Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Yard full o' rocks]

Today I put together the line of pullets to complement the cockerels. In the background one can see another pen of 40 pullets that I'll look at in another few weeks.

You REALLY need to "come South" next Fall and teach me how to do this......in all seriousness, what a SUPER way to evaluate a group. It would take me all day just to catch mine and put them into cages

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Ah, grasshopper, set the cages up the night before, get up just before dawn and fill the cages with sleeping birds.

Then, considering you've wing-banded and toe-punched them and kept records, you can line them up by toe-punch, i.e. sisters, and age. I take down their wing-band number, date of birth, and weigh them. Then I compare to the Standard siblings born on the same date and start to pull the best. It's a lot of chicken fun.

PS: this would be a really cool way to check out your Rocks.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

You can see the index cards I put on each card to take notes on the bird. Then I can keep those cards and check them out later or bring them out with me when I go over the birds again.

 

[NanaKat]

Great process...thanks for sharing.

 

[MagicChicken]

Speaking of wing bands, I would like to wing band chicks next year but am confounded by the different versions of wing bands. I've got large fowl birds. Does anyone have preferences/comments/recommendations regarding which type/brand of wing band to use? Especially for someone doing the wing banding alone, with no assistance?

Sarah

 

[bnjrob]

Ah, grasshopper, set the cages up the night before, get up just before dawn and fill the cages with sleeping birds.
.

Sleeping birds before dawn???? Yeah right. I swear our chickens never sleep. I was up all night last night and there was crowing going on at 0300.

 

[RedRidge]

Quote:
When I have to do anything with mine I prefer morning, so I move them to new roosts at night.

I take notes on mine almost daily on a note board that lives next to the pens.
By the time culling season rolls around, I have it narrowed down quite a bit on paper, but still want to do a last minute comparison.
So I take mine off the roosts at night, but them in separate breeding pens on new roosts, then spend the next few days doing side by sides.
The two who are chosen as final breeders stay in the breeding pens until hens are added in January.

My Rhodebar cockerels and roos are already in their winter quarters... my RC HRIR will be added over the next few weeks.
All remaining roos and cocks participate contribute to slaughter day in Nov (with the exception of one or two breeders who are sold to other breeders).

The hens and pullets are all housed together by this time of year and free range together during the day.
Once the best roos/cocks are chosen, I then spend Nov choosing my breeder hens who go in a pen of their own until after the first of the year... the remainder stay in the larger coop for egg laying.
The few production layers I have (who are banded according to color based on year according to the international queen bee marking color codes), are all slaughtered at 4 yrs old... most heritiage are not slaughtered until 10 (except for the privileged few who live out their lives).

Such is our annual procedure. The goal is to cull/slaughter and fill the freezer while everyone still has plenty of access for forage and bugs - I don't want to feed any birds I don't have to over the winter.

 

[gjensen]

Today I put together the line of pullets to complement the cockerels. In the background one can see another pen of 40 pullets that I'll look at in another few weeks.

Those White Dorkings are sharp looking birds.

Have to give it to you YH. You do not just talk the talk. You practice what you preach.

 

[Robert Blosl]

Zippy is a good wing band. You got to get a hand held bander to go to the band of choice. Maybe Joseph will tell us his band and hand held bander he bought.

Does not hurt the chick. This is the big problem people have has they think they are humans. Also, nice bands with number on them. I have red white and blue bands in color on my three family's of birds. It has worked for me for years. It also takes good record keeping. You got to make notes on these birds for today and future breeding. http://www.randallburkey.com/Wing-Bands/products/31/

 

[thedragonlady]

Today I put together the line of pullets to complement the cockerels. In the background one can see another pen of 40 pullets that I'll look at in another few weeks.

I'd cheerfully snatch that second pullet, and I wonder if #1 is not her also, or a sister. Wow !