Buckeye Dominique and Mottled Java

These are breeds in which I only have seven years of experience. So I still have lots to learn. There is only so much you can learn reading poultry books. Its the small things that makes your breeding programs a success or failure. I am always careful to purchase from established breeders. There is lots of cross breeds being passed off as purebred. Most established breeders value their reputation and only sell you quality fowl. However there are some long time breeders who do very little culling of their birds and have poor genetics in their flocks even though they keep their bloodlines pure. Dont be afraid to ask plenty of questions when purchasing your chickens. Take all information you receive with a grain of salt. Some people with a dozen chickens consider themselves to be poultry experts. Often you meet these people at chicken forums and chat rooms. All new chicks and adult poultry should be kept seperate from your flocks for about six weeks. This quarantine period insures you will not be bringing diseases into your flock. In 92 I bought some araucanas that were infected with poultry ticks also known as blue bugs. It took me two months to finally rid my property of them and lots of pesticides. In addition I had to destroy many fine breeders that were heavily infected with ticks. When you buy adult birds closely examine them for signs of good health. Dont buy pale headed birds with scaly legs or ruffled feathers. Buckeyes are a nice breed mine are good layers and nice table birds. They work well both free range and kept in chicken pens. They are an extremely rare breed. My buckeye roosters weigh about seven pounds and the hens around six. Buckeye roosters love to crow lots. So this noisy breed might not be for people living in towns. Dominiques are many peoples favorite. Often people think all barred large chickens are dominiques. This breed went into the popular barred rock. The Dominique is a medium sized bird with black and white barring over the entire body. The rose comb is characteristic. They are hardy calm birds that work well in confinement or open range. This is a good show breed and recovering from almost being lost. [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] are about seven pounds and hens near six. Mottled Java is a breed I had as a kid but quit breeding in college. Sold out for some spring break money. Its difficult to find a better homestead breed. The hens are calm and friendly laying lots of medium brown eggs and foraging for much of their food. Terrific meat birds that have excellent health. Quite beautiful birds. Good setting hens and mothers. This breed can do it all. Javas seem to be more uniform than most breeds. Old hens remain tender and good eating. A very dependable breed. Its sad that it is now critically rare. My roosters are nine pounds and my hens are seven to eight. All three of these breeds are american breeds. Its important to keep our heritage breeds alive.