The Fat Ewe Farm and Bed and Breakfast
The Fat Ewe Farm and Moose Hills Inn
Organic Permaculture Farmin' for
the Lazy Ewes
  • The Fat Ewe Farm
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • The Fat Ewe Farm Store
  • Livestock Breeds (click here to see all the breeds)
    • Angora goats
    • Icelandic Sheep
    • Jacob sheep
    • Old English Southdown Babydoll Sheep >
      • Babydoll Sheep on the Fat Ewe Farm
  • Contact Us
    • Photo Gallery (click here for some awesome photos or watch the slideshow) >
      • Video Slide Show
    • Phone Number
    • Map
  • Sale Barn
  • Recipes From the Fat Ewe
    • Old Stuff
  • How Much Meat Do You Get?
  • Ukrainian Easter Eggs
  • Moose Hills Inn

What I Have Learned About Chickens

7/17/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
the chickens that are still the best foragers are not even the white Chantecler/Ameraucana crosses, but the pure Ameraucanas and of course, the bantams.
Picture
Picture
the girl facing the camera shows the Chantecler body style and sports the Ameraucana muff. She will likely lay blue eggs.
PictureThe Chantecler rooster, a nice large specimen of the breed.
When I first became a farmer in 2011, I had a bird phobia, in fact, one so bad that the mere flutter of tiny wings sent me into a sheer panic for fear of death. When I was only three, I went into my aunt's chicken coop to see the babies chicks. The rooster spurred me and the hen protected her babies by coming at me and if anyone has been around a mamma hen, they can be vicious. This went on for at least fifteen to twenty minutes, with me screaming the whole time. At some point some one heard me and my mother and aunt came to rescue me, but for the next twenty minutes they could not settle me down. I was bloody and traumatized for life. 

But, I was determined to beat this phobia. I bought a budgie bird for my mother when I was a teenager and could not put my hand in the cage. If the bird was out to fly, I was out of the room like a flash. It did not work. 

What did help, finally, was when I got the first lot of just hatched chicks and one had a syndrome which twists the head and makes the chicken go backwards in circles. I was determined to save it, though that meant I had to pick it up to dropper feed it. I dressed in coveralls, hat and gloves, absolute arsenal for the chick, deathly afraid to pick it up even wearing heavy leather gloves. But, its life depending on me doing so, and I steeled my will and dropper fed this creature several times a day. Then one day, it was standing upright and peeping. I had done it with the grace of the Creator. And the chick had saved me too, because I was not as afraid as before. 

As time progressed, I got more and more comfortable around the birds, chickens not as much as ducks because chickens could fly and the wing flapping sent me into the state of terror. Now, I have chickens, ducks, geese, guinea hens and turkeys. I can go in the coop, pick up the birds and I am not in the least afraid, except when I have to be in a closed coop catching them and they fly. Then the little hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and I breathe heavily and still feel as though I am going to die. I have caught adult geese and caged them, turkeys of all stages and chickens, ducks and ducklings and all except the guineas who do not like to be caught. 

What I have learned about chickens is they are like people. Some are better than others. Some breeds are better but within each breed, there are huge differences too, just as within any race, the individuals are all different. First I had no idea about chickens, so tried a lot of breeds, just two or three of each. Some ate too much and were too lazy, others were flighty and unapproachable, and some fared extremely poorly in our bitterly cold winters. Finally, for this climate and my purposes, I settled on two main breeds, Chateclers, both white and partridge coloured, and Ameraucanas. The Ameraucanas I got were coloured blue, black and spotted, called splash, though I much preferred the Wheaten variety which look just like the rooster on the Corn Flakes box, only prettier. The Chanteclers are super winter hearty being developed in Quebec and Alberta, and the Ameraucanas are the best forager birds I have experienced. 

My aim then was to create Chatecaunas, the cross between the two breeds, so the birds would be better foragers and convert their food better than the fat lazy breeds, and bigger, stronger, healthy birds, since the roosters are put in the freezer each fall. This is the first year for the Cantecaunas and they are beautiful. Most are white, but some are blue, black or splash coloured and they are friendly and docile, but out to forage as soon as the sun is up. The egg laying will be telltale in the spring next year, unless they begin to lay before winter and lay throughout the winter. 

I am seeking a special Ameraucana rooster and another Chantelcer rooster for the next breeding of the birds. The adult hens will be put with the new roosters to produce another strain of the Chantecaunas and the first strain will be bred to the second strain to produce the first true Chantecauna birds. The best of the bunch will be selected for breeding to the finest rooster produced by the first breeding. Of course they will have to separated for this breeding. 

So, what I have learned about chickens is that they are not all the same. Each person must find the breed that suits them the best according to the needs they have. If the birds are to be confined to a coop and covered run, the foraging ability is not useful. If they want big fat lazy chickens because they like to eat big fat chickens that are more tender because they have been confined and do not use their muscles, then the breeds they choose would reflect that choice. Some just like pretty feathers, do not even eat the chickens or the eggs, and keep the birds in small cages so they remain undamaged and pristine. Though I do not condone showing birds or any animals, there are breeds for that too. 

The final aspect for me about chickens are the eggs. I eat duck eggs primarily, which are three times more nutritious than chicken eggs, so the eggs are a by product of keeping the birds. The birds are fed organic wheat and oats in the summer, with added seeds and vegetables in the winter. They forage from sun up to sun down in the entire barnyard, through the goat, sheep, llama, rabbit and alpaca manures and spent hay and eat tons of grass. The mosquito and fly populations in the yard are minimal, but step out to the pasture and clouds of them come to eat you alive. So, the birds do the job they are here for well, and the eggs, though they are some of the best in this area, do not sell. People here could care less about their food being organic and clean, and will only pay 2 or 3 dollars for a dozen eggs, but will pay 5 or 6 dollars for an iced coffee from Tim Horton's or a hundred dollars for alcohol without batting an eye. So, I give some eggs away and the feed some back to the animals and compost the rest. The food bank is not allowed to accept farm eggs, sad to say, so they are thrown out. 

Chickens are valuable on farms and should be kept free range. My dogs, bless each and every one of the seven, keep the chickens safe from predators so they can do their jobs and do not have to be kept in cages or runs and confined. Chickens should also be kept in the cities, three hens or so in movable cages with no bottoms and an insulated sleeping compartment. They will eat bugs, grass and fertilize as well as provide a family with fresh eggs, no rooster required. Before purchasing chickens, I urge people to ask themselves why they want them and what their purpose will be so they can select the proper breed. If they are to be confined, there are breeds that bear confinement without adieu, where others would be unhappy and nearly die without the freedom to roam. 

I almost forgot about the setting ability. Many breeds are not good setters, because they have been bred for other traits. That is why I have included Silkies and Bantams in my mix. They will hatch a clutch of eggs per year. Some lines of Ameraucanas and Chanteclers will also sit on a nest. I have one such hen who has 12 little white Chantecaunas running around with her. Having a mother hen raise the chicks is the most ideal, dispensing with heat lamps, brooders, chick feed and time. The chicks the mother hen raises are not fed anything special on this farm, nor are they confined. She takes them around and teaches them what to eat and also provides the best brooder, her warm breast, to keep them toasty and safe. The only problem is the chicks are wild and will not be calm in the coop, if they go there at all. One year, the hen raised brood settled under the coop and eventually froze to death in the winter. Last year, we caught the hen raised brood in the fall and locked them in the coop for a week to teach them where they should rest in winter and that worked, so it might have to happen again. Right now, there are 6 ducks sitting on nests and one guinea sitting on 8 Muscovy eggs. I don't know if the guinea hen will mother the ducklings if she hatches them at all. Time will tell. 

When looking for chickens, make a list of the traits desired, the type of housing offered (confined or free) and the end result wished for (eggs or meat) and then find a breed that is most suitable. Happy Farming with chickens! The Fat Ewe Farm would not be without them.

1 Comment
Moab
7/17/2014 06:46:05 am


I like you at a very young age had a traumatic experience with farm fowl. My father after returning from WW 11 went into business with my maternal grandfather raising turkeys on about 35 acres on the out skirts of Edmonton. I don`t know how many birds were in the flock but one day when it was raining fairly heavy I dawned my favorite red rain slicker and marched right into the field with them.

Wrong thing to do with dumb turkeys; they proceeded to attach me but fortunately my mother and grand mother could hear the commotion and rescued me otherwise I would have been a goner.

I don`t think I have been very partial to chickens, ducks, geese or turkeys except I absolutely love roasted fowl of any kind and certainly eat more than my share of eggs. Thank you lord for all those dedicated farmers out there providing such valuable and tasty morsels.
Moab

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Airstream Land Yacht 1964
    Alpacas
    Alpine Goats
    Ameraucana Chickens
    American Buff Geese
    Ancona Ducks
    Angora Goats
    Angora Goats
    Angora Rabbits.
    Babydoll Southdown Sheep
    Babydoll Southdown Sheep
    Bed And Breakfast
    Berkshire Pigs
    Blue Faced Leicester Sheep
    Blue Swedish Ducks
    Boer Goats
    Border Collie
    Border Collie
    Bronze Turkey Standard
    Bronze Turkey (Standard)
    Canadian Horses
    Canadian Horses
    Cats
    Chickens
    Cotswold Sheep
    Crafts And Hobbies
    Cream Legbar Chickens
    Dorset Sheep
    Ducks
    Embden Geese
    E'st A Laine Merino Sheep
    Farm Life
    Farm Life
    Farm Store
    Finnsheep
    Flemish Giant Rabbit
    Flowers
    French Lop Rabbit
    Galloway Cattles
    Gardening
    Gotland Sheep
    Guinea Fowl
    Herbs
    Holstein Steer
    Icelandic Sheep
    Jacob Sheep
    Japanese Bantam Chickens
    Jersey Cow
    Kahaki Campbell Ducks
    Karakul Sheep
    Kiko Goats
    Kilo Highland Cows
    Light Sussex Chicken
    Livestock Guardian Dogs
    Livestock Guardian Dogs
    Maremma Sheepdogs
    Maremma Sheepdogs
    Meishan Pigs
    Miniature Nigerian Dwarf Goats
    Moose Hills Inn
    Muscovy Ducks
    Norwegian Red Dairy Cow
    Nubian Goats
    Nygora Goat
    Ossabaw Hogs
    Partidge Chantecler Chickens
    Pekin Ducks
    Permaculture
    Pied Guinea Fowl
    Polish/Ameraucana Bantam Cross Chickens
    Polled Dorset Sheep
    Potbelly Pigs
    Pygmy Goats
    Recipes
    Rigit Galloway Cows.
    Romanov Sheep
    Romney Sheep
    Rouen Ducks
    Saddleback Pomeranican Geese
    Saxony Ducks
    Sebastopol Geese
    Sheep And Goats
    Shetland Sheep
    Silver Spangled Hamburg Chicken
    Soap And Hand Made Cosmetics
    Standard Jack Donkey
    Sustainability
    Swiss Blackneck Goats
    The Llamas
    The Llamas
    Toulouse Geese
    Tunis Sheep
    White Chantecler Chickens
    White Danish Geese
    Wool

    Author

    Fluffy writes daily about the experiences on the farm and with the bed and breakfast patrons. 

    Archives

    October 2020
    September 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    view old blog site

    RSS Feed

Contact Us
Home

The Fat Ewe Farm 

All text and photos are the sole property of The Fat Ewe Farm  and may not be used without written permission.