Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[fowlman01]

I have read that they were originally a dual purpose breed that is now a ornamental. Is it possible to bring them back to that since the gene pool is so limited. I have only found mainly hatchery stock.

They are still considered an dual purpose fowl by the APA. Duane Urch may have some good ones.

Walt

 

[Robert Blosl]

Illinois is loaded with good Rhode island Reds. How far do you live from Knoxville Illinois.

 

[Pault76]

Illinois is loaded with good Rhode island Reds. How far do you live from Knoxville Illinois.

It looks like i'm about 5-6 hrs south of there.

 

[Robert Blosl]

Got a phone call this afternoon from a friend who is getting back into Large fowl Rhode Island Reds. He has a few Mohawk chicks and will hopefully get two males and three females this October that I will pick for him for a special meeting. The birds will be pure from Illinois and maybe one chick that is half Illinois and half Florida strain. We talked about a old hen that Matt 1616 showed two weeks ago and she was on champion row I think Res American. I told him I saw her and another female last fall and they where going through a molt and looked dog raged out tired from breeding. She did not lay well or produce many chicks this year but I think after a year off and go through a good molt she will be productive in the breeding pen next year. In fact I would like both of these females and a male that is half Florida strain and half Illinois strain as their mate. Other words there son or nephew type meeting with a twist of new blood from Greg Chamniss strain of Pittsburg Illinois who I got started 13 years ago.

The reason for bring this up it is very important of what a older Red looks like when they are a year or so old. Do they go down hill in looks and color or do the get even better. I have new line of Mohawk Red Bantams where the males look skinny or lack meat on thier bones as ckls. But when they go through thier molt and come back as a cock bird they are right on the money and are really in ballance with the standard for type. Do they still resemble the youth when they where pullets or cockerels. Most birds that win and get on Champion Row are young birds but how many get on that are two or three years old???

I would rather have a strain of great old show birds that are hens and cock birds that could win at the shows than a bunch of pretty cockerels and pullets that molt back looking like Orpingtons or Wyandottes.



Next what do you have this year. Do you have Newlson or Mohawk or Ricky Bates line. Why dont you tell us what you have and what state you live in. bob

 

[Robert Blosl]

Quote: I have a friend who has Silver lacked Wyandottes. His problem is getting fertility on the birds and you got to pull the vent feathers to do this. I think the number one thing you need to do is get with some one that knows the method of breeding the color pattern. There is a breeder in the North East that is a master at this. You can get a pretty chicken and own them but if you don't know how to breed the color pattern you will go back wards. So having a nice heritage large fowl is one think trying to keep them from going backwards is another. You need to locate a good flock and then get advice from the master of this line. For example you purchase some of his older breeders. He then tells you to mate the best sons back to the old hens or the best pullets back to the old male for a year. Then you send him some pictures or video on U tube and he comes back with a new matting for the next year. You may be able to show these birds and he can hand pick your breeders for you. Within three to five years you will have the knowledge to put your own mat tings together and move forward with his or her advice. Trying to do this on your own is about a 10% shot if best in my view.

what part of the country do you live in? bob

 

[NotAFarm]

Bob, I live in north central Illinois. The breeder I got the hens from, shows his birds and has many years experience with them. He was/is very open to helping me if I decide to get seriously into them. I have limited resources to house chickens, so keeping multiple pens, especially roosters, is not possible for me at this time. I just can't hatch 100 (or more) chicks to keep a few each year, and this seems to be the method necessary for breeding show stock. Maybe some day that will change, but for now, I'll enjoy the hens and he knows if anything ever happen with his flock, he can get these back.

 

[Robert Blosl]

There is a way you can have them and not raise that many. Its very simple you breed for females only and keep only one or two males to breed them hatch 20 chicks form two great females.

I do this with White Leghorns as I have a female line. I keep two males per year with great perfect combs and then raise the females up and keep four good supe pullets. I may have one or two good hens as well. In my white rocks I have two familys two females from each family or this year only one female. I hatch and raise ten to 15 chicks per female. Then next year I do it all over agian.

I am not a big beleaver in having three to five females per breeding pen. You are only breeding numbers and only getting three to five good birds. If you breed from one super female and you have a higher rate of return to get chicks equal to her. This is done by many great breeders in the past.

If he can help you breed for color great. I have names of two others who are super star Silver Laced breeders and they can sit down with you at a show and tell you thier secrets. If you want thier names send me a message and i will let you know who they are. Where there is a will their is a way. bob

 

[joe17]

I still definitely want to get into breeding reds! I will one day but I just can't swing it right now. I am up to my neck in silkie chicks and just got a pair of barred rock bantams from Dick. Will get in touch with you Robert when I start culling through my flock and selling stuff. I don't mind breeding reds if I have a mentor to tell me what to do and how to do it.

 

[Robert Blosl]

Glad you would like to have Reds someday one thing that a lot of you on this board think yo u have to HAVE large fowl. This is not true. You can have Rhode Island Red bantams and enjoy all the good points of the breed in a small package. A lot of people do not have the space or the money to have lots of chickens. There are people who have a noise issue with the roosters crowing. You still can enjoy the females and they produce eggs and beatuy as well. There is a fellow in the North Easst named Brian Knox that has very nice Silver laced Wyandottes tottes and you can have three of them to one large fowl and raise 20 to 30 of them each year and enjoy their color and habits. Many of you have silkies and they are bantams why not consider the bantam.The main reason I gave up my Mohawk large fowl as I could not find homes down here for the birds that i did not want to keep for breeders.

Also, I could not afford the feed bill so I concentrated on my shrinking down of my Mow hawk Red Bantams. 25 years latter I have the large fowl in a bantam package. Something no one has ever done be for in Red Bantams and maybe I will have a Red Bantam that many will choose to breed years ahead. Our current Rhode Island Red bantams are in trouble because of a influx twenty years ago of a female that has a back like a Plymouth Rock. We call these Red Bantams Red Rocks they are not brick shaped and are short and look like Wyandottes when they are two and three years old. The people have just breed the backs off of them. This Red Rock gene is lethal as I think it would take ten years to breed out if you where lucky. Judges love them and push them all the way up to Champion Single Comb Clean Leg ed at the shows.

Well I made my point. I love Rouen Ducks but dont have the room for them so I got Grey Calls and enjoy them as much as the big Rouens. I can put two ducks in a small box and ship them any where in the USA for about $60. at least i can get rid of my surplus stock and I only keep three pairs each year as breeders to show you you dont need a army of birds to reproduce and improve your birds each year. bob

 

[fowlman01]

Red Rocks don't do well when I judge Bob.....but I know what you mean. There are some good RIR bantams and large fowl here in CA.

Walt