The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: CarraghsBorderCollies on October 15, 2010, 01:29:39 pm
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ive had fowl a few years now and as hard as i looked i havent been able to find a laying breed that i really like... i like mottled leghorns but hate the comb on the hens, i like dutch bantams but their too small and dont lay enough eggs, i like phoenix but they are too short in the leg. i want them to be nearly as good as a hybrid as a layer but i also want them to go broody a few times a year and to be of a light countryfowl type, i want them to have longer tails with good tidy tail carriage and to be a little on the wary of people side as i dont really like hens following me all over the place. i want a single comb that isnt too large in hens, white cheeks, feathers to be a bit tighter which warrants adding hardfeather game to the mix
using the breeds above along with a couple of other breeds that have features i want im going to produce an asthetically pleasing bird that is a decent broody and a good layer
the breeds i already have are;
light sussex hen
buff sussex hens
blackrock hen
dutch x oeg cockeral
lavender leghorn bantam hens
birds im looking for;
frisian
mottled leghorn,
bassette bantam
phoenix
lakenvelder
american game
i know it will take a lot of time and selective culling to get there but im looking forward to each step of my experiment progressing, i wont be selling my birds as they are for my own pleasure!
would have been further along but i had to start again from scratch after a fox came in and killed a few of last years purebred adults and crossbred youngstock;- birds lost that day were; sussex x oxford oeg cockeral... real beauty. mottled leghorn cockeral, ancona pullet, frisian hen, frisian x american game chicks, several sussex and hybrid hens, oxford oeg pair.
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Big thumbs up with you on the OEG's, we have oxford ginger OEG's here and they are super birds, good layers, good broodys,, nice looking and a good size ;D one down side to them id say is they are super aggressive ::) i have some crosses of our with a RIR and found they are good all arounders ;)
Good luck wit your venture :)
Danielle
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iv had a go at this for the last 5 yeres .heres some iv done black rock road island red silki very good birds ....but broody to long Cornish game light Sussex very good to eat .orpington road Cornish game very good broody naw and again still good to eat .Plymouth rock Cornish game road island red .docking road island red .croad langshan road island red . the best eating bird by far is the docking for size Cornish game for eating .i still say the proper black rock for laying vaccinated long life thats a Plymouth rock to a road island red .but whot could you put to it as the eggs drop when you breed a gain wyndott Sussex