Like the illusion of Wall Street, with its vast and powerful investment banks, now shuttered, China too is an illusion perpetuated by the Globalists that gave us the 15,000 mile Caesar salad, poisoned cat food and lead based paint on babies' pacifiers. Like the illusion that money would come from thin air to always push housing prices higher, China has spent a generation pursuing its illusion. Pursuing an unattainable dream to be like the West, while 6000 years of its carefully shepherded top soil blows into the sea.
Joined: May 06, 2006 Posts: 873 Location: Tustin, CA
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:54 pm Post subject: Re: Best chicken breed for small homestead...
Ludi wrote:
I think my favorite so far has been Dark Cornish, though they have very loud unpleasant voices.
Really? I'll have to look into those. I'll need something loud to wake me up in the morning when I won't be able to get batteries for my alarm clocks anymore! _________________ Skeptical scrutiny in both Science and Religion is the means by which deep thoughts are winnowed from deep nonsense-Carl Sagan
Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 3326 Location: Resiliency Farm
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:49 pm Post subject: Re: Best chicken breed for small homestead...
JJ wrote:
Buff Orpington
reallly good mamas also...
+1
I have four raising chicks 15 chicks right now.
Depending upon your situation it can be a positive or a negative but they can be a bit passive (until they have chicks, then they become very protective). I have small children so this is a positive. But even when protecting chicks they knocked my 1 year old down but did not hurt him. This would not have been the case with a more aggressive breed.
A more aggressive breed, however, might take care of mice or chipmunks looking for a free meal from the feed tray. My buffs will share the tray with them.
Joined: May 30, 2008 Posts: 296 Location: On the highway, or the water somewhere!
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:44 pm Post subject: Re: Best chicken breed for small homestead...
wisconsin_cur wrote:
JJ wrote:
Buff Orpington
reallly good mamas also...
+1
I have four raising chicks 15 chicks right now.
Depending upon your situation it can be a positive or a negative but they can be a bit passive (until they have chicks, then they become very protective). I have small children so this is a positive. But even when protecting chicks they knocked my 1 year old down but did not hurt him. This would not have been the case with a more aggressive breed.
A more aggressive breed, however, might take care of mice or chipmunks looking for a free meal from the feed tray. My buffs will share the tray with them.
Typical of orpintons...LOL they are good yard birds if you have a good fence and a guard dog...LOL
Comets are sex links that can be read in the shell, this makes for easier deciding which eggs to eat and which to slide over into the brooders ( We used a couple of banti hens that couldn't stop setting any egg in sight). The hens don't gain much weight and are small and fiesty... The roosters are more than average in aggression and unfortunately have the distinct impression that they alone call out the morning sun when they are tired of resting in the dark.
Training a good yard dog to defend rather than eat the chickens is a great investment in time.. ( I won't mention my own method because it is effective but will say that a friend of mine used one of those training collars and eventually it did work.)
Thank you to the moderator who placed my post where it belonged...
For those thinking of chickens, a hint a couple of adult geese will help both in training the yard dog to respect anything that wears feathers...(lol) but will also discourage most small preditors.... and even many 2 legged ones from raiding your yard. make sure you have a couple of females and one or more male gees and your guardian supply can double as a treat meat. _________________ Courtesy and Courage, Sincerity and Self-control, Honor and Loyalty...a Code to Live By!
Where is my wooden pitchfork and torch anyway? I may need them for a visit to the castle soon!
Joined: May 30, 2008 Posts: 296 Location: On the highway, or the water somewhere!
Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:02 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Poultry (was Backyard Chickens)
I would go back to the barred rocks myself... I loved my rocks for eating.. So maybe you killed and cooked too fast? for tender chicken, kill the day before clean and refrigerate... 2 or 3 days is even better. Fresh killed meat needs time to tenderize...
When I kill a deer or a steer, I hang the meat 5 or more days before cutting and wrapping. chickens 2 days...
You do realize all meat other than fish is aged before cooking right? _________________ Courtesy and Courage, Sincerity and Self-control, Honor and Loyalty...a Code to Live By!
Where is my wooden pitchfork and torch anyway? I may need them for a visit to the castle soon!
It's been a while since I looked at a McMurray catalog---prices have doubled!
A real problem with McMurray (and perhaps other mail-order sources) is that you have to buy a minimum of 25 birds, which in my case is about 10 or 15 beyond what I'd want for egg production for our needs.
So, if I did chickens again, I'd probably have to use a local source (greatly limiting my breed choices). _________________ "Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog
"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother
Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 10:47 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Poultry (was Backyard Chickens)
I got some chicks from Murray Mc Murry last week, so far they are doing GREAT. Ordered 32 but they gave me some free ones so wound up with 39, most are Red Star Hens, but some Wyandots, some Sultans, only 4 or 5 are roosters, but since I live in a restricted subdivision I am not so sure I would be allowed to have chickens if anyone complained. I sure do not need that many layers either, hahaha so many of these will wind up in the freezer, but I may want to keep at least 2 roosters if they are not too noisy, anyone have any suggestions on how to keep them quiet?
Joined: Jan 03, 2005 Posts: 1212 Location: western Wisconsin
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 1:29 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Poultry (was Backyard Chickens)
We've not had any problems due to cold with our chickens--we live not far from Wisconsin Cur, so we get minus 30 or colder, too. We have a breed that is well adapted to cold (Black Astralorps), and we bought a heater that the metal waterer sits on to keep the water from freezing. In past years (acually past decades) we took them fresh water every morning and evening in the winter, in a rubber bowl. The supposed ideal length of lighted day for chickens is 16 hours, and we try to extend their day in the morning, so they can go to roost in the evening by natural light. We have a couple of CFLs on a timer for lighting and I am checking into replacing or supplementing the CFLs wit LED lighting, probably will try some red LED bulbs and see what that does. We have had chickens since 1977 except for a couple of years in the 80s when we moved.
Joined: Apr 03, 2004 Posts: 7017 Location: My Grandkids' Farm
Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:45 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Poultry (was Backyard Chickens)
McMurrray is the Martha Stewart of hatcheries.
Cheap feed store chicks, like any first try, might be best. I've bought from the feed store and McMurray and there is no difference in survival - only bragging rights. I had as much luck with a stray banty and mutt rooster.
As well, a less ambitious plan for a little coop and little little yard to start might be better to wet your feet.
Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5701 Location: Body in OK, Heart in TX
Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 12:38 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Poultry (was Backyard Chickens)
My last batch of chicks was the McMurray (ahem!) straight run odd lots, and among them are 6 of those white Cornish x Rock giant meat birds. I gotta say, they are definitely growing about twice as fast as the others - but they are *disgusting* and quite pathetic. They don't look or feel right. I don't like to handle them because they seem so wrong. I think it's an instinct to avoid disease kicking in. I feel sorry for them. They can hardly walk because they are so out of proportion, and they seem uncomfortable all the time. Sad to see. We will be eating them in 3-4 weeks, most likely. I read that they usually don't live to be more than a year old even when well cared for.
The rest of them are doing fine, and I am happy with the mix I got for the money. A few turkens and araucanas, and some other good layers, and we lucked out on the sex ratio again. _________________ "Every junkie's like a setting sun..." - Neil Young
Joined: Apr 03, 2004 Posts: 7017 Location: My Grandkids' Farm
Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 12:51 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Poultry (was Backyard Chickens)
We bought our flock from McMurray, but the reason was it was the only place we could find the Specks.
As it turns out the Buffs are just as good setters and Moms and readily available (if they are as good as those we got from MM) and much cheaper.
The Specks (Speckled Sussex) make pretty good roosters though, mean and protective as heck. I'm pretty happy with our mixed-up bunch. _________________ Make a plan and work it:
Joined: Oct 16, 2004 Posts: 1496 Location: Appalachian Foothills of Virginia
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 7:38 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Poultry (was Backyard Chickens)
If food gets tight again, and grain prices go up significantly, will people change the way they feed their chickens? Will they prefer one breed over the other? Stick with dual purpose or focus on specific breeds for meat vs. eggs? Has anyone tried game cocks?
Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 3326 Location: Resiliency Farm
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:21 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Poultry (was Backyard Chickens)
I chose a breed that are good foragers so even in a dirt yard they do a good job picking up after the rabbits and getting a lot of bugs in the summer.
What I would do is put more effort into getting the birds more weeds through the summer and they would have to get by on more grass hay through the winter.
Next year I am planning on using a couple of beds to grow rutabeggas for winter feed, so they would get some roots (beggas produce an amazing amount of seed I replanted three last spring and filled a busisness size envelope..
We would eat more food from scratch (maybe 50% right now) so there would be more scraps.
I would also cull the flock so the food available would go farther. I would, conversely, have fewer eggs in the summer but we provide about about 6 families with eggs currently... all but one of them could build a small coop and run and keep their own chickens in the city, feeding them with their own scraps... we would be more than happy to supply them with their own birds if they were willing to raise their own eggs and build the coop/run. _________________ “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.”
J.R.R. Tolkien
"The time has come for men to act like men; and for women, well, to act a lot more like men."
-Ma Cur
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