have an idea where to go with it. That does not amount to a whole lot, but that is the fun it I guess. I want to learn the color though the Catalana buff will have to be a bit different than a Leghorn Buff. I do not know if that is good or bad. Time will tell.

 

[gjensen]

So glad to hear you are getting your NH back. This is my first breeding season with them. Have about 80 chicks on the ground from one Cockeral and four Hens. Had another Cockeral to breed them too but discovered some feather stubs on his legs and some fluff between toes so don't think I will use him unless I get stuck. One more set due to hatch Wed. then I will be done with them until next season or maybe Fall so I have some youngsters in condition to show in the Spring.

Slowly hatching Kathyinmo's F'5's. Setting about 6 - 12 eggs per week and have 3 chicks so far on the ground hatched last Wed. Super excited about them. I will be crossing 4 pullets over 3 cockerals and hope to get at least 10 chicks from each pairing on the ground before I take a break till Fall, if it doesn't take me till then

Dont' know how many BCM I will end up hatching, have a pen with a Cock over his four daughters, (full siblings) and a Cockeral in with his Mom, Aunt and Grandma. Lots of other combos I could play with but I think they may take the backburner for this year.

Last but not least, I have a Blue Ameracauna pair that I hope to hatch about 20 chicks from. First 4 eggs due to hatch next week. They are strictly for fun and for the blue eggs for the egg customers.

PHEW!!!!!

Thank You Zanna. I will make no commitments concerning the future. Just hard to know. I do know that I like these birds, and I will go until whatever.

Don't mess with those stubs. Get another male if it gets that bad. The stubs we are dealing with is recessive, and it will linger around unnoticed for a bit. I was fighting them, and figured that I had made progress. If it gets bad, an outcross and test mating might be an answer. Luanne was fighting in another breed and she seams to have a grip on it. What makes them worse is they can have them, and you not even see them under the scales. I have washed some and seen them afterwards, and they were not evident before. A good thing is that some show up early and you can cull them before you feed them too much. Others show up much later.
Those crossed with Americans were not showing them, but I suspect that in time some flocks will start to have them if they are not careful. The recessive can bounce around for a while. Then I am not certain that it is that simple, because some show a lot, and some show very little. Some do not care, and pluck them and move on. Personally it bugs me, and I hate to see them.
I hope that you hatch out some good ones. Share some pictures.

I like looking at the Delaware to. You guys have a good bunch working on them. My youngest son has a thing for that breed. I do not know why other than he inherited good taste. He wants a few, so it will be hard to resist getting him a couple. You know boys cannot want the same thing there Dad wants. I think it is against the rules.

Sounds like a lot of work. We must enjoy keeping them.

 

[gjensen]

42 chicks off for people, with 16 to hatch Wednesday, for juveniles to ship in May. I may breed my inbred Monty son to the old ladies, when they go back to laying, and hatch 20 , or so, for me to choose 2 from. All of you people boggle me with your numbers ! More power to you though ! Sounds exhausting....yawn.

Now you know that you have had to hatch in numbers before, LOL. If I hatched 20 Catalanas, I might just have to kill them all and have gotten no where.

I will say, you deserve a reward for spreading birds around. You and your birds have quite the following. I am seeing them everywhere. Coast to coast.

 

[MagicChicken]

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

24 Black Java chicks hatched here since January. Was aiming for 40 chicks. Had to stop earlier than planned because it got too hot. The last four chicks are almost feathered out and I will move them out of the brooder before it hits 90 degrees later this week. Hoping for a few decent pullets so I can start culling hens. Unfortunately most of these chicks look like cockerels. Again. Sigh.

The only pullet from my fall broody hatch just laid her first egg at 5 months old. She is not destined for the breeding flock but she'll be just fine as a layer.

Sarah

 

[Zanna]

Thank You Zanna. I will make no commitments concerning the future. Just hard to know. I do know that I like these birds, and I will go until whatever.

Don't mess with those stubs. Get another male if it gets that bad. The stubs we are dealing with is recessive, and it will linger around unnoticed for a bit. I was fighting them, and figured that I had made progress. If it gets bad, an outcross and test mating might be an answer. Luanne was fighting in another breed and she seams to have a grip on it. What makes them worse is they can have them, and you not even see them under the scales. I have washed some and seen them afterwards, and they were not evident before. A good thing is that some show up early and you can cull them before you feed them too much. Others show up much later.
Those crossed with Americans were not showing them, but I suspect that in time some flocks will start to have them if they are not careful. The recessive can bounce around for a while. Then I am not certain that it is that simple, because some show a lot, and some show very little. Some do not care, and pluck them and move on. Personally it bugs me, and I hate to see them.
I hope that you hatch out some good ones. Share some pictures.

I like looking at the Delaware to. You guys have a good bunch working on them. My youngest son has a thing for that breed. I do not know why other than he inherited good taste. He wants a few, so it will be hard to resist getting him a couple. You know boys cannot want the same thing there Dad wants. I think it is against the rules.

Sounds like a lot of work. We must enjoy keeping them.

Good to know on the stubs. Both my cockerals are from a local breeder who shows his birds and does well, they are supposed to be German Line. All of my hens are from Luanne and they are so much better quality than the pullets I got with the local cockerals. I am glad to hear you sometimes don't see the stubs easily. The cockeral with them was my 2nd choice as a breeder. He ripped his wattle badly and had so much blood all over him I gave him a bath and that is when I noticed them and decided not to use him. Pretty darn sure the cockeral I am using is clean but maybe he deserves a bath too None of the cockerals I got from Luanne had stubs and my chosen breeder came in with a white tail feather so I never used him. I will twist Walt's arm for another if I need. An excuse for a road trip to California would be great!

There is a great bunch of people working with Kathy's Dels.and I feel very priviledged to be one of them. Get some for your son, you know you will have to It's not work if you love it!

 

[MagicChicken]

A couple of Black Java chicks:

10 day old chick, sporting a new wing tag (taken a month ago):



1-2 day old chick, taken a month ago:



One of these days I will learn how to take decent pictures of chickens. Definitely not there yet.

Sarah

 

[Vamvakas]

Hmmm... doesn't sound like a rip off to me, sounds like a good deal. My meat lambs sell for $2.25/lb live weight except for Easter lambs which sell for $2.50/lb. They average 100-120 lbs when they go to slaughter. Except for the Easter lambs they are grass fed and reach slaughter weight at 5 months. The Easter lambs born in the fall grow slower due to poorer quality forage over the winter and must be supplemented, thus the slightly higher price. I have not increased my beef and lamb prices in 5 years and even when I was producing 300 lambs a year I had a waiting list - i sell to private individuals only, no wholesale. Trust me, I do not make a killing, just barely a living.

100- 120bs taste like crap, those are old lambs that are gamey.. Looking for lambs about 30 - 40 lbs... That's what lamb farmers need to look at.