Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
In all of these poultry types, heritage breeds that were once common on farms and homesteads are
still available—and in many cases, better suited for a backyard farm than the most common com-
mercially raised strains. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy is an organization dedicated
to preserving information about these delightful heritage breeds. You can find out more about
specific breeds at their website: albc-usa.org.
Guinea Fowl
These large birds are considered excellent watch dogs around the homestead. My husband jokes
that you cannot sneak up on a house with a flock of guinea around! They are rather noisy and
can fly well so they will often roost in trees instead of sheltering in chicken coops when given the
chance. For this reason, if you have neighbors close by you may not be able to keep both guinea
and neighbors. Guinea are fabulous for pest control, however, and will eat slugs, ticks, and a host
of other ickies. They lay large eggs on a moderately regular basis and are excellent foragers.
Geese
Equally large and noisy, geese will warn you about snakes, intruding cats, and all kinds of other
potential threats both real and imagined. Geese do lay very large eggs but there aren't any geese
that match even ducks, nevermind chickens, in the number of eggs produced. As with guinea,
geese are great foragers and will attack weeds with delight. You can use geese to help clear areas
for planting before tilling them up and sowing a new crop. A goose was at one time a traditional
Christmas dish. They are also a source of down feathers for warm comforters and pillows.
Ducks
Ducks, like geese, are excellent foragers and will eat slugs and grubs with relish. Some breeds are
known to be excellent egg layers, while others are grown more for their meat. While ducks have a
reputation for being noisy, one of the most popular homestead breeds, Muscovies, are near-silent
and better suited for backyard flocks. If you live in an area with a pond, ducks will keep mosquito
larvae at bay. Ducks do not make reliable mothers compared to broody hens, so many homesteaders
who want to hatch out their own ducklings will use a broody hen for hatching ducklings.
Turkeys
Turkeys are considered too hard to maintain and picky to raise for many homesteaders. However,
heritage breeds are hardier and generally make better foragers. A backyard farmer who wants to
be self-sufficient should make sure they start with a breed that can breed naturally and has some
brooding instinct still intact.
 
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