Over the a long time, my husband Jae and I’ve raised roughly two dozen breeds and sorts of chickens. We’ve raised bantams and massive hen, display birds and layers, heritage birds and hybrids. Lots of the breeds we raised have been sparsely selected after an excessive amount of analysis: on-line, in reference books, and by means of chatting with different poultry farmers. From time to time, on the other hand, obtaining a brand new breed was once a direct match. We both noticed a breed at a display and simply needed to have it or we have been known as by means of our native farm-supply retailer to rescue chicks who have been faring poorly.
This ultimate quartet of breeds explores surprising additions that made their approach into our flocks.
Rhode Island Pink
A trio of two-week-old Rhode Island Pink (RIR) chicks joined our farm when I won a choice from our farm-supply retailer. The 3 small children have been the remaining peeps from that specific hatchery cargo, and the more recent arrivals have been bodily attacking those older hatchlings.
The deficient little issues have been Blu Koted and depressing once I picked them up. They spent the primary day huddled in combination within the nook in their brooder, no longer even coming near the feeder or waterer. It took a large number of TLC to get them to after all really feel secure sufficient to start out exploring their new house.
Via the tip in their 2nd week with us, you’d by no means have identified they’d been bullied. Except our Orpingtons, I’ve by no means noticed this sort of truly glad breed of birds. The RIRs have been cheerfully chatty and actively performed with every different. We needed to give them little bins during which they performed cover and search and napped in combination.
As they grew older, the RIRs retained their good-natured inclinations. They have been virtually doglike with their affection. The trio ultimately proclaimed themselves to be two pullets and a cockerel, which ended in a bit heartache for me as a result of we didn’t have room for any other chicken.
Thankfully I discovered a close-by 4-H circle of relatives searching for a showmanship fowl for his or her daughter. Pink Boy (no longer an overly authentic title, I do know) took to the younger lady in no time when she and her oldsters got here to look him. Inside of mins, she was once cuddling and cooing to him, and Pink Boy by no means truly seemed again.
As for Lynn and Vanessa, the 2 RIR pullets, they eagerly merged with our Orpington flock, the place they become the “fashionable women”—our Orps all sought after to be their buddies. Helen and Vanessa become prolific layers, generating 4 to 5 light-brown eggs a week. Neither had any well being or climate problems, and so they each lived to be 7 years outdated.
Slightly pleasure went out of the Orpington flock when those cheerful chickens handed on. I’m no longer certain why we by no means were given extra RIRs, given our very sure enjoy with them.
Golden Comet
Sometimes called a Cinnamon Queen or a Pink Superstar, the Golden Comet is a shocking cinnamon-gold rooster and one of the fashionable hybrid yard birds in The usa. Once we first met Goldie, on the other hand, she was once anything else however gorgeous.
I had as soon as once more gotten a choice from our farm-supply retailer that one in all their older chicks wanted rescuing. Jae and I grabbed a cardboard field and headed out, handiest to search out this deficient child cowering on best of the inventory tank’s waterer, maximum of her down plucked out by means of the more youthful chicks.
As soon as house, we sparsely handled Goldie’s accidents, then set her inside of a comfy brooder with a luxurious bunny for corporate. After a couple of days, Goldie made the transfer from the highest of the waterer to the bunny. I skilled a second of panic once I got here throughout an empty brooder, handiest to search out Goldie snuggled safely below the bunny’s arm.
Goldie’s courting together with her bunny lasted her whole existence.
As an older pullet, she additionally joined our Orpington flock and, whilst she was once candy and were given at the side of the opposite birds, there was once at all times some hesitancy, as though she remembered the abuse she sustained in her earliest days. Goldie ended up making two shut Orpington buddies, with whom she spent her days. At evening, she slept in one of the most nest bins, snuggled up together with her bunny.
Goldie was once one of the most highest layers we ever had, generating between 5 and 6 huge brown eggs a week. She by no means exhibited any tendency against broodiness and, apparently, she by no means laid within the nestbox the place her bunny lived. She was once at all times candy with us, even with my boys after they have been preschoolers. If we had no longer outlined ourselves as a heritage farm, I should not have minded having extra Golden Comets … so long as the chicks had quite a few room in order no longer to pick out on every different.
Barred Plymouth Rock
Just like the RIRs and Goldie the Golden Comet, our Barred Plymouth Rocks have been rescued from an area feed retailer, the place they have been the remaining Barred Rocks amidst a sea of Wyandotte chicks. Understanding they have been with Wyandottes most likely spurred us to retrieve this chick quartet abruptly, as we had simply bought off our Wyandotte flock the former 12 months.
The Barred Rock small children weren’t victimized in the best way our different rescues were. They weren’t injured or lacking any down. As an alternative, the Wyandotte crowd was once fighting the Barred Rocks from gaining access to the feeder and waterer, and the shop handiest had such a lot of brooders. House they got here!
From the beginning, the Barred Rocks settled in fortunately, sound asleep chick-carpet taste and apparently investigating their brooder. They have been very inquisitive birds from the get move, whilst adults. If we positioned anything else—a suet cake, a wedge of cabbage, a block of seeds—of their brooder or coop, the Barred Rocks will be the first ones to way, even earlier than our chicken. The Orpington hens would at all times look forward to the all-clear from the Barred Rocks earlier than inching nearer to regardless of the thriller deal with may well be.
Even though they have been by no means bossy, in addition they weren’t overly social with the opposite birds, who prefer to stay to themselves or hang around with us if we have been out of doors. They laid a median of 3 to 4 huge brown eggs a week and every now and then went broody, although nowhere to the level that the Orpingtons, Cochins and Silkies did.
They have been lovable chicks, with their creamy head dots and smoky black fluff, and much more pretty as adults, with their trademark black barring. They didn’t reside previous 4 years outdated, which may well be a mirrored image on their being hatchery birds as opposed to breeder birds. I’d name them your fundamental yard chickens, nice for eggs and with a good disposition.
Serama
I fell in love with the Serama rooster breed (pictured above) the moment I set eyes on them. It was once at a small poultry exhibition in Northern Michigan. I’d made certain my display birds have been settled in, then went to discover the remainder of the display ground.
The Serama exhibitor—she was once the one one—had a desk off to at least one facet of the corridor, with cages extra suited for canaries in dimension than to chickens. Inside of every cage have been the tiniest chickens I’d ever noticed, every natural perfection.
The Serama roosters had a proud, puffed chest; upright carriage; downward wings; and tiny unmarried combs. The hens displayed shiny eyes, teeny wattles and tidy tails.
When the weekend was once accomplished, I went house with a stupendous black and white pair. Orion and Oreo have been the primary of many Serama chickens lovingly raised and hatched by means of us.
Purely decorative, the Serama is the smallest identified rooster breed, with grownup men generally weighing in at not up to a pound and grownup women even much less.
As a result of their dimension, they aren’t chilly hardy. We constructed heated brooders in our pole barn, the place they cozily handed the chilly months. Seramas love being out of doors, on the other hand, so we additionally constructed them a rooster tractor inside of which they might safely benefit from the sunshine, grass and recent air.
Whilst superb as exhibition birds, Seramas additionally make superb family pets. They in reality love interacting with their people, will fortunately spend hours perched on their proprietor’s shoulder or at the again of a chair or sofa, and may also be contentedly housed in a parrot cage.
Our Serama chickens at all times paired up as juveniles and remained mated for existence. The hens laid neatly, averaging roughly 4 eggs a week—however take into accout that 4 Serama eggs equivalent one huge usual rooster egg.
Serama hens will move broody, and this can be a pride to look at them set eggs and lift their younger, as a result of Seramas are for sure the chattiest breed in life. Hens generally tend to stay a continuing monologue going with their eggs and chicks.
Chicks hatch at about 16 days, 5 days previous than different rooster breeds. The juveniles in a similar way change into absolutely feathered and achieve adulthood forward of different breeds. I adored our Serama flock, in spite of the particular allowances important as a result of their dimension and body. And even if my husband, Jae, deems them “impractical,” Seramas rank in my best six rooster breeds at the side of Orpingtons, Silkies, Cochins, Ameraucanas and Polish.