Poultry Picture Thread

[Hinotori]

I was thinking, we should all post pictures of some of our birds and what breeds they are. Give people ideas on what people keep.

My multi-purpose birds are my ameraucanas. They are hardy and lay 3-4 nice blue large eggs a week. Meat production is just ok since they aren't really large birds at 5-6.5 pounds.

Wheaten ameraucana hen with chicks.

Broodies! That was a dangerous box to check for eggs in.

My partridge silkies are my project for the poultry shows. But if you can get past the black meat, skin, and bones, they are a better return than my ameraucanas. The roosters weigh about 2 pounds and eat a quarter of what the ameraucanas do. I have had a mutation and have a 4 pounds rooster. Waiting to see if his offspring turn out as big as he is. My hens lay 5-6 peewee to small eggs a week when they aren't broody. The problem is they are broody 3-5 times a year, depending on if I let them have chicks.


Silkie Roosters

Silkie Hen

 

[sumi]

Hinotori, your pics are amazing! I don't have a camera at the moment and have to take pics with my awful phone, so I don't take many. At the moment I have a Bluebell (British hybrid layer), a Sussex and assorted games, mostly OE LF

OEG games - Whitehackle pair (cock looks MUCH better now he molted)

OEG pullet - Silver Duckwing

DS spoiling the Bluebell and Sussex

 

[NH Homesteader]

This is the best picture I could get this morning with my terrible cell phone camera.

We have 3 pure Dominiques, a random bird that we saved from someone's stew pot that we think is a Partridge Wyandotte. Now I have no issue with eating older hens, I just really liked this one! The other 3 are hatched from the Dom roo and the Wyandotte hen.

We also have Jersey Giants but they are in a different pen and were camera shy this morning.

 

[Hinotori]

Wheaten Ameraucanas again.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

@sumi - your son is adorable! And, it look like you've got some spoiled chickens, lol.

I got a camera for Christmas - yay! I'll be getting some pics of my chickens soon - I hope.

@Hinotori - love the Wheatens!

@NH Homesteader - love the chickens in the snow!

 

[Beekissed]

Right now I have standard Plymouth White Rocks and Black Australorps and a few mixes of both, which come out barred birds. The WRs are my main breed, which yields excellent meat of incredible flavor due to the marbled fat within the muscle strands and also remarkable texture, as the meat fibers are so fine and densely packed.

Their feathering is also more fine and densely packed than other breeds, so one could use their feathers for pillows and comforters if they so wished...their feathers have amazing loft and they have more downy feathers close to the body than any breed I've ever had also.

Their laying is exceptional for a DP breed, with most being daily layers in peak season and slow down to 3-4 eggs per week in the winter time if they are not in molt.

They go broody each season but not excessively so...some just once and others a couple of times. I don't let them go broody past the month of May or early June. I'm selecting and breeding for birds that go broody early, raise their family and then get back to the business of laying. They are excellent broodies and fierce mothers, can set large hatches easily and this current flock has a tendency to head to the woods for brooding, which I don't mind if they stay in close enough that the preds are still deterred by the presence of my dogs but far enough out the dogs won't eat the eggs.

They are thrifty on feed and stay in great condition, even store great stores of fat under their skin, on mainly forage and fermented layer as a supplement. They get to be heavy breed birds on the same amount~and often less~feed than the smaller layer breeds. They are hard working birds that forage extremely well and tend to love free range living, getting out in all weathers to hunt and liking to raise their young along the edges of the wood line.

Naturally hardy and not prone to illness or reproductive issues, they can live and lay well clear up into age 5-6 before they stop laying in regular cycles. The hens yield as much meat on their carcass as do some DP roosters of other breeds, so a spent WR hen is still very valuable as meat.

Of a gentle, docile temperament they make for a very quiet and peaceful flock addition and their regal, genteel way of moving and calm demeanor make them a delight to have around. The roosters are quiet, intelligent and gentle. They don't tend to look dirty like other white breeds and I think that is due to the high feather quality they possess, which means they also don't tend to have feather loss on their backs in heavy breeding situations.

My other main breed is Black Australorps, which are the finest layers one can get..a true workhorse breed that lays well and lays long into old age, lays in the winter and even during their molt..they just slow down a little then.

Naturally hardy, thrifty on feed, rarely ever go broody, great foragers, quirky and funny personalities, gentle but the odd one here and there can be a little loud at times, easy keepers and a beautiful bird. I've never had a BA come up missing on free range in all these years...great survivors and savvy out on range.

I'd recommend Black Australorps to anyone, be it for pet flocks or working flocks, though their carcasses don't tend to get real big or heavy, they can still have a respectable carcass when their laying days are done. They are a perfect breed for newbies as you just can't mess up with BAs...they can stand up to mismanagement and still lay a ton and survive into old age, plus they have delightful personalities.

The mix of these two breeds yields meaty cockerels and pullets, beautiful birds but spotty on laying performance and health, a little too broody and not enough laying, but nothing to shout about.

 

[Hinotori]

I've noticed that the large breeds tend to be calmer. Well as long as they aren't hatchery birds. In my experience those have a really good chance to be aggressive no matter what the breed.

Has anyone else noticed that?

 

[NH Homesteader]

You know... I think you're right. My Jersey Giants are super jumpy and flighty, and my one silkie I had was super aggressive. My jerseys were from a hatchery and my silkie I hatched out from hatchery parents.

My original Dominiques were from a local breeder and I hatched out a batch that are all super calm. Now I do think doms are a calmer breed but it is interesting...

I hope to be done with hatchery birds now. I need one more breed (Dorkings) but I'm going to save my pennies and go to a breeder.

 

[Beekissed]

I've noticed that the large breeds tend to be calmer. Well as long as they aren't hatchery birds. In my experience those have a really good chance to be aggressive no matter what the breed.

Has anyone else noticed that?

I think, as with all things genetic, it depends on the breeding of any particular hatchery or breeder. I've had Delawares from a breeder who was breeding to standard and they were a nasty bunch of birds in all ways...didn't keep them.

All the WRs and BAs I've had have been a joy to have, no matter if they were from a breeder or hatchery, whereas some of the RIR from hatcheries didn't even last until maturity here due to poor temperaments, while other RIR from a different hatchery were sweet and hard working birds.

I think some breeders who have been with a certain breeding project for a longer amount of time can afford to breed for temperament more, the more stock they keep on hand and the more hatching they do, so they tend to have a more docile bird overall, no matter the breed.

Any time I've had silver laced Wyandottes, no matter the source of hatchery, they've been big eaters, poor layers and absolutely the nastiest hens I've ever had the displeasure to meet, so no matter how many times I get them in a flock, they get culled pretty quickly. Great for training pups on chickens, though.

 

[NH Homesteader]

I tried silver laced Wyandottes also and was not impressed. We ended up giving them away to a friend who has different chicken standards than us. My favorite thing about my birds is that I can introduce them to new birds by just throwing them in a pen together and they don't peck or fight at all. As long as they have enough space and enough food they're not into the dominance games. The doms don't lay huge eggs but we'll see how my crosses do.

We have a couple of friends with BA's and they are very happy with them. Friendly, hardy and good layers. Now I want some.

Chicken math!