Hello From California - BYC member new to SS

[sumi]

I recognised your username from BYC. I always think of you are the member with the beautiful games Welcome to SS!

 

[Jshubin]

Yep thats me. Thanks I take pride in my games. Best self-sufficient chickens you can own!

 

[Jshubin]

@sumi By the way I probably listen to more Irish music than most Irish people.

 

[sumi]

Yep thats me. Thanks I take pride in my games. Best self-sufficient chickens you can own!

They are… I got some OEG (Whitehackles) a few weeks ago and I love them!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Best self-sufficient chickens you can own!

I've got lots of different breeds of chickens and several of them that I really, really like. What is it about the games that make you so fond of them? Trying to figure out if I might need to get me a few, lol!

 

[Jshubin]

They are pretty much the closest thing to a wild chicken.. They are fast, fly well, alert and are just great survivors. The hens lay a lot of eggs during breeding season and a known to be the best broods and mothers/protectors. So they reproduce really fast, which I experience every year to my wife's dismay (I have too many pooping on the patio ). They sleep high in the trees for protection and have natural instincts that production/ornamental breeds seem to lack.

They could be completely self-sufficient if left free range

And I am referring to American/Old English/Spanish games mostly... Most of the Oriental games are big and heavy and dont lay/brood well.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hmmmm...I see why you like them. Only problem I see (for my situation) is that I could never catch one to butcher it! That's one reason I like my slow moving chickens - but they could probably never outrun a predator.

Thanks for the explanation!

 

[Jshubin]

yea I have never butchered any of my chickens ( I am wuss lol)... but I eat their eggs which are sometimes hard to find. They tend to lay in new spots if I take their eggs away. They often go to neighbors yards to lay... and then 21 days later they come back with chicks

 

[frustratedearthmother]

yea I have never butchered any of my chickens ( I am wuss lol)...

The first one is the hardest!

Eggs are good! We eat a lot of them around here too...and sell them...and give them away...and feed them to the pigs...and feed them to the dogs... Unless, of course, it's this time of year when its too hot to move, and they're starting to molt, and then I have to beg (and threaten chicken soup) to get a couple a day.

 

[baymule]

I have 10 hens and get 6-8 eggs a day. 4 of the 10 are old, 2 of them are pets, 2 need to go into the soup pot. When I let them out of the coop, they RUN to the porch and hide under it all day. I keep a tub of water for them and the dogs.

I have 50 Delawares, most of which turned out to be roosters. going to butcher them real soon and get them off the feed bill. BTW, these are the meanest darn chickens I've ever seen.

I have had games before, they lay well, brood their babies, and are a true SS chicken. They don't have much meat on them, but I am sure they could be used as surrogate broodies in a SHTF situation.

@frustratedearthmother what breeds do you have, which do you like the best and why?