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Our poultry breeds
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Heritage breeds
We decided to keep breeds which are heritage breeds and therefore not
common in Australia any longer. By keeping these birds we help to
ensure that they will continue to exist in Australia. |
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Welsummer
Welsummers are medium sized birds with a colouring that is a bit
similar to the Jungle fowl, which is the ancestor of all domestic
chickens. We like the looks of the Welsummer roosters because they
remind us of the roosters that were common in Europe when we were
children. They will lay about 160 large brown eggs per year. They are
strong and robust birds that are excellent foragers. They are not
flighty and can be handled easily. Welsummer roosters will protect their flock against predators. When
our Welsummers were attacked by three wedge-tailed eagles the rooster
fought the eagles to the end and gave the rest of the flock time to
escape into the bushes. Welsummers originate from the Netherlands and
were developed around 1900. They were bred as a dual-purpose fowl. |
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Salmon Faverolles
Salmon Faverolles are a French breed and were developed in the 1860s
in the community of Faverolles. Faverolles are quite rare in Tasmania.
We have not seen any for sale at the recent auctions at Ranelagh,
Glenorchy or Longford. Faverolles come in different colours, but we
like the standard salmon coloured birds best. Faverolles were also
bred as a dual-purpose fowl. They are average egg layers and lay
around 150 creamy coloured eggs per year. Faverolles are the clowns of
the poultry world. They have owl-like feathers in their face,
feathered legs and five toes. Faverolles are very friendly. They are
quite inquisitive and always come running up to us. They are the only
breed we have that likes to be picked up from the ground. The hens
would make ideal companions for children. The roosters are
magnificently coloured birds. Another big advantage of Faverolles is
the heavy feathering. They are hardy birds and they are supposed to
adapt well to Tasmania’s cold and wet winters. Faverolles hens will
go broody and make very good mothers. |
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Minorca
We have a stall at Hobart’s Salamanca Market and are licensed to
sell eggs. We want to sell “heritage eggs”: eggs that come from
traditional breeds, not from commercial hybrids. Eggs for sale to the
public need to be infertile eggs that come from a layer flock without
a rooster. We started looking for a heritage breed that is a very good
layer. We heard that Minorcas would be the ideal breed for this
purpose. They are
supposed to lay more than 200 large white eggs
per year. We got fertile eggs from a Minorca breeder in Armidale and
we bought a breeding trio and two pullets in Northern Tasmania. Our
Minorcas are growing into very impressive birds and we are very happy
with our decision. Minorcas are a Mediterranean breed. Other
Mediterranean breeds are Leghorns, Anconas and Andalusians.
Minorcas were first brought to England in the 1830s. They are
light birds and they were kept as egg layers rather than for their
meat. They are long legged and can be flighty and nervous. They are
not ideal birds to keep around children, because they are easily
scared and can panic. Minorcas will not go broody. They have
black-blue feathering, a big comb and large
white earlobes. They are more prone to suffering from the cold than
heavier breeds, but our birds come from the highlands of NSW and from
Tasmania and they are used to the cold winter weather. We really enjoy
the looks of these stately black birds that carry themselves
with such grace. We have not found our Minorcas to be overly flighty
or easily scared, but they always have a lot of room to move. We would
not suggest to keep them in a small confined area. |
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New Hampshire
New Hampshires are an American breed with reddish-brown
colouring. They were developed in the United States and first
officially recognised as a breed in 1935. We do not intend to breed
New Hampshires ourselves. They are readily available in Tasmania.
They were developed as a dual-purpose breed and lay light brown
eggs. They will go broody. They have a good reputation as meat
chickens in the USA, but the New Hampshires we usually see in Tasmania
seem to be smaller and more suited to be kept as egg layers. Our New
Hampshires are very friendly and inquisitive birds. We keep New
Hampshires as part of our heritage egg laying flock. |
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Light Sussex
Another breed that is readily available in Tasmania and is gentle and
docile are the Light Sussex. They are well adapted to Tasmania’s
cold climate and are heavy fowl. Because of their size they need more
food per bird. They are good egg layers. We choose to keep a few Light
Sussex hens because of their reputation as very good mothers. Rather
than rely on our incubators we will try to let the Light Sussex hens
look after fertile eggs from our Welsummers and Minorcas. Light Sussex
are quiet birds and easily contained. We do not intend to breed Light
Sussex ourselves. |
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Plymouth
Rock
We also keep a few Plymouth Rock hens. Plymouth Rocks are an American
breed and were first exhibited there in 1869. Plymouth Rocks became
extremely popular in the United States because of their hardiness and
excellent qualities as egg layers and meat birds. They are a lot less
common these days. Plymouth
Rocks are gentle giants that lay large pinkish-brown eggs. They make
good broody hens and mothers. They are long-lived with a very hearty
appetite. Plymouth Rocks are quiet and make
very good companions. We have a special reason for keeping a few
Plymouth Rock hens. We want to cross them with a Welsummer rooster to
breed table birds. An autosexing breed named “Welbar” was
developed in the 1940s in the UK by using Welsummer roosters and
Plymouth Rock hens. Autosexing breeds are not hybrids. To breed a
hybrid a pure rooster and a pure hen need to be crossed. The traits of
hybrids are not stable and as in the case of the ISA Brown one needs
the original parent stock to breed more birds with the same traits.
Welbars -like other autosexing breeds- are a stable breed with fixed
traits such as any other breed. The autosexing breeds became
recognized breeds in the UK in the 1940s. Welbars combine the best
traits of Welsummers and Plymouth Rocks and autosexing would allow us
to tell the gender of day-old chickens. We would keep the males and
raise them as table birds and sell the females when they are still
young. |
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