Which chicken breed should I choose. Is there a breed that can compete with modern hybrids? Australorp, New Hampshire, Rhode Island Red, ... which one should I choose. You may be surprised.
Been looking for a reliable dual-purpose breed to choose. Thanks so much for staying on topic and keeping your videos short and concise. I appreciate this very much, and have given up on some vloggers who prattle on about many unrelated topics, personal matters, focusing the camera on themselves (even when interviewing Joel S, etc.). Tack mycket!
Interesting video. I never heard of that breed. It's a shame people only want hybrids anymore. We need to raise more heritage birds. Good luck and keep the knowledge coming.
It is extremely important that those who are maintaining heritage breed fowl cull keeping in mind the traits that are so important, such as weight, age of maturity, high egg yields etc. Keeping good records, weighing birds and culling poor performers and using for breeding stock, only the top performing birds (according to the records they keep). Enjoyed your video. :)
Swedish Homestead Yes I know that. However careful selection from knowledgeable poultry breeders (Non Hatchery)who have worked hard to keep the important qualities within their flock. I have kept heritage breed poultry for 20 yrs.
Private poultry keepers have done a very important job in preserving the heritage breeds the past few decades. Unfortunately most just multiply the breeds and lack the time and knowledge to select and breed for performance. We need more of those breeders like you. Think if just 5% of all resources that are put into hybrids would go into breeding heritage breeds professionally, what we could accomplish. There is an organization in Germany that started to select Italian chickens for performance again after several breeds had gone down in egg production about 40 eggs / year over the past decades. They were able to increase the egg production by their efforts very quickly. We need more of those initiatives.
Interesting and informative, as per usual. You explain in such a way as a person never involved with poultry we understand the message you are trying to get across. Mike
Another excellent video production Simeon. While I don't have much interest in chickens other than to eat them, it occured to me as I watched this that your wife has done quite a good job of teaching you english. Your vocabulary , sentence structure, accents and pronunciation are better than many people I've encountered that were raised with english as their only language. You get another thumbs up simply for your skill in presenting entertaining and informative videos. Greetings from Canada.
Thanks for the info, Simeon. I haven't seen that breed win Wyoming, USA, where I live. I currently raise and breed Black's Jersey Giants, an American breed from the early 1900s, that is slow growing, but matures to approx 11 pounds for hens and 13 pounds for roosters. Good meat and pretty good egg producers, too. I always enjoy hearing about breeds and their capabilities. Thanks, again!
@@vidacrazy I feed regular feed. They eat a little more than standard size chickens. They're roughly the same size as Brahma chickens. I really like the breed, great layers, though not extremely broody, and excellent meat.
I was raised on a farm in Arkansas here in The States. My mother raised chickens. I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH BEAUTIFUL ROOSTERS and Hens. You know when they are healthy by the color of their combs. Bright Red Comb means Healthy, pale pinkish means they are missing something in their diet. You are an awesome Homesteader.
Very interesting! Here... I would compare what you have (kinda) to a White Rock-very hardy and old school dual purpose for here. Enjoying your vids! ~ Patara
I am raising Barbezieux in my program and I'm sold on them. My pullets are laying at 5 months. 100% fed on compost piles. Strongest breed I've ever raised. Grow fast.
Simeon I just ordered some American Bresse today from GreenFire Farms. They'll be here on the 24th. I was so excited I went out and cleaned the chicken coop and brooder and re-mulched them both, put the chickies waterer and feeder into the dishwasher to disinfect them, and got their first bag of chick starter crumble ready. I put some DE into the feed as suggested by Becky's Homestead and Appalachia's Homestead with Patara. I wonder how much of a market there will be for chicks here in my area? I'm in North Mississippi just south of Memphis Metro area. Thanks for posting on these Simeon!
Very informative. Thank you... I didn't know the Brest Gauloise.... Very nice chicken.... Roosters are very handsome and proud birds and the hens sure like talking or should I say cackling... :)
Bresse gauloise is the full name of this breed. I am from Bulgaria, here I've seen 3 colours of this beautiful breed - white, black and blue. I have had the white and the blue version, but the blues weren't that good as the whites so right now I am having only the white. BUT, if you want to get the best dual purposed breed, you should try the White Plymouthrock - not the exhibition type, but the productive type! They are the mothers of the cornish crosses or also known as broilers! For me, the best chicken breed! If you can find real productive White Plymouthrocks - give them a try, I am sure that you are going to like them! Keep going and all the best from Bulgaria :)
Thank you. I will check into that. I have heard that the White Rocks are not very hardy though. Bresse gauloise is a brand name and not really the name of the breed. They are not allowed to be called that outside of the are in France that they are raised in. We call them Les Bleues.
I raise and process hundreds of Cornish cross every year at my Cosmo Farm in NC but will give these a try. I found a breeder in SE US so will get some breeder stock to get my flock going. Thanks for introducing them to me.
All great choices but I love my silver laced Wyandottes ... I live in Iowa in US and it gets cold here like last night it was -12 f with a wind chill of -30 and some of my hens slept outta the coop for what ever reason... so like it others don't. Our chickens free range very well but I do supplement feeding this time of year . I provide no heat only fresh fluffy straw I a coop that's pretty wind proof .they produce xx large eggs and plenty of them even when it's this cold. They produce eggs at 14-16 weeks and are 4 pounds at 10-11 weeks. That's my magic number 4-5 lbs or our family. But they are the healthiest birds to date. I haven't tried the breese but I can't imagine I'd give up a week or two of eggs in trade for the beauty of our chickens ! They're just so pleasing to look at . Free range well and they're a big strong bird. The roosters are how ever aggressive with their ladies. But my son has managed to survive since he was 4 in with the roosters. Seen many fights with empty egg basket and my son has won over the roosters now ! My son goes in to collect eggs roosters run out lol. But that's my pick for my birds on our homestead. Keep up the fine work! And God blessings to you and yours! Steve
As a hobby cook I can confirm their meat is exceptionally tender and tasty. Very expensive though. Here in The Netherlands the original ones go for around 25 Euro's per KG. I look forward to seeing how this project will develop for you Simeon. Allez les bleus! 😂
My favorite breed so far. From the time they hatch they are placid and friendly. I don't care to eat my chickens but these beauties are terrific layers too.
I've been slowly researching chicken breeds for a homestead I should have by no later than May 1st 2019. What you're saying makes a huge amount of sense. I live in UpState NY and the Winters can be brutal some years ... how would these chickens do in my area ... do they eat fodder well??? Assuming good diet, what is their average egg production over an 18 months production period???
You sold me on the Bresse. Hard to find here in US. Greenfire still sells at $29 per chick. Found a good source for hatching eggs. One other source for chicks told me they ramped for 3 times the production over 2016 and are sold out for 2017. DON'T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS... hope to get a small flock of 10 hens and 2/4 roos (from two lines) for next spring between chicks and hatching eggs. Thanks for great video and details!!
I might try these but I still like buff orpingtons because I like a tame, dual-purpose chicken, that goes broody often, can forage readily when released from the coop. I can breed back in the egg production rates that I want and it doesn't take long.
Thank you for this video, I'm looking at raising these in East Texas this spring, I had wondered how the numbers added up, kind of what intrigued me having a good dual purpose chicken. Just hope they can handle our heat here.
I have been trying the bresse. I am not as happy with them as you are. They have to much comb and wattle for where I am in Canada, to prone to frost bite. My favourite dual purpose is the dark cornish. The disadvantage for them is their slow growth. I have been playing with crosses between the bresse and dark cornish. So far I am happy with this and will be playing with it more in the future.
I haven't been able to find Bresse chickens anywhere in Canada. Where did you get yours? Also, are you sure it was actually the dark Cornish breed you've been raising & crossing. It's surprising that you had good luck with them as dual purpose birds since they're usually strictly meat birds. They're usually poor layers, at least that's what I've been told by people who've raised them. Please let me know where you got your Bresse chickens because I'd love to try them.
I got them from a guy on the bc coast. I will have to try and find the name. The dark cornish are not the greatest layer but the ones I have lay quite well, probably 220 eggs a year. They also lay well in the winter. They are very calm disposition as well. The latest ones I got came from Murray McMurray hatchery in the states.
Thank You, if you can find his name, I'd be very grateful. I've tried many breeds over the past 20+ breeds but I've settled on Barred Plymouth Rocks, originally from Frey's Hatchery. They're the right combination of good layers & calm disposition to suit me. Also, I've found that the young roosters, up to 6-7 months , are absolutely delicious. In fact, even the 3 year old hens are good to eat if they're cooked slowly for a few hours. But I'd still love to try raising some Bresse chickens because I've heard so many good things about them.
Thank you! Great video! I, too, have been looking to find a great dual purpose chicken. I will check out the American Bresse. It will be great to have a chicken where you can raise your own chicks to be self-sustaining...I understand the Cornish Cross are bred in a certain way that you can not raise your own chicks. I am really excited about what you have shared today...Thank you!
Thank you. In theory you can get chicks from the cornish cross but they will not have the same fast growth and characteristics as the parents. A full grown broiler will also be so heavy that the hens will suffer under the weight of the roosters.
Now this video is really of interest. I raise chickens for eggs and all have not been 100 successful in producing eggs. I am still watching and learning about the breed you are talking about..
you are a true champion of the farming world you have great foresight into the future long may you continue this,i am very impressed with your caring manner with the animals you keep full marks to you and your family, have a great christmas and a very productive and prosperous new year
Very Interesting! I hope you'll slip in some views of Sweden and maybe some cultural aspects of living on a Swedish farm. My great grandfather had a farm on Oland. Never met him but miss him just the same.
Thanks. Öland i beautiful. We are trying to sneak in cultural aspects every now and then. Check out this video for a great cultural experience: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1KhoLI9PQEU.html
Hello. Very nice and informative. Thanks a lot. I didn't know that the Brest Gauloise/Les Bleues are THAT good. Nice to know. Dit you have a Link to this "german studie" you talk?!? That would be great. Thanks and keep going! Nice Vlogs and nice Homestaed(work)!!! Greetings from Stralsund/Northeast Germany
Thanks Simeon. Another great video. All your animals look great. Cattle, Hogs, Chickens. We tried the Cornish Cross 4 times for meat, Sexlinks for eggs. We have been looking for something better. Will never eat cornish cross again. to many health issues. good luck with your homestead, your a great herdsman. You have a lot of chicken breeds, do you find that large size breeds are calmer than small size breeds? Bantam vs. Buff Orpingtons?
Generally bigger breeds are calmer. A very calm and nice breed are the Bielefelder chickens. They can get very tame. I don't have any experience with Orpington but I don't think they are among the best performing breeds.
Orpingtons are considered by many as a #1 all around breed. They lay about three brown eggs per week. they are hardy and can handle the cold. Good forager, gentle, broody. Good dual purpose bird. Great video!
Shalom! Hello Alex and Simeon, I really enjoy watching and learning from you all. I live in Norco, California. My children and I are new family home farmers. I would really like to bring the Bresse Chicken onto our homestead. What types of material do you use on the floor of your chicken coop? Thank you and blessings to you and yours!
Sir Simeon, Enjoyed your most interesting intro. on the "Bresse Gauloise" chicken variety breed! When you do your future update video I would appreciate you including your thoughts on flightiness or temperament compared on a sliding scale beginning with leghorns to the most docile heavyweights, orpingtons, buffs etc?? Also egg color?? At 10:13 the eggs appear to be medium brown? Enjoy your videos! Phil S. Carolina
Thank you Simeon! This is a fantastic, thorough review of this breed! After watching, I want to try this breed. My huge concern is their large combs and wattles. I am in central PA USA. where winters are long and temperatures can stay sub zero F for a week or more. - 25 F at night is not unusual. (-32 C I think for you.) How cold does your farm get? I wonder why you are not getting frostbite on your Bresse?
We also have this issue here in Canada, though our temps fluctuate a lot. We have our large combed and wattles chickens in a barn and seal up any draughty areas, while leaving the needed ventilation. We’ve had frost bite before but mostly on the wattles from the chickens drinking and instantly freezing. We stopped giving water on the really cold days and only give them snow. Works great!
Thank you Simeon. I’m a new subscriber. You have a nice channel.. we have a coop with one rooster, a copper mararen.. not sure if that spelling he is beautiful. We had 11 hens of various kind. Esster eggers, australorps, and a few others.. One Of our chickens just dies]d and I think he killed her, because he is rough on all of them...I’ll keep trying.. Thank you..
Hi, love your videos!! We are very excited about the Bresse Gauloise breed. We love the different varieties of breeds and are very excited to try breeding some here in Australia. Would you be willing to sell some eggs to some very keen Australians?? Or know of anyone that does?? We are in awe of these chickens and would like to expand our chicken family :)
Is this bread hardy enough to withstand -20 & below temps in the winter? I can add a heater as long as there is power, but it has gone out up to two weeks at a time. Thanks so much for your time and info.
Good to have the chicken expert right here! Well i might get chickens but i will look into it more first. ;) I really like the bigger chickens. I was thinking about brahma, i like all the color varieties. Of couse they are mainly bred for looks. On the other hand, i really like the dwarf varieties too, because i will unlikely keep them for the meat.
Hello Simeon thank you for the informative video, I live in Bulgaria and will start the process of trying to purchase the breed Bresse Gauloise, if I can not find these chickens here in Bulgaria would you be able to point me in the right direction of purchasing either chickens or eggs depending on costs of course thanks in advance.
Thanks for the informative video about this breed. Just wondering if the feeder is very inconvenient for the roosters to eat with thier comb hitting the rod.
You should definitely get new blood after 3 generations but we do it more often. We are receiving an order from a new bloodline the beginning of December.
Likely little interest but I have covered my blue-footed SASSO Naked-Neck hens with American Bresse cock birds and thus far, the meat quality, egg production and egg weights have been thrilling!! Can hardly wait to cross the new pullets back to the original Bresse sires.
I'm interested in the Bresse after hearing this, but that huge red comb gives me pause because here in northern Colorado winters we can get below zero temps. We have no buildings to winter chickens in. We are on track to build a Justin Rhodes Chickshaw. Any comment on this Simeon?
We get cold winters here too. -13 Farenheit is commen. I have them in a greenhouse tunnel. We haven't had any issues with this with other chicken breeds we have had before. We'll have to see. Check out my chicken floor heating video. That's how we are trying to keep the temp up.
Excellent video. Where did you get your Bresse genetics from? Your birds looks more stocky than mine and would make better meat birds. What carcass weights are you getting at 12 and 16 weeks? Now I need to watch a bunch of your other videos.
I am hatching 24 Breese eggs right here in Excelsior Springs MO. I can't wait to see the chicks. I wonder how well I can introduce them to my True Rhode Island Reds who tend to be a little aggressive. One thing I have read about Breese is the fact they are very docile compared to many other dual purpose birds. Is this your experience?
2021 we can now source both white and blue "Bresse" in Canada. I'm very small and free range so I'm going to go with the blue Bresse and see what happens on a small scale.