Java's are supposed to be an excellent table bird. They are listed by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy as threatened, which means there are less than 1,000 breeding birds in the United States, and 5,000 world wide. They are an efficient dual purpose bird, with a good feed to weight ratio, but may not be as hardy in colder weather as the Buckeye. I guess my quest for the perfect dual purpose, large egg laying, good meat weight, attractive, friendly, calm, hardy and thrifty chicken breed has officially begun.
Here is a good comparison chart listing stats on each breed. Dual purpose heritage breeds I will be investing in the future, are the attractive jumbo egg laying, large meaty Delaware, the Buckeye, and the flashy olive colored egg laying Copper Marans. I'm also interested in Jersey Giants for their large size and jumbo eggs.
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| The new Java's. They are very cute and sweet and seem to be doing well in their hutch under the heat lamp. |
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| This hutch is covered on several sides to help retain heat. Hatchlings are susceptable to drafts until fully fledged. They must be kept seperate from the larger hens to avoid being pecked to death. |
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| The Shibas know there is something interesting inside. |
Oh dear... the last picture is something straight out of a children's book. I can just SEE them trying to scheme their way through that door with foxy sweet talk. *chuckle*
ReplyDeleteThat last picture is too funny...."I'll huff and I'll puff and blow the house down"(LOL).
ReplyDeleteLove the description of the twilight run for "bunnies". Mine do the same thing but it appears this yr the wild bunnies have a for rent sign up so hopefully they have vacated from under the shed. Keeping fingers crossed there is no more asking for a hall pass in the middle of the night. : )