A Heritage of Perfection: Standard-bred Large Fowl

[Canieldonrad]

Joseph, it is interesting that you have that prospective on Large Fowl because my experience has been quite the opposite.  Here in the Southeast the numbers of Large Fowl have grown to very good numbers in the last 3-5 years.  Prior to the last 5 years you were lucky to see 30 Large Fowl at any show in the South and now an average show has 100-150...with a couple show having 200+.  The fact that there are more Bantams than Large Fowl has been the norm for 70-80 years.  Nothing new there.  In my little area of the country Large Fowl have made a remarkable come back and I hope we can continue on that path. 
I was appointed APA State Rep for Alabama this past spring and my goal as State Rep is to get all the poultry shows in Alabama sanctioned as APA to go along with their sanctioning with the ABA.  There are currently 4 clubs in Alabama holding shows all of which were ALL Bantam shows for many years.  As of yesterday 3 of the 4 have agreed to sanction APA and allow Large Fowl at their spring shows in 2015.
So, I guess what I am saying is that I am going to have to disagree with Matt Lhamon that "they are dying a slow death" because they are alive and well in the Southeast.

I think a lot of that surge in numbers around here is due to DIYers. I have a lot of friends lately inquiringab out breeding their own poultry, not justmutts but pure bred birds.

 

[Wisher1000]

Congratulations to YellowHouseFarm on taking Reserve Champion Mediterranean Class at the Ohio National with his gorgeous rose comb Ancona pullet!

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Cheers, Wisher! I'm not the only one who's seen improvement ;-)

 

[MagicChicken]

Congratulations to YellowHouseFarm on taking Reserve Champion Mediterranean Class at the Ohio National with his gorgeous rose comb Ancona pullet!

Well done, YellowHouseFarm! Will we get to see photos in the Poultry Press?

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Well done, YellowHouseFarm! Will we get to see photos in the Poultry Press?

Indeed! It was fun!

 

[gjensen]

Congratulations Joseph. It says a lot to be up there with the Leghorns.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Congratulations Joseph. It says a lot to be up there with the Leghorns.

It did kind of shock me. Ch. Med was a White Leghorn.

 

[TheBanditQueen]

Deep in breast is a measurement of "down". A breast might be well-rounded, like a good Ancona breast, but one wouldn't describe the bird as deep, per se:



A deep breast is on that shows greater length down from the neck to the tip of the breast. It would be particularly suited to a bird respected for meat qualities. Dorkings are broad, deep, and long, which corresponds to thickness, width and length of breast fillets. Here are a couple of birds that would qualify, IMO, as deep, not just well-rounded, but deep:





This is the result of broad, deep, and long. As a side note, I would also add, for those who believe through their inexperience that standard-based breeding is only about appearance, that these photos illustrate a different story. Moreover, the rate of lay on our Dorkings is quite strong, which is something that also corresponds to this body type.

Yellow House Farm, could you (and/or anyone else who wishes) talk more about your comments here? What are the ways the deep body type you pointed out in your pictures corresponds to a strong rate of lay? Sorry...that sounds convoluted...but I can't think of a clearer way to ask.

(Not trying to pick a debate...I am honestly wanting to learn about this.)

 

[3riverschick]

The Essence of the Sussex Defined by Clem Watson
Great sage advice by one of the legendary experts in the breed.
The Feathered World Year Book and Poultry Keepers' ... 1921.
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b2979304;view=1up;seq=202
Pages 202 thru 209
The Sussex
By Clem Watson.
Pages 208 and 209.
The actual breeding of Sussex should not present any difficulty
to the man who follows the work among any other variety. It is
essential to observe certain points, and the Standard sets the points
forth very clearly so that all who run may read. Without shape
you do not get a Sussex. Make this a very important feature,
then you can work on colour and marking without fear. There
must be length and depth of body, otherwise you lose the table
points, then with the width of back and a good head you can
maintain the laying properties. Many of the Sussex today are
carrying an ugly comb which is not very attractive, although I
Page 209
know that this does not alter the body shape. But a coarse comb
denotes coarseness of body, and you will find the skin and flesh coarser
than one with a fine-grained comb.
Another advantage in the Sussex is that it is very active and can be kept
on the farm with a free range---then the chickens prove very hardy and can be easily reared.
It makes an interesting variety for the novice because of the change in colour
and its good all-round qualities. Everyone should join the Sussex Club and thus
help on the good work of getting new members when once they are enrolled.

Who was Clem Watson? He was a legendary Sussex breeder and judge. One of the three great Secretaries of the british Sussex Poultry Club in the 1st half of the last century. The others were Leo Outram and Mr. Sharpe, (both of whose writings are also excellent) He was Sussex Judge for the Sussex Poultry Club. Extremely knowledgeable on the breed, his writings are sought after even now. Unfortunately for us, Clem Watson did not write a book and it is for us to gather his wisdom from articles scattered in mags in libraries and on the Net. With one exception. Country Books in New Zealand has republished Outram's 1934 book on Sussex. In the back they have included the ultra rare Clam Watson letters discussing noted Sussex breeders of his day. These letters are only housed in 1 or 2 libraries' world wide , all on European soil ( I spent hours looking for them in catalogs on the Net) until now and make for very interesting reading. That repub is on excellent paper, oversize and illustrated with the stunning Feathered World series of Sussex prints. A real treasure. Country Books is online. Sharpe's book is online at archive.org in a bunch of readable formats.

 

[chicken pickin]

Subscribing. I have a lot to read through and I am looking forward to it.