| During the 1970's
John bred Light Sussex Bantams and large Cuckoo Marans, and by the 1980's had
moved on to the Buff Sussex Bantam. Over the last 20 years he has kept various
breeds of poultry including the English 'heavyweight'
Buff Orpington; the rich brown egg laying
Welsummer from Holland; a utility strain of
the American Rhode Island Red , and several
Breeds known as Autosexing Breeds For many years John has been fascinated by a small group of breeds known as Autosexing Breeds, and these have largely taken over from the other breeds. The Autosexing breeds are now largely ignored and are very difficult to find. We have a pen of the very dainty and delightfully inquisitive, blue egg laying Crested Cream Legbar, we have a small flock of the very rare brown egg laying Welbar based on all the existing strains now maintained in Britain, in essence the Welbar is a variation of the Welsummer, and we will utilise our existing strain of Welsummers to improve their egg colour. We also have the extremely rareRhodebar which was originally bred from the Rhode Island Red, so .... nothing new there! Our existing strain of Rhode Island Reds will feature heavily in the improvement of laying ability in the Rhodebar. The unique value of the Autosexing Breeds is that they can be reliably sexed at day-old. |
 Rhode Island Red Hen Picture courtesy of SAC, Auchincruive |
 Welsummer Hen Picture courtesy of SAC, Auchincruive |
The 'obliging'
nature of poultry combined with the high world demand for eggs and poultry meat
has lead to the most intensive forms of 'factory farming' imaginable.
Fortunately in enlightened countries it is recognised that animal welfare
issues need to be considered, not only on the basis of cruelty but also on cost
effectiveness, and modern legislation is slowly irradicating the worst forms.
Many of the traditional breeds were either too large or were unsuited to
intensive farming and many hybrid strains have been created. Traditional breeds are now bred almost entirely for show purposes and selection of breeding stock has in most cases been based on 'looks' rather than productivity. Fortunately there are still a few people who have maintained lines of various breeds for egg laying and utility purposes rather than for show points. With the increased interest in 'free range', GM free, and organic produce there is a renewed interest in the traditional breeds - the breeds of our grandparents. |
Our large birds are all 'utility' strains bred specifically for the production of eggs under all weather, free range conditions, they are not 'show birds' and thought they are hopefully immediately recogniseable as representatives of their breed they would probably not take top show awards ..... but then that's not why we have them! Commercial Egg Production At the present time within the EU there are three basic methods of commercial egg production (battery, barn, and free range), and the maximum density of hens per square metre is detailed in the European Commission Egg Marketing Regulations. In many other parts of the World however animal welfare is a factor which is not even considered, and birds may be kept in the most appalling conditions. |
 Buff Orpington Hen Picture courtesy of SAC, Auchincruive |
