Breeds of Chicken
Breeds of Duck
Breeds of Geese
Laying hens
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Rearing ducks
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Eggs
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Pages collated by
Jill Bowis of
started November 1999
These pages are being made up from the wealth of practical and technical knowledge that can be found on the newsgroup. None of the topics are finished - they probably never will be - we always have something to learn. If there is something you wnat to know that is not here - get on the group and ask - they are a really friendly group and no question is too simple - and hopefully if it is complicated someone will be able to help find the answer. The group is made up from all walks of poultry keeping from 2 birds in the city to commercial egg and meat producers - and from all over the world.
These are breeds that man has produced to give higher productivity or specially selected features (such as docility for battery production). They may be related to the standard breeds but each parent stock has in the main been specially selected for many years. Most are 'patented' - the qualities cannot be reproduced simply by using the same pure breeds at home.
Many of the hybrids have started from the Rhode Island Red and mostly produce brown eggs
Hybrids developed for free range tend, in general, to be heavier and fuller feathered than those developed for battery conditions.
Egg birds
Black birds
Black
Rock - Jill's preferred free range hybrid
Bred only in Scotland but available throughout the
UK from carefully selected lines of Rhode Island Red cockerels and Barred
Plymouth Rock hens laying large brown eggs. Robust frame, tight feathering
and good carcass size allows them to withstand and produce even in the
more exposed areas of the UK.
Bovans Nova - UK - same cross as the Black Rock from different strains of parent birds, a recent introduction from Holland. They tend to be lighter than other hybrids bred for free range.
Hebdon Black - UK again a simliar cross, this hybrid has looser feathers and therefore probably less suited to exposed areas. The egg colour is meant to be slightly darker than the previous two.
in America this cross is known as the Black Sex link - the Harco Black - the Arbour Acre Black
Red birds - free range
Lohmann Brown - UK - A Rhode Island Red hybrid
from Germany, the bird has brown plumage, whitish tail feathers and a gold
circle around its neck. The eggs are lightish brown but they lay
well.
Hisex Ranger - UK -
- battery
Warren - UK
Bovans Brown -UK
Isa Brown - UK
Hubbard Isa Brown's(USA) which is a cross between
Hubbard's Gold Comet and Babcock Isa Brown.
Speckled eggs
the Speckledy - UK hybrid based
on the Maran - produces a deeper brown speckled egg to emulate that of
the Maran and Welsummer
Columbian Blacktail - UK speckled
eggs not as deep as the Speckledy but said to have higher production
in extensive systems.
Meat birds
white feathered - bred
as after plucking there are no dark shafts left on the carcass
Ross Broilers - UK
Cobb 500 - UK
Hubbard broiler - UK
Shaver Starbro - UK
red feathered - tend to
be extensively reared, slower growing, mostly grain fed and kept in forested
conditions
Label Rouge - French
Shaver Redbro - Europe & UK
ISA 657 red feathered broiler Europe & UK
I have recently order 25 of the Cornish Cross. I am not too familiar
with these birds, can someone give me some advice on what to expect?
Are you raising them as fryers? Then plan to start butchering at 6
weeks. These guys gain weight VERY FAST. They'll be at a nice weight at
6...by 8 weeks they start reaching broiler proportions.As layers...well,
they're okay. But they are awfully heavy and prone to breaking eggs inside
themselves, which leads to blowouts and death.
Also, the chicks are fairly stupid and obnoxious, compared to Reds
and Barred Rocks. We'd order 50-100 chicks each spring, most of which were
Cornish Crosses for meat, the rest were layer replacements. The layer replacements
would figure out how to roost once they were moved out of the brooder.
But we had to go out every night and put the Cornish on the roost every
night, and the little brats liked to pick at fingers, shoelaces, etc..