heirloom chickens?

[BeckyJane]

I was talking to a friend over the phone yesterday and she was wanting to get some "heirloom chickens" Does any one know where she could buy some? I'm not familiar with the term, but would like to help her out. Thanks

[otterbob]

I think the term you are looking for is "heritage chicken" , use that in google , yahoo, and other search engines, it will produce the information you are looking for.

It is always nice to hear of someone that would like to help keep a breed alive .

Otter Bob

[mom]

Check out this site

We have Pilgrim Geese and Royal Palm Turkeys reserved for next spring because we want to help preserve some of these Heirloom breeds. Besides they are cool looking. I fear they will be just more pets but you never know

http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/wtchlist.html

[bee_pipes]

We have a pair of royal palms. Actually, I think something crept into the line and muddied it up a bit, they are not 100% purebread, but they meet our needs. They are the 2nd smallest turkey. For just my wife and myself, they are more than adequate. One bird, at appropriate age for butchering, will make eight meals. Typically we split a whole bird, each half making 4 meals.

Last summer was our first attempt at hatching the eggs. The results were disappointing. We only got two live poults, one died within a month of being released to the general population. Right now we have the sole remaining youngster slated for thanksgiving dinner.

I have read in a number of places that keeping a breeding pair of turkeys is not really practical from a financial point of view. I'd have to agree and this is more of an indulgence on my part, rather than a practicality. We'll try improving our methods, hopefully get better results at hatching. The birds do well with open range grazing, are active and curious.

I can see why the birds are popular, they do grow fairly quickly and reach a reasonable size for eating in a short time. For a strictly cost benefit, you are better going with a broad breasted variety, but I don't care much for an animal that has been bread to such freakish proportions. Broad-breasteds are supposed to be incapable of breeding without assistance. From the one bb we raised, I find that quite believable. The bb varieties are also susceptible to a number of foot and leg disorders. We're not running an animal preserve here, we're raising food, but I prefer that the animals have some quality of life before harvest.

Along these lines, we have tried our hand at raising meat birds. These were white mountain broilers, similar in behavior to the cornish crosses I have heard of. These would appear to be the chicken variety of the bb turkeys. Whereas our bb turkey took well to open range grazing and socialized with the flock, the chickens seemed to have no interest in grazing a laid around the pen near the feeder. They only stood up to walk to the waterer. Not much of a life.

The major part of our flock is buff orpington. These are easy birds to handle, good layers, but leave much to be desired so far as meat is concerned. You wouldn't starve with them, but I'm a thinkin it's time to try another breed. They were our first attempt at chickens, and we have learned a lot from them, but I think we could look at a breed that does a little better with meat, without the freakish deformities and behavioral problems. We are looking for something that can get along in an open range grazing environment, manageable for locking up at night, and still provide the eggs we use.

These are just our experiences and thoughts on requirements.

Regards,
Pat

[MooseToo]

in my reading, i've heard that the most practical bird for homestead use is the goose - low maintenance, ideal foragers, good reproduction, disease resistant, etc - unfortunately, as far as i'm concerned, they have way too much personality - and that might prove problematical come harvest time - and there are breeds of geese that are in need of protection from extinction -

[mom]

You guys have me back making a wish list for spring. Buckeye is listed on the critical list and supposedly is a good dual purpose breed. Ideal is near us and I like to order from them because of the closeness and they do have Buckeye chickens

[WileyCoyote]

Odd you bring it up, Beepipes; I too am looking for the 'perfect chicken' for this spring. I think that I still will go with the Barred Rocks for cold tolerance, amiable temperament, and good eating size without all of that overbred meatiness and the weight and health problems that accompany it. However, I 'm looking at the Silver Wyandottes for later incorporation into the flock as well. I like turkey, but around here they are wild and even invasive so why own something one has to feed when one can kill it just as easily after it feeds itself to size? I don't like goose or duck; too greasy. too obstinate, too opinionated. On my self-indulgent side I'd like to get a couple of peahens and a peacock, just for fun and to pretty-up the yard. But that is probably down the road, if at all - their voices are a bit loud for living on the edge of town! ;D This spring I'll probly start with 25 straightrun Barred, for a decent meat and egg start, and add the Wyandottes a little later if necessary and possible.

[LeatherneckPA]

In North-Central PA and experimenting with backyard poultry this year. I will admit that my breed selection was not the most scientific method ever. I knew that I wanted dual purpose breeds and that I wanted brown eggs (just to be different). I selected our four breeds on looks and reported hardiness in cold. We ordered from Meyer Hatchery in OH.

So we have 4 Barred Rocks. Last issue of Backyard Poultry magazine called them "The Heirloom Breed". They have held up well. Then there are the 4 Black Australorps. Doing ok I guess, but not as large as the BR. And we have 4 Gold-Laced Wyandottes. They are real pretty birds, but I seldom see them actually in the nest boxes. Seems like about 60% of the time I interrupt a hen she's a BR. About 30% of the time she's an Australorp, and maybe 10% of the time she's a Wyandotte. Again, that's just random interruptions, not true scientific observations.

I haven't figured out any way to identify who is doing a good job and who isn't. I think next year I'll have only two breeds of layers, 6 brown egg layers and 6 white egg layers. That way I can keep it straight as to which breed is producing best for me.

I also let the roos grow a little too long, about 20+ weeks. Next falls batch will be planned for about 12 weeks.

I didn't want to go with the Cornish-X type because of the whole GMO food thing. I have this idea that I want to do as much as I can to maintain the genetic diversity of my foods and those I feed my family.

[fancyfowl]

Ideal and McMurray are 2 of the best known hatcheries, there are many more across the country. Some are small but provide pretty good stock, others are not so well reputed. Heritage breeds are generally thought to be a breed developed up to around the early 1900s.

decide what your main purpose of having poultry is, egg production, meat, general purpose, show, et cetera. The heavier breeds such as the Rocks, Wyandottes & Orpingtons are considered a dual purpose breed for both eggs and meat. They generally make good eggers for the average household but their feed to egg ratio isnt too economical. Commercial grade Rocks can be very good egg makers but the beautiful big show Rocks might not be what you are wanting, same is pretty much true of the othr heacies.
The lighter bodied breeds such as the Hamburgs, Leghorns may be the best for eggs but not the best for a nice stuffed table bird.
Dont overlook some of the bantam breeds as excellent homestead type fowls. The Rocks and heavier breeds are pretty good at eggs, not so bad for individual servings on the table and they will mostly reproduce themselves. Thay may not be as efficient as the modern laying hybrids for meat nor eggs but they can rustle up a gpood part of their feed. My little black Hamburg bantams have kept us in eggs for years. Silkies are pretty good too but they like to go broody often and I dont like the looks of black skinned table birds!

Sorry, but I am fond of those big ol' CornishXRocks. In about 8 weeks they are in the freezer and oh so good!