Heritage Poultry
Broody Dominique hen
Dominique pullet
Blue Bresse Rooster
Heritage breeds of poultry such as the Dominique and American Bresse Chicken can be found here. Both breeds can serve the modern homestead or backyard flock keeper well.
The Dominique chicken is on the Livestock Conservancy's Watch list. The American Bresse was derived from the French Bresse.
The Dominique and the American Bresse are considered a dual-purpose bird. The hens will produce 250 eggs a year. Young roosters when butchered around 18 weeks provide a nice meaty carcass for the table. Both breeds are relatively easy keepers. The Dominique hens raised 3 clutches of chicks this year. Sustainability in the flock at its finest!
The American Bresse is touted as an alternative to unsustainable meat breeds. In my experience while the breed does produce meat at 16-18 weeks, I think it's meat value is surpassed by its egg laying ability. The young hens start laying early and lay a plentiful amount of eggs.
While roosters often have a bad habit of being challenging, these have not. I believe it's because I have raised them all from chicks and act in a very calm manner around them.
Have you eaten a farm fresh egg? How about meat from a heritage breed? Both from chickens raised on natural, whole grain diets with plenty of pasture time. Once you get a taste, anything store bought pales in comparison. Here is food our grandparents knew. Here is food that nutures our bodies, minds and souls by getting back in touch with nature. Chickens weren't meant to be raised in cages or force fed antibiotics and highly processed pellets and we weren't meant to consume those products either.
Continuing down that path, I continue to work on developing a feed recipe that is soy free and privides adequate nutrition year round. My goal is to grow or purchase all the ingredients from the local co-op if not direct from other small farmers. My chickens enjoy the benefits of this while grain diet as well as all the wonderful foods free ranging over acreage provide.
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