Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

Here is a link to Tom Roebuck's website. http://www.goldenfeatherfarm.com/index.html He is quite the gentleman and I learn something from him each time we talk.

 

[cluck-cluck]

IMO - it depends on what the goals are for YOUR flock. Both short and long term goals.

Are they pets? Are you happy with them the way they are? Are you EVER going to show them? Are you EVER going to sell them? Do you want to sell meat/eggs? Do you just want chickens for manure or pest control? Are they important enough to you that you help keep them from extinction even if you feel that they aren't popular with other people? There are so many questions you need to ask yourself about what you want out of your chickens.

Only you can determine what goals you have for keeping chickens and how much effort you want to expend. It is more work to learn about the SOP, and breeding, and actually examine your chickens, cull chickens, etc. than it is to simply throw some food and water into a pen with them. But only you can decide what you want to do.

I would say that you need to get your goals listed and keep your options open - particularly if you aren't sure yet about some goals - before you waste time and money now so you don't kick yourself later.

Yes, ultimately, it doesn't matter to anyone but myself. I don't like to sell things, it stresses me out, so that's not a factor. The only reason popularity matters, is because I'm finding it virtually impossible to learn about them, aside from the SOP and a few articles. There is nobody to talk to about them to compare things with, virtually nothing has been written about them. Old pictures are contrary to the SOP and it's just frustrating. But I really like the bird, and if it could be made to be a good duel purpose bird again, I would be quite happy with it.

Bob Pinkerton and Fred Zillich have Black Leghorns. Here is a Pullet I saw at a show a couple weeks ago, it was Champion Mediteranean.

Beautiful. Leghorns are such an elegant breed.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I'd be surprised and happy if he'd get to 5 lbs! LOL. But then I don't know much about birds, and you do, so hopefully he will grow. He certainly is a finicky eater, only eating the corn morsels and leaving the rest! It's not just him, but my other boy too. Such a waste of food, but they don't eat anything else, they'd rather go hungry if I leave the leftovers there for them. The girls eat everything up!

<snip>

Have you tried fermenting their food? They seem to really like it a lot more and it will save you money in the long run. Also, since it is summer now (at least in my part of the country) and if he is in a pen by himself at feed time, I would keep reducing his feed amount until he was eating everything. Eventually, they will eat if they get hungry enough. At the same time, maybe add some vitamins or ACV to his water. Maybe you can experiment with some sprouts or something that will really catch his eye. There's no way that he is getting a balanced portion by eating just corn. Alfalfa is an appetite stimulant so getting some of that into his food may help. I know we're all trying to save on feed costs but if your birds aren't eating... its a dead end. You can buy alfalfa in bales or pelleted or cubed. The pellets and cubes needs to be rehydrated or whipped up in a blender so the chickens can eat them. My birds won't eat the pelleted alfalfa so I've started rehydrating the cubed alfalfa and mixing it in with their fermented feed in the serving bucket and they gobble it up. I put alfalfa in there so that they have some greens to eat. I have very little green here as I imagine is the same situation as you have being in the LA area. I have a terrible time trying to grow fodder but I haven't given up yet. Sprouts are a lot easier and they really like them; well, most of them do.

 

[cluck-cluck]

Yes, I get grass from my mother and sister during the week, so that helps alot. And yes, I have been fermenting their feed a while now. I hadn't thought of adding alfalfa to the mix though! I will give that a try! Thanks for the ideas!

 

[OSUman]

Here is one of my Lamona cockerels, he is a product of a 9 year project to recreate them.

 

[cluck-cluck]

Well, I never heard of Lamonas, so I wiki'd it, and I see it is basically extinct, so I wonder if you got yours from one of the people that still have original Lamonas or if it was from a re-created flock. Hope that's not a loaded question, I'm just curious now I'm of the opinion that birds are categorized by type, not blood lines, so to me, a re-created breed is as valid as one who's blood lines go back to the first birds, if not more so, as such old bloodlines could be weak and develop bad traits.

Anyway, that sounds like a really cool bird. Like the one I have an eye for, it's ancestry includes the Dorking. I didn't see it written, but how large are they supposed to get? I know, time to pull out my SOP, LOL

 

[OSUman]

They re supposed to be the same size as a White Rock, this like was recreated starting 9 years ago, sticking to the original recipe of creation. A hen and a pullet from the flock were shown last year, and Jeff Halbach said that they represented the breed well, but they still need help with consistency.

Steve Gerdes, who is the one that recreated them, had the original birds for a long time but lost he had lost them.

Well, I never heard of Lamonas, so I wiki'd it, and I see it is basically extinct, so I wonder if you got yours from one of the people that still have original Lamonas or if it was from a re-created flock. Hope that's not a loaded question, I'm just curious now I'm of the opinion that birds are categorized by type, not blood lines, so to me, a re-created breed is as valid as one who's blood lines go back to the first birds, if not more so, as such old bloodlines could be weak and develop bad traits.

Anyway, that sounds like a really cool bird. Like the one I have an eye for, it's ancestry includes the Dorking. I didn't see it written, but how large are they supposed to get? I know, time to pull out my SOP, LOL

 

[cluck-cluck]

Aw, sad but then again, it's great they were re-created! Your boy looks good!

 

[OSUman]

Thanks! I am excited about these birds, I hope I can get these birds up to what they were originally bred for, a good bird that dresses well and is a good layer of white eggs.

Aw, sad but then again, it's great they were re-created! Your boy looks good!

 

[Robert Blosl]

Thanks! I am excited about these birds, I hope I can get these birds up to what they were originally bred for, a good bird that dresses well and is a good layer of white eggs.
Quote: Now for you who don't know what is involved to get a trio of breeders from the East Coast to the West Coast this is what has to happen. You purchase the trio for say $100. from the master breeder. Then you have to purchase a box to ship them to you and have them shipped to the breeder unless he has one. Cost $60. Then ship the trio of adult large fowl birds to your house maybe $100 or more. When you are done you may have $250. in the trio.

So when you get ten adult started chicks for a total of $160 that not a bad investment in rare old time chickens. Remember you can maybe get some birds that are want a be Buff Rocks but you will spend so much for feed and maybe 10 to 15 years to reach the level that all ready is in this trio.

If I have the passion to bring back this old breed I would do it. Tom can help you in the selection of the color to breed. We have a good article written by him in the Archives of the Plymouth Rock
Club on how to breed the buff color.

Like I told you there is a breed a good dual purpose buff breed in Calif the Buff Wyandotte's. It is just as rare maybe only 100 alive in the USA today. This would be a good breed to help out as I only know a hand full who breeds them. But if you want Buff Rocks I would contact Tom as to have a breeding trio and then pay him for the birds and the expense to ship them. Thanks for having the interest in a old rare breed. Sound like you have the right stuff to be a successful breeder .