A Heritage of Perfection: Standard-bred Large Fowl

[LeslieDJoyce]

True. Social Media can help. More poultry people are active on social media for their breed clubs and such. I recently posted a couple photos of the breeding pens I'd set up, and tagged the consultant who had helped me sort the birds, and I got so many responses to those posts with the larger network of friends. Practically nobody has seen birds like them, and they are not a new breed, just a neglected breed.

 

[bnjrob]

Absolutely! I also attended my first poultry show last year with my kids thanks to those of you that put these things together. Bring them in with beautiful heritage breeds and they start to get involved. I'm hoping to show this year, but I need a primer on how to keep a chicken for showing and how to prepare and handle it.

Are there any good videos or articles about it?

One more thing. There is a big trend right now of people wanting to know where there food comes from and a lot of folks are starting to keep chickens for clean meat and eggs. My hope is that LF will make a big splash in this set of hipster homesteaders since these folks don't want just any chicken in their backyard. The show I went to had mostly banties and I was pretty disappointed. I think banties are cool, but I really wanted to see more LF birds.

Just a few thoughts from a newbie.

There's a DVD sold on Amazon called Beginner's Guide to Raising and Showing Chickens that was recommended a few years back by some of the experienced show people. Laura Haggerty raises Buckeyes and she had some info on her website about how she does things too - pathfindersfarm.com

 

[sideWing]

You're on the right track for improving interest in large fowl. Get them out there for people to see - at shows and in social media. Thanks for your interest. Keep it up!

Can't help you much on prepping birds for showing. Still learning how to do that myself. I wash mine 3-4 days before I show them, but I don't have a good setup for keeping them clean after washing. They need a few days after washing to dry out and redistribute the oils on their feathers before you show them. There are some videos but I can't find any links. You could check YouTube. Also there are some threads on BYC that deal with show prep. I got a lot of my information from the original Heritage Large Fowl thread started by Bob Blosl. It's a long thread but it has a lot of great info in it. Good luck!

I will check it out thanks!

True. Social Media can help. More poultry people are active on social media for their breed clubs and such. I recently posted a couple photos of the breeding pens I'd set up, and tagged the consultant who had helped me sort the birds, and I got so many responses to those posts with the larger network of friends. Practically nobody has seen birds like them, and they are not a new breed, just a neglected breed.

Great example!

There's a DVD sold on Amazon called Beginner's Guide to Raising and Showing Chickens that was recommended a few years back by some of the experienced show people. Laura Haggerty raises Buckeyes and she had some info on her website about how she does things too - pathfindersfarm.com

I found it. 4.5 stars!

 

[Wisher1000]

@sideWing You don't have to buy a DVD, there is plenty of info online about showing and show prep. It is all (or mostly all) under youth showmanship. There are tons and tons of Youtube clips made for and by 4Hers and YEPA kids. You will learn all you need to know about bathing and grooming your birds there, then you will adapt and adopt what works best for you. Basically, what you will want to do is to keep your show birds in special pens that will keep them clean and keep their feathers from getting broken. Most will bathe and trim beaks and nails a week ahead of the show and then keep them in "training cages" and handle them often to train them to show well for the judge. If you do some research and still have any questions feel free to ask here or PM me any time.

 

[sideWing]

@sideWing You don't have to buy a DVD, there is plenty of info online about showing and show prep. It is all (or mostly all) under youth showmanship. There are tons and tons of Youtube clips made for and by 4Hers and YEPA kids. You will learn all you need to know about bathing and grooming your birds there, then you will adapt and adopt what works best for you. Basically, what you will want to do is to keep your show birds in special pens that will keep them clean and keep their feathers from getting broken. Most will bathe and trim beaks and nails a week ahead of the show and then keep them in "training cages" and handle them often to train them to show well for the judge. If you do some research and still have any questions feel free to ask here or PM me any time.

Thank you Wisher! Do you need to keep the show pens with individuals? Or can you put a few pullets in without a cock bird? I imagine cock birds need to be kept alone.

 

[Wisher1000]

I guess it depends on how OCD you are. I have pulled birds off the lawn and taken them to shows and done well with them. I would have only been sorry if there had been another bird that was the same quality and it beat out mine due to condition.

My best advice is to have fun with it, no matter if you win or not. Do what keeps it fun for you, and don't get so fixated on winning that you can't enjoy the show.

It is true that they look for broken feathers and overgrown beaks and toenails, but as long as your birds are healthy, parasite free, and not nasty, you will not have to be embarrassed. I promise, yours will not be the worst ones there.........

 

[BGMatt]

Absolutely! I also attended my first poultry show last year with my kids thanks to those of you that put these things together. Bring them in with beautiful heritage breeds and they start to get involved. I'm hoping to show this year, but I need a primer on how to keep a chicken for showing and how to prepare and handle it.

Are there any good videos or articles about it?

One more thing. There is a big trend right now of people wanting to know where there food comes from and a lot of folks are starting to keep chickens for clean meat and eggs. My hope is that LF will make a big splash in this set of hipster homesteaders since these folks don't want just any chicken in their backyard. The show I went to had mostly banties and I was pretty disappointed. I think banties are cool, but I really wanted to see more LF birds. 

Just a few thoughts from a newbie. 

Discarding the utility of bantam chickens is a mistake many make IMO. The most productive and feed efficient layers I have raised are the Langshan bantams, and the eggs are a USDA medium, bordering on large. They mature fast and the cockerels would make a very nice meal for a couple people at 16 weeks. I have seen similar utility in other larger bantam breeds. It's such an overlooked thing that these days when urban backyard folks ask me for recommendations I point them in that direction, even over my Leghorns which are very productive as well.

Large fowl, especially well bred, standard bred birds are big. The whole demographic of new backyard and urban chicken keepers really isn't prepared for that, the space requirements and the extra feed requirements are rather substantial, especially when the goal for so many is just simply eggs.

Of course I'm really just playing devil's advocate here as I drastically prefer the large fowl versions of most breeds, but looking at the market, and intent of many...well, see above.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Discarding the utility of bantam chickens is a mistake many make IMO. The most productive and feed efficient layers I have raised are the Langshan bantams, and the eggs are a USDA medium, bordering on large. They mature fast and the cockerels would make a very nice meal for a couple people at 16 weeks. I have seen similar utility in other larger bantam breeds. It's such an overlooked thing that these days when urban backyard folks ask me for recommendations I point them in that direction, even over my Leghorns which are very productive as well.

Large fowl, especially well bred, standard bred birds are big. The whole demographic of new backyard and urban chicken keepers really isn't prepared for that, the space requirements and the extra feed requirements are rather substantial, especially when the goal for so many is just simply eggs.

Of course I'm really just playing devil's advocate here as I drastically prefer the large fowl versions of most breeds, but looking at the market, and intent of many...well, see above.

The exhibition halls are tilting soberly toward the bantams. (not "banties") ... THAT much is true. Large Fowl are facing challenges and that also is reality. Mostly, their age has passed as a viable agricultural/commercial product and their very existence are now virtually dependent completely upon homesteaders and fanciers who still breed them and exhibit them. Bantams also have a reasonably energized association, the ABA. Bantams do indeed lay more eggs per pound of feed, it seems to me as my experience with them is quite recent. Traditional standard bred LF are indeed LARGE and yes, they eat feed and yes, they take a bit of time to grow and mature.

I also agree with Matt that bantams do indeed make for easier keepers for people with limited facilities.

Do I mourn the ever shrinking numbers of LF at the shows? Yes. Yes, I do. See all of the above to understand that it seems quite likely to continue. Far too many breeds and far too few folks who know how to breed them well. Many of the LF varieties are virtually extinct already. Too bad.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Do I mourn the ever shrinking numbers of LF at the shows? Yes. Yes, I do. See all of the above to understand that it seems quite likely to continue. Far too many breeds and far too few folks who know how to breed them well. Many of the LF varieties are virtually extinct already. Too bad.

True that. There are actually few varieties of breeds left that actually still possess the reflection of their former glory.

The reality is that, for showing, if genetics and form are the focus, size is a random question. Thus, it's a rather similar challenge, per se, to breed the perfect White Leghorn bantam as compared to the large fowl, all points being equal. Thus, for someone who's doing it for the breeding, why not choose bantams and save the funds. Moreover, if one is going to spend the same on the birds, Harry Halbach used to say that one could raise 5 bantams to every 1 lf, so the investment goes much farther in being able to breed the numbers needed for competitive selection.

These sensible concerns notwithstanding, there are so many other issues that plague the would-be breeder the vast majority of which are attitudinal. So few successfully slalom the minefield of emotional baggage that would lead to the learning that, itself, leads to strong breeding.

 

[Wisher1000]

Good morning, JM! How are you, my friend? Would you expound on this statement, please?

"So few successfully slalom the minefield of emotional baggage that would lead to the learning that, itself, leads to strong breeding."

I think I understand, but to what "emotional baggage" are you referring?