Archive for 'Farm and Poultry'
Classic gamebirds from backyard pens
22 November 2009
Two birds which have been trying to find their way on to the British shooting list for many years without success, are now finding a place in the niche market for exotic game. The Bobwhite quail and the Chukar partridge are easy to keep and breed, and they are famously good on the table.
The Bobwhite, when considered as exotic table game, fits into a gap between the Coturnix quail – the usual supermarket quail – and the partridge. It weighs about half a pound, say 200-250gm. And the Chukar and its hybrids, weighing about three-quarters of a pound (350gm), have found a market as the supply of wild Grey partridges from the shooting field has faded away. (more…)
Quail is fast-breeding superstar
14 November 2009
There is a lot of good news and two bits of not-so-wonderful news about the Japanese quail. The good news is that this little gamebird is the most super-productive of all domestic birds, laying from the age of just six or seven weeks, with table birds ready for market at 50 days.
The bad news for the sportsman is that the quail is a complete failure as a wild gamebird, and the problem for the backyard poultry keeper is that the British market for quail meat and eggs is described as “saturated”. (more…)
Utility poultry love the free-range life
14 September 2007
In the 1950s, the traditional utility breeds of laying poultry produced about 180-200 eggs a year under test conditions. Today’s hybrids lay more than 300.
No contest, you might think. Who would persevere with the old-fashioned Rhode Island Reds, Light Sussex, Leghorns and Wyandottes when the modern birds are so much more productive? (more…)
Comeback time for the fancy fowls
21 July 2007
The cackle of hens is being heard again in the showgrounds and auction yards of Britain this summer, and cockerels are crowing in the gardens of country houses. As the bird flu scares have faded, the fancy chickens are making an amazing comeback. (more…)
Mules to the rescue of the Dying City
14 May 2007
From Alliance Press Features Correspondent, Rome.
The Army used to have a saying: “If you can’t get there from here, you need a mule.” The famously stubborn half-horse, half-donkey is capable of going almost anywhere, and carrying a large load all the way.
And now mules are coming to the rescue of the ancient fortress town of Civita di Bagnoregio, perched 1400ft above the gorges of the river Tiber in central Italy. (more…)
