Chickens and other Poultry

**30.06** · 12-29-2009

The very first choice of livestock for the family is usually a small , or not so small , flock of Chickens .
And for good reason , Chickens are very productive , and a good learning tool on the needs of the livestock keeper .
They are not costly to get started with and they are very fun to have around .

Before purchasing Chickens however , a good deal of research beforehand is prudent .
Learning the attributes , of the various breeds available , and choosing which breed is right for your family is of prime importance .

There are a number of good books available to help you in your education about the fowl in question .
A good one to start with for Chickens is ; Storey's Guide to RAISING CHICKENS by Gail Damerow
Available here ; Amazon.com: Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens: Care / Feeding / Facilities (9781580173254): Gail Damerow: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MXD%2BQHKHL.@@AMEPARAM@@51MXD%2BQHKHL

Or Living with Chickens by Jay Rossier available here ; Acres U.S.A. -- The magazine of organic/sustainable farming

Of course the Homesteaders Bible is without question The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery available here ; Amazon.com: The Encyclopedia of Country Living (9781570615535): Carla Emery: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51EMVWexTdL.@@AMEPARAM@@51EMVWexTdL

In this encyclopedic volume by the late great Carla Emery you will find more useful information under one cover than anywhere else .

Now to understand just the basics of Chicken breeds , chickens essentially come from different classifications as to their type .
You have the American , the English , the Continental , the Asiatics , the Mediterranean , game and others .

For the puposes of a family backyard or Barnyard Flock , we are basically dealing with Chickens of the American , English or Asiatic types .

Examples of these are ; Plymouth Rocks , Rhode Island Reds , Wyandottes , Jersey Giants , Dominiques , Buckeyes and Delawares in the American class .

Orpingtons , Sussex , Dorking and Cornish in the English class .

Brahma , Cochins and Langshans in the Asiatic class .

Silver Laced Wyandottes

Golden Laced Wyandottes

Jersey Giants

Dominiques

Barred Rocks

and
Delawares

to be continued.....

**30.06** · 12-29-2009

In the English class we have ,
Orpingtons

Sussex

Speckled Sussex Hen

Dorkings

and Cornish

A pair of Dark Cornish and a White Laced Red hen

Among the Asiatics are the Brahma

the Cochin

and Langshan

to be continued ......

**30.06** · 12-29-2009

Also derived from the English Breed , Orpington , we have the Australorp which was developed from Black Orpington stock in Australia .

The Australorp is a very hardy breed that reaches a good size , about 6.5 Lbs. for the Hen and about 8.5 Lbs. for the Roosters , that are known as very excellent layers of large to medium sized brown shelled eggs .

They are a very calm and friendly breed although sometimes the Roosters will not always follow through with that idea .
The Hens are very good Broodies and Mothers .
They are known for good egg laying even in hot weather when other breeds may want to slack off on their laying , and they are also good Cold Hardy winter layers .

Black Australorp Hen in left photo and Black Australorp Rooster in right photo .

to be continued......

**30.06** · 12-29-2009

The typical backyard , or barnyard chicken , is one of the dual purpose breeds such as listed above in preceding posts .
They are called dual purpose because they supply a good sized bird for the table and also lay a good amount of eggs .
There are other than dual purpose breeds that have been bred to excell in only one quality , either building a plump meaty body or laying a lot of eggs on very little feed .
Leghorns are an example of the latter .
Dual Purpose breeds are Brown egg layers . Leghorns and other flighty mediterranean breeds lay white eggs .
The color of the egg shell has nothing to do with the nutritional or taste qualities of the egg. It is purely a cosmetic feature .

Dual Purpose Barnyard type chickens were traditionaly bred to keep their 'Broody' instinct intact. This meant that the Hens would occassionaly get the urge to 'set' , that is , to incubate a clutch of eggs and raise a brood of new chicks . This was an important feature for the Homestead Family .
The Hen will sit on the nest of eggs for 21 days to hatch the new chicks .
Usually the nest would contain close to a dozen eggs . She will rotate the eggs every few hours to maintain an even heat . The egg shells are actually porous and the embryonic chicks actually do breathe through the shell . The outside of the shell is coated with a very thin film as it is layed and this film acts as a deterrent to bacteria from entering the egg .
So when gathering eggs , they actually should not be washed , as that removes the protective film and allows bacteria the ability to enter into the egg through the porous shell . Keeping the nesting area clean is the best way to keep the eggs clean .

The dual purpose chickens that you want on a homestead are those breeds bred for that purpose . All of the ones listed above fit that description . These are the breeds that will forage well during the day eating grasses , weed seeds , and bugs . They also will eat small snakes and mice . Thus they require less feed from you in the summer months than in the winter .

A proper housing arrangement must be made for them to protect them from predators at night . When Chickens sleep they SLEEP . They do not wake up easily if a predator enters the coop , but it wouldn't do them much good anyways . The term Varmints arose from predators stealing the families much needed chickens . The coop must be built solidly to keep out varmints ( it is said that a Weasel can enter through a one inch hole ) but also built with good ventilation . Chickens are very cold hardy , although an inadequitely ventilated coop will quickly cause problems .

The Varmint equation has been the number one reason why every family farm ( back in the days when America was heavily populated with them ) kept a Single Shot Shotgun behind the kitchen door ready to blast any Varmint to another world . Yes the family flock was that important to a growing America . It kept the family larder stocked with Meat and Eggs and was a great enrichment to the soil . Chicken Manure is the richest in fertilzer quality of any on the farm .

to be continued.......

**30.06** · 02-21-2010

Haven't forgotten this thread , just been really busy .
Will try to replace pictures that are not showing , when time allows .

**30.06** · 03-20-2010

Home at Meyer Hatchery

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McMurray Hatchery

Hatchery prices

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/B....html#Chickens

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenders...ks/chooks.html

Chicken box

Barred Rock hen

Black Australorp hen

Black Australorp Rooster

Barred Rock Rooster

**SKT** · 12-28-2010

I have Silver Laced Wyandots, Jersey Giants, Australorps, Barred Rocks, Buff Orphingtons and Red Star Sex Links. I like the Red Stars the best as I buy mine as chicks. Sex Links are sexed at hatching. They are a cross breed that lays really early. My first batch started laying at 18 weeks the second batch at 20 weeks. My latest batch will probably start laying this February.

Half of my ladies are in the end of a molt so they are not laying much right now. Its fine to give them a break though as they burn out really quick if they lay year round. I really do enjoy having my chickens. They are fun to watch and they love bread. I think they are carb addicts. Before having my chickens we had loads of big nasty spiders in my ceder bark around my Lilac bushes. Now we have virtually no bugs anywhere to be found. They help my compost by scratching it and turning it. They don't cost too much to maintain and all the eggs are gobbled up. My kids love eggs and my husband is a body builder so he uses all the extra protein.