Chickens on the homestead

[sumi]

Most homesteaders have a flock of chickens and for people taking the first steps to self-reliance poultry for eggs, meat, or both is usually a safe, not too intimidating start.

I would like to know what you all have in your flocks. What breed(s) have you got and what do you like about them?

What is the purpose of your flock? (Eggs, meat, lawn ornaments)

I currently have some OEG (LF) who I was given by our local travellers, after admiring their flock of birds. I love the games for their looks, demeanour and the hens are amazing broodies. I also have a young pullet I'm chicken-sitting at the moment and two older hens, a Sussex and a hybrid.

We keep them mainly as lawn ornaments at the moment and because I love having chickens around. We do get a fair number of eggs, but since we barely eat any, I give away most of them.

Most of my flock here. Sorry it's not the best pic, I had to bribe them to get them all in one place and even then I had to move fast!

My son's little hen, not pictured above, a few weeks ago when I came home and found her quite comfortable on my bed (she likes to come into the house when we leave windows open)

 

[Country homesteader]

I wasn't around when the first BO and RIR were gotten but last year when the younger BO's and RIR were gotten we waited until their were around 3-4 months old before letting them out of the brooder box. We had one ( yup, that's right had) that when she (a BO) wanted to get picked up she would squat in front of you then she would either "ride" around sitting on an arm or on one of my Uncle's shoulders. Just before Winter she went to the chicken coop in the sky from being attacked by a chicken hawk.
When we first discovered that Buffy liked to be held, it was funny seeing how my Uncle was laying on the ground working on a vehicle and she would go over to him, pull on his hair so he would have to stop to shoot her away but within a few minutes she would go back to demanding his attention. Well, he stopped once again, picked her up and brought her into the house which was the wrong thing to do seeing how after that she always wanted to come in. It was hilarious to see this chicken acting like that. I miss her and wish at times she was still here. Whenever I go outside during the day which is quite often all the chickens come running to me including MR.Rooster (the RIR) begging for a handout. I've even caught a couple of them "knocking" using their beaks and pecking at the door on the front porch.
I do have a stupid hen though she'll get on the front porch (haven't figured out how yet) and will throw a major hissy fit because she can't get off the porch until I let her off then when she is back outside she'll she'll complain.

 

[Hinotori]

Well I feel like a drug dealer.

*hides in remote parking lot*

*whispers* "Pssst. Hey, would you like to buy some silkies?"

Well at least the two pullets brought enough to feed the rest of the silkies for about a month.

 

[sumi]

I get to chickensit for our local travellers (who are really nice) now and then. They dropped off some new tenants for me this evening.

 

[Beekissed]

It's the birds he's seen at shows he fell in love with. 15 pound big boys.

You need a White Rock rooster! Heavy and big, sweet as honey. I've not had one that was anything but docile. So big that they don't even struggle much when you handle them as they are just too heavy to get too rowdy.

Their feathering is so very fine that they feel like silk when you touch them and I never saw a white breed stay so clean all year round.

And...the meaty bird they produce! White Rock meat is so very densely packed on their frame that it has a fine texture, with double muscling in the breasts. Incredibly different than other breeds when brought to table...I didn't believe it until I had butchered some myself and found them to be a better texture and flavor(due to the fat they carry within the muscling).

Excellent laying genes as well, so they are the epitome of the term "dual purpose". Thrifty on feed if raised on free range as a chick, excellent foragers, excellent mothers(even the fathers, as it turns out, are excellent at mothering), docile and calm birds.

WR cockerel...

Cockerel taking a bath prior to a show...never bothered to fight the whole process, stood in front of a blow dryer for an hour with his eyes closed in pleasure. Took that long and STILL didn't get him dry!

So gentle even my ol' Mama can heft them around...but so heavy that she barely can.

 

[treerooted]

Right now I have 2 nesting boxes for 13 hens. But they're just starting to lay, and winter's coming. I have a third but it needs a better clean out; not sure what insect made this dense nest (spiders?) in it, but I've blocked it off for now and will give it a better clean if it seems they need the additional nest.
I had 4 leghorns last winter and they were in a coop with 6 nesting boxes...they only ever used one of course.


So we butchered 13 roos this summer. I think the experience was pretty good, and the process went fairly well. My partner ended up doing most of the work but I helped out when possible. I had read so much beforehand that I was quite mentally prepared. But for whatever reason I got a little weepy before the start of our last set of birds.

I will say this: I'm actually very proud to have our own birds at the table. It makes me feel a different level of self sufficiency and balance within our homestead.

 

[Beekissed]

The cold weather and the leaf fall has finally accomplished my flock integration. All fall I've had pullets and cockerels roosting out in the peach tree and a few outsiders roosting wherever they can find a corner to sleep in, just not in the coop with the main flock.

Then I did my final butchering, removing a lot of that young flock and shaking things up to the degree that integration was initiated. The colder weather finally forced the final stragglers up on the coop roosts.

The beauty of free ranging....wherein the chickens integrate at their own pace and are able to establish their social standing out in the open where they can escape any pecking order issues until they are big enough to stand up to it.

Yesterday one of the pullets started to lay, so it feels like harmony has been reached within the flock. The new flock master, this year's cockerel, has taken his place as guardian and breeding male and watching how the hens changed in their attitudes towards him is always entertaining. Just three short weeks ago he was roosting out in the peach tree and not able to flock with the main group of hens at all. Now they jockey to see who gets to sleep next to him. It's all about survival of the flock.

Need to do fall inspection...I'm way behind. Looking forward to it this year due to the chicken hammock and how easy that it makes the whole process.

The new flock master...gangly and rangy, still filling out and won't be his mature size until spring. These WRs mature rather slowly compared to other more tampered with breeds.

Roosting between the most dominant, fertile hens.

 

[Mini Horses]

This morning, out feeding, one of my broodies came shrieking like a banshee and "low flying" to the feed frenzy this AM. I had not already put eggs under her, SO -- I grabbed a scoop of eggs from last night that I had not taken to the house, RAN to her hutch, grabbed her 2 eggs & the nest egg, replaced with 7 eggs! Then I considered they were chilly to sit on and maybe she would reject them -- oh well, I had to go to work. She was sitting them when I returned!! Whatever they are is fine. LOL Great mom, as she gave me 7 trained chicks last year -- five are now laying nice eggs. Sometimes we accept the challenge and go from there.

 

[sumi]

Sumi, did you make that quilt???? It's gorgeous!!!! I think it's so funny that the chicken comes in your window and sleeps on the bed. That's just the sweetest thing.

I did yes, thank you. I posted some pics of it on the quilting thread, about 2 weeks ago I think. That hen would live in the house if I let her! She is such a madam. I walked into the lounge a few weeks ago and found her laying an egg on the couch. No nest boxes for HER!

 

[Cynthiadoz12]

The sweetest rooster I was able to keep for a while, was a RIR. That boy was only 4 and a half months old here. Loved him, but he crowed too much for my area.

Another sweet RIR. Didn't mind me coming into the coop while laying.
Both of these were Heritage..I hatched them, they were not from a feed store. Maybe that made a difference. Having said that, I have RIR pullet out there right now that I bought from a feed store this yr. She should start laying next month..soon! She is being a sweet girl too, but, I have had some stinkers that I've bought from the feed stores. I'm hoping I lucked out this time. So far so good.