Standard of Perfection

[championsumatra]

yes

 

[championsumatra]

sorry for that

 

[fowlman01]

Not a problem. I misunderstood you.

w.

 

[championsumatra]

I go by the standard with breeding my sumatras.

 

[HughesFowlFarm]

Spangled here is a view of the New Hampshire i just finished compiling:
[COLOR=000000]New Hampshire general description:[/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]Eye Color: Bay
Beak: Reddish horn
Comb, Wattles, Face Ear Lobes: All bright red. Male comb should be straight with 5 points. Female comb may lop to one side or be straight depending on strain.
Plumage: Soft, heavily feathered chestnut red.
Body: Should be round, fully bodied with broad chest, a flattish head, following down a continuous hollow sweep leading to the tail.
Hen: Neck should display distinct black markings with black feathering in wings and tail.
Cock: Should posses three distinct colorations being: neck hackles should be a light golden bay, leading into a medium chestnut bay in the saddle hackles, and dark golden bay in the saddle. Along with black flight and tail feathering.
Under Feathering: Should display distinct light salmon coloration with gray to smoke tinge when main plumage is pulled back to reveal down.
Legs: Yellow with reddish horn hue. Males may display lines distinct line of red coloration down the shank. Female leg coloration will fade during laying.
Skin: yellow
Egg Coloration: light brown to dark brown depending on strain.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=000000]Weight: Cocks 8.5lbs Hens 7.5lbs Cockerels 7.5 Pounds Pullets 5.5lbs
Egg Production: 120+ (Should be noted here that the original New Hampshires were recorded as high as 325 eggs per annum. Today's hens are poor comparisons to their ancestors.)
Chicks: Sandy to Salmon red to red yellow. Much lighter than their ancestor the Rhode Island Red Chick.
Broodiness: Hens make good brood hens and mothers. Medium broodiness in nature.
Temperament: A relatively calm and docile breed highly recommended for the hobbyist and backyard poultry enthusiast. They can be aggressive with other breeds and at feeding time with each other.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]Origins: For more than 30 years poultry-men selected only the strongest and biggest chicks and line bred them again selecting only chicks from the strongest layers sired by the biggest, broadest Cocks available. There was little circle breeding done here and by this we mean returning to the originator being the Rhode Island Red. Once the strain was started line and selective breeding were done for generation up generation successively culling and keeping only those most desirable cockerels and pullets and then recrossing mother to son and Father to daughter for decades. The result of this “closed” breeding was the establishment of what we know today as the New Hampshire.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]Many folks know the basics of the New Hampshire chicken. It was this selective and line breeding program started around 1915 between poultry-men in Massachusetts and New Hampshire who were line breeding and selectively breeding Rhode Island Reds in an effort to develop a more productive and larger broiler meat bird. Officially recognized as a standard breed by the APA in 1935 it has always been listed as a "dual purpose" bird though today I have yet to understand why?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]What folks may not know is that the New Hampshire never gained broad popularity in the United States and was nearly lost by the late 50's. Further, while the New Hampshire was never really popular here, in Great Britain during the 50's and 60's it was all the rage.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]Today The Netherlands and Germany still have a strong fancier and breeding community of New Hampshires and have developed two additional colorations in addition to the standard Chestnut Red , the Chestnut Red Blue Marked and the White New Hampshire are also recognized. These two additional colors are not recognized by the APA due to little interest in the Original New Hampshire today. Like the Rhode Island White the New Hampshire White is a true sport.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]When the New hampshire was being developed in the early 20's it was as much a race to get a bird named a “New Hampshire” to compete for bragging rights against Rhode Island's “Red”. But there was a serious side to the line breeding and selective breeding that went on too.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]It was a much a desire to develop a meaty, quick developing cockerel as it was to improve the laying quality of the hens. Records indicate that by 1930 breeders had seen a high of 325 eggs per year and an average of 275 eggs per year. But because the selective line breeding for egg production didn't take precedent over the selective breeding for meat quality these egg production levels were lost.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]This race to produce new breeds of chickens was a true race when I was a young man. A poultry-man/woman wasn't worth their salt if they didn't attempt to develop a stronger, healthy more productive chicken. And then it was the small holders that were doing most of this creative work; since the industrial farm complex didn't yet exist.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]The New Hampshire like so many other breeds during this time were a means to a more productive and profitable farm life for poultry productionists as well as the average backyard producer of meat and eggs.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]I have to say as a poultry-man it was a magical and spirited time to live in for those interested in poultry generally. I have lived long enough to see poultry enthusiasm rise to it's highest only to fall miserably in the late 60's onward. I am glad as an old man to see the Nation as a whole taking a second look at poultry again. Poultry and farming generally made this Country great and it made the people great because they cared about one another on a level that today most people don't get or understand. We were there for each other then.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]Perhaps one does live too long to see what they would prefer not to see?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]But I am heartened that poultry still has the magical charm on people that it always has had. I don't know if it is a chicken's comical nature or their curiosity or their whimsical nature and how they can bond to humans. Maybe it's the fact that chickens are willing to take us into their flock on our terms rather than the other way around? And I know nothing beats the magic of a chick pushing out of its shell, drying off and looking to us totally dependent on us for everything even as they grow up![/COLOR]

Do you have anything like this on barred rocks?

 

[Gallusfarm]

Have you read this book? http://archive.org/stream/plymouthrockstan00amerrich#page/n0/mode/2up

 

[Maggiesdad]

Your best bet for current info would probably be here.

Mr. Miller was well on in years, and hasn't posted in months.
I was glad for his input while he was able to post...

 

[jeanette char]

I find your information very enlightening. I am a first time poultry owner and I am breeding my buckeyes, I appreciate all your information.

 

[horseladytritt]

I'm thoroughly enjoying this thread.

 

[WisteriaPath]

Thanks Oregon. I guess you're right I wasn't really looking for responses per say on this string but as an old man rambling on don't want to tick people off either.

Cheers

You're my favorite person to read on BYC; thanks for sharing your knowledge! I don't know how but i'm going to read everything you've posted sometime =D