Plus, I know what I really want isn't seedlings, but animals. Some chickens, two pigs, and Carla wants a pair of alpacas. But as renters, our landlord might look down upon me setting up a coop on our small side of the duplex lawn, to say nothing of rooting hogs. That's my guess.
So now I'm just planning. The more I learn now, the quicker I'll be able to set up shop when the opportunity does arise for chicks and sows. For my chickens, I think I've got my first three breeds figured out:
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Jumbo Cornish X Rocks: This is a standard meat bird, and the breed I would buy live from a neighbor in our last house. It produces meat quickly and is ready for the oven in 6-8 weeks. For me, this is the control bird. It's been bred to be easy to grow, convert feed into meat quickly, and is a passive animal.
Barred Rocks: This is another heavy breed, but will also produce a small amount of eggs. Along with the Jumbo Cornish, I
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Red Cap: And so this is the extreme end of my chickens, the variable breed. The Red Cap is a heritage breed chicken, and would take on weight the slowest. It would also produce a small amount of eggs, like the Barred Rock. They can get a little feisty, but they're still a normally good-tempered bird. It's interesting, the closer you get to the original wild animal, the more aggressive the birds can become. Old English Game Birds, which are actually a chicken, are almost like wild chickens that live off the land. These Red Caps are more domesticated, but I wanted to try something a bit more peculiar. Plus they have this big, wobbly cockscomb, which might look ugly to some, but I just keep thinking about it cooked up as a crispy fritter. I know this goes against what I said about frost-bitten birds in the last paragraph, so I know I'd probably have to get these birds early in the year, perhaps May, so they can grow through the spring and summer.
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2 comments :
I have found my barred rocks to be excellent egg layers, 4-6 per week for the first 3 years, all seasons (with extra light) Now, in their 4th year, I believe they are done.
Leslie
I forgot you had your own chickens - that's a good amount of eggs!
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