The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Dave C on September 03, 2014, 10:10:02 pm
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Well with the fox attack killing off my table bird plans I am now starting with a clean slate next season, (as tempting as it is to get the Incy back out I am going to wait)
I will be getting some more Galouise types or maybe La Bresse
But I think the first thing I need to source are a good stock of IG hatching eggs for early next year.
What's your plans for next year?
Anyone doing anything new?
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I shall be concentrating on the Ixworths mostly, to help promote the breed, raise some table birds and eventually replace my ageing mixed flock of layers. Rear a few German Langshan and light sussex banties. On the look out for some Indian game myself.
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rebuild the enclosure that was destroyed when wind blew down 70 foot trees on it!
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This time next year I'll be in France. I'll have my laying flock established and be raising my first table birds. Hopefully I'll have some guinea fowl on the go as well. If I don't have the ducks and and quail in yet, OH will be working all hours getting their houses ready and I'll be thinking about fattening a couple of geese for Christmas. If I'm very lucky, I'll have a few weaners too, but they might have to wait 'till the following year. I'll be tending the veg garden of course, hopefully have some fruit on the go and with any luck, we'll have time enough to get a few holidaymakers in before the end of the season. I do hope it's not all a dream! I am so looking forward to it all! ;D
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It all sounds very nice
Good luck with it :thumbsup:
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I plan to streamline my flocks into more pure breeds and move away from the hybrids we have. I want to create some kind of pasture rotation system with easy to move housing and nets, each with a flock of 30 or so birds in. We've done well on selling hatching eggs this year so I want to expand that next year with more breeds and more birds of the breeds we currently do.
Also want to replace our feeders with Granpas type treddle feeders to reduce our feed losses and also sort some kind of rainwater recovery system so I'm not piping clean drinking water up to the chickens through a tiny hose. Water has been the biggest chore this year.
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Castle farms for indian game .Don't be put of whith not pure breeds the road/bared rock cuckoo marran/black blue marran good cross will give good egg baskits .I will have cream legbars bought 12 eggs from 7 breeders inc Top lines for blue egg and yes they are proper legbars .
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I just hope for no repeat of this year - disasters all round. :'( Onwards and upwards! :excited:
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Same as usual really: breed from 0nly the very best, watch them like a hawk (a benign hawk, that is), maintain constant vigilance against red mite ......
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I now have a quality trio of dark egg laying black marans, the girls were the ones i brought up from darkbrowneggs flock.
So as soon as they start laying in the new year its incy/broody time, the girls i can sell all day every day and the boys are fine eating...
for the first time i have enough generic stock that we should start actively selling eggs from the house/at mrs b's work!!!
on the not chicken front, we will have our first lambs born in 2015 are looking to start a beehive or 2 oh and if i can get the money for the fencing am seriously thinking about goats.
Oh and it will be our first full year with a proper veg patch!!!
2015 is going to be a mega year for us on the smallholding front!!!
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hello
my plans are simple, raise the chicks i got atm, completely get rid of all hybrids, mix light sussex and silkies for the following year broodies,
get more light sussex for table birds on the go, maybe cross with indian game, or
pass driving test and get aome welsh blacks
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Show the Scots Greys I bred this year-has taken me three years to get close to what I want so more of that. I'm also starting with Minorcas early next year and will shortly be picking up a really nice trio of brown Marsh Daisies-not that anyone else wants them! There's also the duck thing-which OH still doesn't know about. Mind you, he doesn't know about the Marsh Daisies either.
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Hatch more buff orpingtons - I only hatched four hens this year, kept two and the other two went as a trio before I'd even advertised them. Fewer gold laced orpingtons - sadly because I think they're stunning but they're not selling for whatever reason. Not sure about ducks - they're a pain to hatch and nobody wants drakes but the ducks have all gone :thinking:. And as many geese as I can manage - hopefully I'll have two breeding pens with three laying geese next year. I think my last hatch of the year was brilliant - if I'm right it was five hens from six chicks (two cream legbars, one dorking, one lakenvelder and one welsummer) so they'll all be on egg laying duty. Wondering about guinea fowl for fun and we'll see how the turkey growers go before deciding whether to repeat them. Meantime I have roast dinners planned for the whole winter - 17 Orpington cockerels and a handful of drakes are fattening nicely in addition to the turkeys.
Elsewhere the trellises are going in for the vines so it'll be our first year of properly training the vines. The fruit trees will be more mature and should crop better. And I've signed on the dotted line to start renting our holiday cottage out from May - given it has no roof at the moment, there's still a lot to do on that!
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Hatch some females for a change!? :innocent:
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Breed more Bourbon Red turkeys, as I love them! Some will be for eating but as I'll have two adult breeding groups next year I will also be able sell unrelated pairs/trios.
Continue breeding from my Pilgrim geese which I also love with a passion, perhaps buy in a new unrelated pair.
Add Silver grey dorkings to the farm - just a few to see how I get on with the breed.
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Harebell I might have a pair of Silver Grey Dorkings - that was my sixth chick, a Dorking cockerel, I think. I come over your way from time to time (my parents are in Wiltshire and I'm bringing geese over/collecting a gander from the New Forest this weekend). They're little yet (six weeks) but let me know if you might be interested.
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I now have a quality trio of dark egg laying black marans, the girls were the ones i brought up from darkbrowneggs flock.
So as soon as they start laying in the new year its incy/broody time, the girls i can sell all day every day and the boys are fine eating...
for the first time i have enough generic stock that we should start actively selling eggs from the house/at mrs b's work!!!
on the not chicken front, we will have our first lambs born in 2015 are looking to start a beehive or 2 oh and if i can get the money for the fencing am seriously thinking about goats.
Oh and it will be our first full year with a proper veg patch!!!
2015 is going to be a mega year for us on the smallholding front!!!
Any spare girls? Sad I missed out on a girl from the eggs Sue sent me in exchange for the plants I sent her. That's the problem with hatching - boys as likely as girls!
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My plans are preparing for the winter. Building a new run for the ducks for overnighting but nearer to the pond and slabbed over for easier washing out, currently in a mud bath with pallets to keep them out of the mud! Will need to move their house as well. Going to re-site the chicken house nearer the house in an effort to reduce the mud path created by accessing the house in last years wet weather. Re- purposing the old duck and chicken run for a veg/fruit garden as it is already fenced so will keep the feathered invaders out! I'm knackered just thinking about it!!
Next year need to do some research into maintaining the pond (which is a large natural one) and decreasing the 'damage' large quantities of duck poo may be doing! Any advice gratefully received :fc:
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Harebell I might have a pair of Silver Grey Dorkings - that was my sixth chick, a Dorking cockerel, I think. I come over your way from time to time (my parents are in Wiltshire and I'm bringing geese over/collecting a gander from the New Forest this weekend). They're little yet (six weeks) but let me know if you might be interested.
Thanks HesterF for the offer but I should be getting a nice trio from a local breeder I found through The Dorking Club
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I only have 1 cuckoo Marans left from DarkbrownEggs and she lays beauty eggs :thumbsup:
I used my Welsummer cock bird over her this year and the young pullets look very smart
Just waiting to see what their eggs are like :fc:
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focusing on increasing and improving my Barred Wyandotte Bantams, hopefully encourage others to start with them :wave:
continue with my blue Wyandotte project & hopefully establish a black line from my Kerry Wilson barreds but I haven't started it yet but I do have a black hen so its just a matter of arranging her marriage to Elvis LOL!
I would also like to develop a True Bantam flock, currently have Pekins, so will either stick with these (depending how fertility turns out) or move over into something a little more challenging
is that enough to be getting on with :D
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I had lost 4 to the fox and as all but one of the rest were pretty old I was considering giving up.
Instead I bought 4 pol Marans at Lanark, commissioned a new coop from Bloomer and am expecting 2 CL girls and 2 SG girls when each are old enough to cope with my adult free range flock. Tho the Marans prefer roosting in trees to the coop so the 4 next new girls may rattle around in it and need company!
Non chook side I am finally looking at getting the barn repairs to make it more weatherproof and perhaps replace the roof that came down under snow maybe 4 winters back! I also hope to create raised beds from scaffold planks from Bloomers supplier. And my greenhouse will have its first full season so more cucumbers peppers and tomatoes than I have ever managed without one.