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source for quality heirloom organic chickens

1K views 17 replies 6 participants last post by  jp_over 
#1 ·
Friends,

Forgive my ignorance but I'm here to learn. In the next 2-3 years we'll be starting our homestead and will need to procure some heirloom laying chickens. Nothing big, just supporting the family at first and then perhaps expanding out to extended family and friends.

Are there any reputable companies that folks generally use? We'll be located vicinity Longview, TX and don't mind driving several hours for quality birds. Certainly mail order is OK too.

Thanks!

Joe
 
G
#2 ·
Well, for starters, have you decided what breed or breeds you want?

If you want actual, old timey strains of heritage breeds, you're not going to find them at a hatchery. Hatcheries breed for higher production and smaller size. They focus on the traits that will up their profit margin, and lose the traits that the breed was originally known for.

Once you decide on a breed, you can search facebook and find groups for that breed. From there, you can learn more about the breed, and you can find reputable breeders to get your start from.
 
#3 ·
If you want actual, old timey strains of heritage breeds, you're not going to find them at a hatchery.
There are many old time varieties available from several commercial hatcheries. They generally ship chicks long distances.
I wasn't clear if the desire was to buy adult birds, quantities desired and, as you questioned, what breed.
Heirloom is a poorly defined word, means different things to different people. I might think of Barred Rock as a traditional breed from the olden days. That's heritage to me. To others some rare odd ball breed defines heritage.
https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/rare_and_unusual_breeds.html
 
#4 ·
ladycat - thanks, I'm still figuring out which breeds would be best suited for us. I thought that perhaps there were 2 or 3 popular laying breeds that folks generally used. I'm really starting from zero knowledge! :)

haypoint - my apologies for not being more clear. My plan is to purchase them as chicks and then raise them. By heirloom, I mean perhaps Rhode Island Red or similar. We're not looking for rare and unusual, but rather hardy birds (from a reputable seller) that will do well in East Texas as free-rangers.
 
#5 ·
#7 ·
It is my experience that the vast majority of birds from commercial hatcheries, while very nice birds, are nothing like the birds of the same breed that you would get from a breeder. True, "breeders" do supply eggs to hatcheries sometimes, but are those their top lot birds? It almost seems to me that some hatchery birds have been cut with leghorn or something to boost egg production, or that they are all one homogenized strain with different true-breeding color sports. I've noticed the hatchery birds have better egg production (which would fit well in a hatchery business model), smaller size, earlier maturity, and way less longevity than their individually bred counterparts. Sometimes they lack certain idiosyncrasies that are the hallmark of a specific breed. Since chickens have no registration or pedigree system commonly in place, most of them are basically mutts anyway, so it's not really worth getting too worked up about, but some people do enjoy uniquely bred birds.
 
#8 ·
It is my experience that the vast majority of birds from commercial hatcheries, while very nice birds, are nothing like the birds of the same breed that you would get from a breeder. True, "breeders" do supply eggs to hatcheries sometimes, but are those their top lot birds? It almost seems to me that some hatchery birds have been cut with leghorn or something to boost egg production, or that they are all one homogenized strain with different true-breeding color sports. I've noticed the hatchery birds have better egg production (which would fit well in a hatchery business model), smaller size, earlier maturity, and way less longevity than their individually bred counterparts. Sometimes they lack certain idiosyncrasies that are the hallmark of a specific breed. Since chickens have no registration or pedigree system commonly in place, most of them are basically mutts anyway, so it's not really worth getting too worked up about, but some people do enjoy uniquely bred birds.
Barnbilder - Thanks for your post - what you wrote (bold & italicized) most closely articulates my concerns. Since we want birds that are the most hardy with a good balance of egg/meat production, I think we'll just have to go with a "breeder".

Since I'm just learning about all this, I didn't realize that, as with dogs and other animals, there are specialty breeders who strive for excellence/improvement in the breed.

I guess my next steps will be to decide upon the breeds and then start searching for the breeders. RIR and Barred Plymouth Rock are coming up at the top of my list but I've heard the RIR line has been greatly diluted and it's tough to find reputable sources.
 
#9 ·
In the Chicken world if the bird looks like the breed it is that breed. Genes and purity do not matter in most of the birds you'll find. Where blood starts to really matter would be with Game Fowl and old lines of a certain breed.

If you like the RIR, then find some poultry shows around you and go take a look at them. You might be able to bring some home with you, you will most likely make some good contacts, you most certainly will learn a bit about the show/breeder end of things.

If meat is a concern, look at New Hampshires. They ar efast maturing so you can butcher them at a younger age, which is means more tender meat. If you like to fry or grill chicken a slower growing breed will do you no good because after 20 weeks or so it becomes too tough for high heat cooking.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I'd also suggest keeping the Murray McMurray site book marked, or get a paper catalog from them and keep it handy. They are a good reference/starting point for figuring out what type of chicken you want to start with. Also a pretty good hatchery, though you may want to order from someplace closer to home (MMc is in Iowa as are quite a few).

The whole "heirloom" terminology thing is a sticky swamp - and more or less meaningless. If you are just interested in layers, you can't beat a Production Red, the sex-linked layers or plain old Leghorns for economy. If you want more traditional breeds, Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds and such make nice layers, but not as economical (they eat more feed for fewer eggs). Right now, I have a broiler-version take-off on White Rocks, some Cuckoo Marans, Ameraucanas and home raised hybrids. Feel free to mix it up. Chickens aren't "forever", and it's best to turn the flock over every two years or so anyway, for production sake. Some of us like to add a few new pullets every spring because they generally lay well through their first winter, while 2 year old hens often do not.

Just a couple ideas. Take some time with the catalog and have fun.
 
#11 ·
As far as meat goes, there's usually two trains of thought. Some like to eat cull roosters and birds of supposed "dual purpose" breeds. Problem is, they take a lot longer to get to any kind of size, and the older a meat bird is, the harder they are to clean and the tougher and stringier the meat. If you go much past 16 weeks, they will be quite chewy, but at 16 weeks, they're still not very big.

A lot of us have thrown up our hands and go for the tasty, tender, fast growing broilers. You can't kick on an 8lb processed table-friendly bird at 8 weeks. I've been keeping chickens since I was a kid, and am retired now. My broiler guys never cease to amaze me, and amaze my table guests. Yummmm.
 
#13 ·
Alder gives good advice. I like Leghorns and sexlinks for eggs. They are very efficient. If you don't mind a smaller carcass of tasty chicken, Leghorns mature quickly. Some of the strains are fairly plump by 16 weeks, but on a smaller bird. I've actually taken a liking to our leghorns as a dual purpose, knowing I need to cook two of them instead of one chicken from the store. You could also hatch your own chicks each spring and breed them in a direction that you want. A flock of Leghorns for eggs and meat, and a group of 12 cornishX will give you plenty of chicken for different purposes on the cheap.

I also deal with thousands of Cornish X everyday on a pastured poultry farm. I enjoy eating them to.
 
#14 ·
sandhill preservation has heritage breeds of poultry.
they are not your traditional hatchery. if you go to their site, and
like what they have, read their directions, and understand them.
they are in iowa. glenn drowns is a high school science teacher.
he and is wife support, and sell heirloom seeds, and heritage poultry.
sandhillpreservation.com is the website.


keith
 
#17 ·
The longevity is the big thing. Yes, the hatchery birds will lay more eggs the first year and a half. The next five they don't do so hot. Some people don't want to get chicks every year. Some people like to have a hen that lays in appropriate places, knows how to not get on anyone's bad side, and otherwise tickles the fancy of her owner, and enjoy that hen for more than a season.

The size is the next thing with the hatchery birds. There are all kind of reasons why size is irrelevant, but some people like big birds.
 
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