Want to raise wimp ? From chicken breeds to showing chickens , you ’ll want to read this first .
When “ chicken ” add up to mind , most the great unwashed think of cheap nutrient , readily available at the grocery store or the truehearted - food eating place . But it has n’t always been that way .
Although chicken was common in farm country , to urban house physician during the nineteenth and former twentieth century , chicken was an expensive good . In fact , a campaign slogan used by Herbert Hoover in 1928 to emphasize coming prosperity was “ a crybaby in every mess . ”
Although chicken is no longer considered a fineness , it ’s still important , with each American consuming almost 100 pounds of Gallus gallus core and 250 eggs each year .
Government analysts judge that there are 10 billion crybaby in the world at any give time — more than one for every man , woman and minor .
Many of these birds are raised in crowd together , industrial system and are regularly feed development hormones , antibiotics and high tier of chlorine in their urine .
While this production system has result in readily available and inexpensive essence , the good , honest-to-god - fashioned taste of poulet — like Grandpa raised — has been sacrifice .
Since chickens are easy to bring up ( even in a little backyard ) , and are just sheer fun to have around , they make an ideal campaigner for increasing your solid food self - adequacy . And , if you have more distance and are looking for a small - scale commercial enterprise , poulet may be just the thing . good of all , you may taste chicken that will remind you of Grandpa ’s , and break through open an egg with a beautiful , gold egg yolk that talk of sunniness and fresh atmosphere .
Domestication of Chickens
Chickens(Gallus gallus)are believed to have been domesticise from the red jungle fowl of India and Southeast Asia . anthropologist believe they were first domesticated about 4,000 class ago . Because of their minuscule size , chickens were often taken on ship by other explorers , and first came to North America with the Spaniards during the 1500s .
In the 1840s and 1850s , cover domestic fowl ( chickens , duck , geese and dud ) for specific traits changed from a haphazard affair to a science . Breed societies start organize , and in 1873 , the American Poultry Association ( APA ) was establish to promote the raising , fosterage , exhibition and judging of poultry . No one get laid just how many breeds there are around the world today , but the APA name over 100 that are raised in the United States .
Finding the Perfect Chicken Breed
Finding the unadulterated chicken breed depend on your goal for your slew : nitty-gritty , eggs or showing .
The numberless strain that are available today can be split into two categories , free-base on size - turgid breed and bantam breeds . Bantams typically weigh only a pound sign or two , and can be a little rendering of a large breed ( also cognise as a toy ) , or a bird that has no large counterpart ( usually refer to as a “ true bantam ” ) . Bantams are fun , but do n’t grow much meat , and their eggs are quite little — often weighing about one half that of a large egg from the grocery storage .
There are also four production category : centre birds ( raised for quick increment and large tit ) ; testis birdie ( sleep with for their fertile egg product ) ; two-fold - intention birds ( well all - around providers of both meat and eggs ) ; and ornamental bird ( keep on primarily for exhibition ) . In plus to these categories , you may listen chicken fancier refer to breeds based on their “ class ” within the showworld . There are 11 classes in full , such as American , English or Mediterranean for the magnanimous breed , and Game Bantam , Single Comb Clean Legged or Feather Legged for the bantam breed .
The term “ miscellany ” advert to one breed that exhibit two or more decided trait , yet maintains all the other characteristics of the breed . Jersey Giants are a good model of a breed that comes in two diversity , a ashen variety that has all white feather , and a dim variety that has — you bugger off it — all black feathers . The Wyandottes have nine varieties , ground on color and convention . Rhode Island Reds have two varieties , found not on coloration , but on comb configuration .
Heritage breeds are those that are no longer used in high - saturation , industrial USDA . Many of these breed were of major economical importance not too long ago , and still have significant characteristics that should n’t be exterminate from the gene puddle . Characteristics like hardiness , ability to forage , disease underground and flavor may be especially of import for small producers .
Meat Breeds of Chicken
Rapidly growing breeds are known for meat production . They have been bred for a large , meaty breast and swooning - coloured skin and feathers ( which make for a carcass that is wanton to pluck clear ) .
Meat birds are classified base on their sizing upon butcher : Rock / Cornish hen ( sometimes call game hen ) are butchered between four- to six - week sometime , and librate between one and two pounds . The most rough-cut butcher group , broilers , weigh four to five pounds when slaughter , which is in the main around 10 to 12 weeks old , and can be of either sex . Roasters , as the name implies , are the first size birds intended for roasting whole . These are heavy birds , typically about seven pounds and four to five month old . The capon is a special social class of roaster ; whereas the world-wide roasters can be either manful or distaff , capons are de - sexed males that are allowed to grow anywhere from five to eight months .
Most commercial-grade - broiler process multiply Rock - Cornish crossbreed . These are the prominent hybrid in the industriousness because they spring up very quickly and convince commercial feed to meat with high efficiency .
For backyard or small - scale product , some excellent breeds to consider if broiler / roaster production is your main object glass include the Brahma , the New Hampshire , the Cornish or the Cochin .
Laying Breeds of Chickens
All hens lay eggs , but “ laying breed ” produce eggs earlier , more frequently and longer . Layers mediocre about 250 eggs per year , but top performer can lie more than 300 . They tend to have small bodies with light chest , and have high - strung personality . It seems counterintuitive , but as a formula , the stock that are know for gamey ball production are n’t very maternal . Layers wo n’t go musing ( sit on egg until they hatch ) , and if by some chance a biddy does , she does n’t seem to have a clew what to do with the doll after they think of .
In the industrial agriculture sector , most layer are from a commercial stock of whitened Leghorns . These birds begin laying egg at 18 to 22 calendar week of age . The egg at this age are small , and the youthful hens may lay one egg every three or four days . Within about 10 calendar week from when a untested biddy put down her first bollock , her egg will reach full size , and she ’ll average two eggs every three days . layer “ wear out ” after about three years , with production dropping dramatically . They simply reach an age when they do n’t have enough energy leave to continue their high product .
Regardless of case color , orchis have the same nutritional time value , though many consumers prefer brown eggs . Shell color is a breed - dependent trait , and though it is typically bloodless or brown , some breeds , like the Araucana , lay a blue - green testis , and some , like the Ancona , lay a pink - tinted egg .
Dual-purpose Chicken Breeds
Dual - purpose birds are perfect for the backyard or homestead flock . Like centre chick , they are great bodied , but they lie a reasonable number of bollock per biddy . They are usually hardy , and hens often go pondering , raise the next coevals for you ( if you keep a cock ) . Many of the dual - purpose breed are also heritage breed ; some being on the verge of experimental extinction . But the good newsworthiness is that many modest - scale leaf breeders around the country are crop to preserve these breeds .
Nancy Niero , managing director of the Clear Creek History Park in Golden , Colo. , is one such breeder . Nancy and the park staff have made a loyalty to breed Dominiques . “ The heritage breeds differentiate a majuscule narration about our past , ” she explains . “ I find it enriching to tell youngster visiting the park that Dominiques were the first American wimp , and that they played a expectant part in our land ’s history .
“ During our summer season ( the common is open Wednesday through Sunday , from mid - May through mid - October ) , we desegregate food , animals and history in a powerful substance : We have these wimp , we collect and manipulate their eggs on a wood - burning stove , but if we do n’t take tutelage of them they ’ll become extinct . Once they ’re gone , they ’re plump . ”
Although they are called dual - purpose strain , there can be conflict : Some may make slightly better meat wench ( like the New Hampshire ) , and some better egg bird ( like the Rhode Island Red ) . The Plymouth Barred Rock is an splendid all - around , worldwide - purpose bird with an easy - going personality .
Ornamental Chicken Breeds
Ornamental breeds are kept mainly for exhibition . These shuttlecock have a wide assortment of colors and patterns , ranging from substantial color to multi - coloured blueprint . The Lakenvelder has striking black and white markings ; Silkies have plumage that is soft , and almost fuzz - like ; and Frizzles have a distinctly curly - haired appearance .
Many have strange “ feather - ut , ” like the Polish and Houdans with feathers puffing out from their heads , or the Brahmas and Cochins with plumage covering their legs .
Those who keep dame for show are called fanciers , and they take showing quite in earnest . Show birds are judged on a 100 - point exfoliation that measure bod , color , pattern , coxcomb constellation , issue of toe and even the shape of the ear lobe . For each breed , the specifics are draw in The American Standard of Perfection , a book published by the American Poultry Association . The Standard is the ultimate authority for poultry fanciers and judges .
Starting a Flock
Although you may occasionally get a manufacturer who is willing to part with some fledged birds , the most common approach to initiate a mess is to purchase sidereal day - old biddy from a hatchery . you may either order directly from the hatchery , which will transport the babies ( via the mail ) right after they are born , or buy from a provender or farm supplying store that wreak with a hatchery . People are often surprised that chicks can be shipped around the state , but chicks draw the yolk of the egg into their abdomen just before birth as a intellectual nourishment source , so most new-sprung chicks go far animated .
brood chick at home is n’t difficult , but there are three thing that can make a brooding mathematical operation fail : chills , drafts or water supply . chick need to be kept quick and dry , and they take to be protect from predators ( include cats and dogs ) .
You should have a chicken area quick before bringing home your chicks . For an instant brooder for a small batch of chicks ( up to 100 ) use a redundant gillyflower - watering tank car . If you do n’t have a trim water armoured combat vehicle , create a brooder precaution by edit corrugated composition board into pieces about 12 inches mellow and then securely tape them together to form a round “ penitentiary ” with a r of about three feet . The rotund design is superior to simply using a composition board box , because there are no corners for the chicks to pile up in — and those atomic pile - ups can result in crushed chicks at the bottom .
Until birds are feather out , they have no way to manipulate their body temperature . When cover by a biddy , chicks hover under her to stick around warm , but when artificially brooded , oestrus needs to be append by another reference . A hang heat lamp with a red , infrared bulb is the best style to ply the heat the chicks need . line up the pinnacle of the lamp so that the initial temperature on the floor under it is 95 degree . Reduce the temperature by five level per week . If the biddy are n’t tender enough , they ’ll heap up and chirrup clamorously ; chicks that are too warm will pant and move as far away from the lamp as possible ; doll that are comfortable will act contented — eating , catch some Z’s and cheeping happily .
Bed the brooding pen with paper — it ’s promptly available , and easy to transfer out as it gets bemire and damp . After the chicks are two weeks honest-to-god , exchange to litter . Straw does n’t work well unless it has been finely chopped , but pinewood chips , monkey nut shells or crushed corncobs knead well .
Use a chick feeder and a chick waterer . These are cheap , pronto available , serve keep the feed and pee blank and avail keep the chicks dry . They can be purchased from hatchery or from a farm supply memory board . Commercial “ starter ration ” are also readily available and easy to apply , providing all the nutrients a chick needs .
As your birds suppurate , less diligence is required . They require sassy water and feed each Clarence Day and caparison to protect them from severe conditions and predators . A corner of a barn or service department can be made into a crybaby area , or a lowly building can be constructed for the purpose . Your county university extension agent will be able to ply plans for poulet buildings , and data on mixing your own feeds .
Whatever you desire — gist , nut , amusement or preservation — there ’s a chicken spawn out there to see it . From lowly to enceinte , plain to fancy , chickens have it all .
This clause first appear in the Summer 2002 take ofHobby Farmsmagazine .
