Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[NanaKat]

 
You could make something that might work for you, but these cages have very thick diameter wire that an average person could not bend without special tools. They are made to last forever or until a truck runs over them.

Walt

Keipper coops also are collapsible ! That's what makes them so great. I can't imagine a pile of non-collapsible coops . Where would you store them all ?

We fortunately have a 40 x 60 barn where I can stack extra cages. But I also hang a few extra cages on the wall above my 10 hole nest boxes to put a broody on a nest until her chicks hatch. Or to put a broody in that I want to break brood. Because we have a tall ceiling in the barn, I also can stack a few on the top shelf of the bakery racks in the brooder room. The convenience of collapsible is great though. I have several of those collapsible dog kennels that I pull out to use when viewing birds too.

 

[chickadoodles]

I can't help ya with plastic barrels, but. I "made friends" with the manager of the bakery at my local grocery store and she saves me as many 3.5 gallon and 5 gallon plastic pails as I want.....they get some types of icing in them.

I use my dremel to trim off the area where the lid/handle was and use them for waterers....they are happy to get rid of them in lieu of throwing them in the trash

Thank you for the suggestion. I would never have thought of using any of those.

 

[chickadoodles]

Ok folks, here's a question for you. This is my grandfather as a child with his father's chickens. (Today would have been his 110th birthday.) This image is likely circa 1904 or 05, taken in southeastern OH.

What kind of chicken is that?

I just love your old photo. I am very interested in genealogy and love old photo's.

 

[Pathfinders]

I just love your old photo. I am very interested in genealogy and love old photo's.

Thanks! And thanks to everyone for your comments, I thought Sussex too, but wasn't sure. Given my grandparent's love of all things English, it would not surprise me, although my GGF also had Silkies straight from the Orient (had a relative who went to China and brought back all kinds of stuff, including chickens and Foo Dogs that stand almost three feet high.)

If I were a sentimental slob (and I am) I'd get into Sussex one day. And I am a lucky woman, because I have all the family photo albums, some of which date back to the late 1800s. My mom inherited them when her father died (the one in the photo) and I did when she passed. They're full of amazing stuff, and I have some of the photos of the family farm on my website. I sure wish they'd kept the cattle until I was older, but those were all gone before I was born. But I did learn to ride as a toddler, and for that I am thankful.

 

[chickadoodles]

Thanks! And thanks to everyone for your comments, I thought Sussex too, but wasn't sure. Given my grandparent's love of all things English, it would not surprise me, although my GGF also had Silkies straight from the Orient (had a relative who went to China and brought back all kinds of stuff, including chickens and Foo Dogs that stand almost three feet high.)

If I were a sentimental slob (and I am) I'd get into Sussex one day. And I am a lucky woman, because I have all the family photo albums, some of which date back to the late 1800s. My mom inherited them when her father died (the one in the photo) and I did when she passed. They're full of amazing stuff, and I have some of the photos of the family farm on my website. I sure wish they'd kept the cattle until I was older, but those were all gone before I was born. But I did learn to ride as a toddler, and for that I am thankful.

That is very special that you got the family photo's. In my family we all shared and made copies so that all of us had the family photo's to pass on to our children. Now with the new digital age, I have to keep putting all the family photos on disk and then make copies of the disk for everyone! lol

 

[Pathfinders]

That is very special that you got the family photo's. In my family we all shared and made copies so that all of us had the family photo's to pass on to our children. Now with the new digital age, I have to keep putting all the family photos on disk and then make copies of the disk for everyone! lol

Oh, I scanned the major ones and put them all on discs for the family members who wanted them, had to do that! And I do genealogy too, love tracking bloodlines in humans as well as animals, LOL!

 

[Pathfinders]

Ok folks, here's a question for you: at what point do you decide to start double mating a breed of birds?

I raise LF Buckeyes, and lately have been wondering if I should double mate them. With a number of my females, I have a poofy cushion thing going on. Not ideal, for sure (and something my friend Bob Gilbert, APA judge has been after me about for a couple of years.) They are otherwise of very nice type, but they do have that darned cushion.

In fact, Bob and I trade birds back and forth every three years or so, and I got some chicks from him this year. The pullets from those chicks have grown out with little to no cushion at all, which is a good thing.

However, I am noticing that these same pullets grow their tail feathers out much more slowly than those from my hatchings do. MUCH.

So I wonder, how related to the tail is the cushion in Buckeyes?

I know in Dutch Bantams (which I used to breed) the importance of a good cushion in a Dutch hen could not be overstated, as it led to good tails in her sons. So now I wonder, is the same thing happening with Buckeyes? My males are very nice indeed this year, and have lovely tails growing in, wide feathers with a nice curve to them.

One of the differences between Dutch and Buckeyes (and there are many) is that in Dutch the angle of the wing carriage is much lower than Buckeyes. And I wonder if the poofiness of the cushions I am seeing in some of my Buckeye females is due to their wings being held much higher and tighter than a Dutch bird's wings are, causing that cushion to poof up.

Now, the last thing I want is to see lower wings in my Buckeyes. But I love the great tails I have on my males. And it will be interesting to see what sort of sons these flat-saddled pullets from Bob will throw.

And it begs the question: perhaps I should start double mating my Buckeyes, since I want to keep the nice tails on the males, but also need females with no poof. What do you all think? (I love being able to ask such questions of you all by the way, this thread is just so great!)

 

[Silver Rock]

Ok folks, here's a question for you: at what point do you decide to start double mating a breed of birds?


I raise LF Buckeyes, and lately have been wondering if I should double mate them. With a number of my females, I have a poofy cushion thing going on. Not ideal, for sure (and something my friend Bob Gilbert, APA judge has been after me about for a couple of years.) They are otherwise of very nice type, but they do have that darned cushion.


In fact, Bob and I trade birds back and forth every three years or so, and I got some chicks from him this year. The pullets from those chicks have grown out with little to no cushion at all, which is a good thing.

However, I am noticing that these same pullets grow their tail feathers out much more slowly than those from my hatchings do. MUCH.

So I wonder, how related to the tail is the cushion in Buckeyes?


I know in Dutch Bantams (which I used to breed) the importance of a good cushion in a Dutch hen could not be overstated, as it led to good tails in her sons. So now I wonder, is the same thing happening with Buckeyes? My males are very nice indeed this year, and have lovely tails growing in, wide feathers with a nice curve to them. 

 
One of the differences between Dutch and Buckeyes (and there are many) is that in Dutch the angle of the wing carriage is much lower than Buckeyes. And I wonder if the poofiness of the cushions I am seeing in some of my Buckeye females is due to their wings being held much higher and tighter than a Dutch bird's wings are, causing that cushion to poof up. 


Now, the last thing I want is to see lower wings in my Buckeyes. But I love the great tails I have on my males. And it will be interesting to see what sort of sons these flat-saddled pullets from Bob will throw.


And it begs the question: perhaps I should start double mating my Buckeyes, since I want to keep the nice tails on the males, but also need females with no poof. What do you all think? (I love being able to ask such questions of you all by the way, this thread is just so great!)

I am a supporter of the Double Mating System but my reason for breeding to this method will be to prefect the Male / Female color patterns in my Silver Penciled Plymouth Rocks.

 

[fowlman01]

Ok folks, here's a question for you: at what point do you decide to start double mating a breed of birds?

I raise LF Buckeyes, and lately have been wondering if I should double mate them. With a number of my females, I have a poofy cushion thing going on. Not ideal, for sure (and something my friend Bob Gilbert, APA judge has been after me about for a couple of years.) They are otherwise of very nice type, but they do have that darned cushion.

In fact, Bob and I trade birds back and forth every three years or so, and I got some chicks from him this year. The pullets from those chicks have grown out with little to no cushion at all, which is a good thing.

However, I am noticing that these same pullets grow their tail feathers out much more slowly than those from my hatchings do. MUCH.

So I wonder, how related to the tail is the cushion in Buckeyes?

I know in Dutch Bantams (which I used to breed) the importance of a good cushion in a Dutch hen could not be overstated, as it led to good tails in her sons. So now I wonder, is the same thing happening with Buckeyes? My males are very nice indeed this year, and have lovely tails growing in, wide feathers with a nice curve to them.

One of the differences between Dutch and Buckeyes (and there are many) is that in Dutch the angle of the wing carriage is much lower than Buckeyes. And I wonder if the poofiness of the cushions I am seeing in some of my Buckeye females is due to their wings being held much higher and tighter than a Dutch bird's wings are, causing that cushion to poof up.

Now, the last thing I want is to see lower wings in my Buckeyes. But I love the great tails I have on my males. And it will be interesting to see what sort of sons these flat-saddled pullets from Bob will throw.

And it begs the question: perhaps I should start double mating my Buckeyes, since I want to keep the nice tails on the males, but also need females with no poof. What do you all think? (I love being able to ask such questions of you all by the way, this thread is just so great!)

Usually double mating is used for color. I don't believe the wing carriage has anything to do with cushions. Just selectively breed away from that fault. Use only birds that have none or have less of a cushion....and you may have to go outside of your line to get rid of it. It is a problem in many females of many breeds.

Walt

 

[Pathfinders]

And this is why I ask these questions here, thanks folks! (Especially Walt.)

And now that begs the next question, why would Bob's pullets tails grow out so much slower than mine?