Bessemer Thread Revisited - No Flaming :)

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Here is an exerpt (did I spell that right?) from another thread...

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Of course you haven't. It's not like you possibly could have. You see, they are a newly considered breed, altho' nobody has any guess how old the breed is, it's been raised locally here for quite some time, and has already contributed genetic material to new breeds, such as the Double-Laced Sebright, and possibly the Ginger Sebrights (unconfirmed). Well, my experience and the birth of the Bow Lake fowl occurred when my BBRed OEGB cock died of Pneumonia during a harsh cold-rainy stretch, typical of our autumns up here. I would eventually answer an ad at the feed mill and find the breed. They had been raised by the originator for so long, that, although there was no attempt to breed them to any standard or Color variety, they were tapering into a very conformed breed and the genetics were narrowing to one color: Gold Birchen. It was amazing how they looked so similar in type to all their relatives, and there was a nice variety of varieties: Crele, English Partrdge, Gold Birchen, Black, Barred Copper, Speckled White, and Dark. Almost all these colors (except Gold Birchen and Barred Copper), were represented by only a handful of specimens, with the other two colors flourishing. The Type as I would describe is simple: The body is Langshan-shaped, the tail is often quite erect, the breast is very full and meaty, and the shanks of the legs are finely feathered, like a North Holland Blue. They were always Single-Combed. I had tried to get the breed recognised by Feathersite, but the fellow told me I had to get a True-Breeding pair. Okay. I contacted the originator to inquire about some more stock, and unfortunately, I found out the last sparable birds had been falsely distributed as mutts. I raise the Gold Birchen and English Partridge varieties.
CorneliaFrost126.jpg

Above is the world's last English Partridge (Genome: S/S, Ap/ap+) Bow Lake fowl. All the others have died long ago of old age, and this one miraculously appeared as apenetrance in the Barred Copper flock.
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And this is one of many Gold Birchen roosters alive.
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You should be able to see the leg feathering in the above photograph.
 
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I always like a good mystery. For some reason that duck reminds me of an aylesbury as well. Maybe the feathers?

Anyhow, Henry Bessemer was a fairly famous inventor from the U.K. that lived and died in close proximity to where the buff orpington duck was first bred. According to the ALBC the BO duck was bred from ayelsbury and other breeds of duck. Perhaps this breed was some sort of homage to an english inventor in an attempt to raise the breeds profile? Also, I think the BO breed was first introduced within a year or so of Bessemer's death.

You could assume that there was some movement towards English pride during that time, and this breed could have been the buff answer to the rouen and aylesbury meat class ducks.

Or it could have been a marketing ploy to sell the duck in the states where the name Bessemer was held in higher regard due to his inventions that helped with the production of steel.

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Of course this is all speculation on my part based on what I could gather from the web...
 
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Or it could have been named after an old ghost mining town near where my farm is. That's all interesting informationg grawg. I gave the breed that name, because it didn't seem to have a name before I came across it (although I don't claim to have originated it. I didn't). That's why I believe it's a new breed. Well, it may have a 'Pre'-Bessemer name; One day I may show them to someone and he'll say 'Oh you raise {such-and-such}, too!". And I don't believe it has crossed any borders (perhaps Quebec?)...

They Breed True to color? - Yes.
They Breed True to type? - Yes.
There are fairly distributed specimens? - Yes.
Is it valuable? - Yes.
It has a breed name? - (insert Bessemer here)
Heehehe...
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It places well at shows, under Buff, or Rouen?!? - NO!
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Hmm so you gave it the name based on an old mine in your area? I would wager the mine was for iron and would then be named after Henry Bessemer. So that sheds some different light on the whole breed origin.

Could it simply be an area specific buff orpington that was bred for size and that body type? I know indian runners can vary quite a bit from location to location...
 
They are beautiful no matter what. They do look just like BOs in coloring though. Just not the size. Thats what makes them so interesting to me
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What is a 'DHB' duck? BTW I noticed that you didn't answer my question about hatching any ducklings from your 'Bessemer" ducks. Much As I would like to believe that you would be able to tell the difference between a cross and all the Mallard breeds The proof would be a true hatch from your flock~gd
 
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What is a 'DHB' duck? BTW I noticed that you didn't answer my question about hatching any ducklings from your 'Bessemer" ducks. Much As I would like to believe that you would be able to tell the difference between a cross and all the Mallard breeds The proof would be a true hatch from your flock~gd

Short for Dutch Hook Billed; Kromsnaveleend. No, I don't have any Bessemerlings to proove non-mule-dom. But, also, the Drakes have short tails and Sex-Feathers.
 
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