[Victorian Farmer]

HAW money folk have utility poultry .that's poultry that will lay over 250 eggs in 12 months .I'm selling most off my rare breeds to breed utility hens Shaw's have White Wyandotte  , RIR, White Leghorn. the White Wyandotte[  , are from stock that's 1927 old there roads are a good strain .id like to no haw meney utility hens are out there Orkney hatching eggs are a nother .steeple ducks .when these breeds go there will be no utility stock left .and remember after the war utility kept poultry going its a shame things change and not for the better .but very soon you will have utility back IL sell hatching eggs cheap to get numbers up .iv got all the above naw .iv also got utility am rock road bar Unlike the vast majority of traditional and pure breeders nowadays we use records of our birds productivity to make decisions about breeding and selection for the next generations. In the past 10 -20 years most breeders have stopped taking account of production and been breeding for feather colours and for the shape of the breed. This has lead to most birds being a disappointing shadow of their former glory - poor egg numbers, weak quality of egg and bird, pale or mismatched egg colours and slow growing birds which have too large a frame for their health instead of being strong and meaty.]Unlike the vast majority of traditional and pure breeders nowadays we use records of our birds productivity to make decisions about breeding and selection for the next generations. In the past 10 -20 years most breeders have stopped taking account of production and been breeding for feather colours and for the shape of the breed. This has lead to most birds being a disappointing shadow of their former glory - poor egg numbers, weak quality of egg and bird, pale or mismatched egg colours and slow growing birds which have too large a frame for their health instead of being strong and meatey

[in the hills]

I have some of Shaws utility RIR's. Good looking birds and laying well.


My father has Shaw's white Wyandottes (spelling ?). He is really pleased with how they have laid and they are still producing well in their third year.

[Fowlman]

White sussex is another that has lost favour over the years.

[Victorian Farmer]

White sussex is another that has lost favour over the years.  yes there is a member on here with very good stock .

[Castle Farm]

Finding true utility stock may present a problem. There are people selling birds claimed to be utility bred, but in reality not many are.

[Sylvia]

VF, I've never heard of Orkney,( except the islands) What are they like. I love something a bit different

[Victorian Farmer]

Orkney hatching eggs utility roads and apazela they was stock bred in pirthshire for egg numbers and taken there in the 60s very good stock .

[Padge]

we've tried hatching eggs fromm Orkney hatching eggs on 2 occassions with no success   bitterly disappointed as particularly wanted RIR utility

[Victorian Farmer]

i must admit i didn't get a good hatch rate ether ...soon as things get going IL sort you some eggs out that will be utilatey .i didn't think it would be as hard as it is .

[in the hills]

I haven't done much research into the different utility strains.


Are these Orkney RIR's supposed to be better than those from Clem Shaw's strain?

[Victorian Farmer]

iv only got 3 breeders at the mo Clem Shaw's strain? Orkney  John leach and Britannic Orkney strain was put to gether in Perth which are good but they don't beet Johnson's the problem you need the cock bird right size shape etc and then the hens .This is haw far iv got best UK utility is white wyandots Shaw's next am rock next Shaw's road island red  all the rest are 220 eggs at best i might use am rock -hens road island red that would give 250 eggs the strain of the black rock  are naw to small ,Johnson's have everey breed covered i bought 100 at £10 each sell at £15 vaccinated i was told they will lay in 3 days and that's whot they did very good stock naw we sell lots of these and none off mine stock  .so I'm not Happy that my stock is not selling .whots bad enough i Carnot breed  stock at the price .so in October i sell all the stock and then start in march i would save £2000 in feed and no work in the winter months .or sell all the incubators and just sell Johnson's stock . i realey dont no whot to do we have a 100 hens mixt everey month from Johnson's we sell the eggs order and that's it Piggotts Poultry Breeders  have oferd 500 chicks at £1 each sext all bred in france the onley thing on the farm  that dosent make money is the poultrey and i would like some advice on this .

[in the hills]

Sorry, no idea how to make chickens pay. 


I suppose it can be done. So are you selling 100 pullets per month that you have bought in and grown on?
Someone locally breeds and sells rare breed poultry and hybrids (I think he buys these as day olds and grows on) and reckons he can make a comfortable living from them. He sells them from home and also once a month at the local agri. shop. Charges £15 for POL pullet.


My father paid £7 each for Shaws Wyandottes and RIRs. That was for growers though and was given the cockerels.

[Victorian Farmer]

they sell in a couple off weeks stock brought in from France etc feed prices are half to whot we pay .medicated chick crumbs £11 in France 5 euro half.

[in the hills]

VF - Do you mean that Shaws birds are reared in France and then kept here in the UK for a couple of weeks before being sold to the public?


My father saw some dark egg layers advertised by Piggotts in a feature in Smallholder Magazine. Are they reared in France and shipped over here as growers?


Or have I misunderstood? 

[Victorian Farmer]

there is picots burrey ford brown some black rocks done in France not Shaw's