Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[gjensen]

Where are you in S.C. ? This was a single $1000.00 lightening bolt despite all my wiring contracts.

I live right outside the city limits of Camden. The address is Cassatt. Not far from the military academy.

 

[aveca]

just glad your ok vickie..jeeeees

 

[Pozees]

Did you get hit last night? No phone, internet, fried printer, irrigation system, alarm system and many GFI circuits later, all works but the alarm system.One bolt blew open the door to my pantry, and shot pieces of the irrigation box all over the kitchen.The printer blew off the computer, but the computer is OK.This despite whole house surge protectors, and individual ones.Fun evening.Not fun writing cheques today.

Eek, that is scary. At work we've had a few lightning hits take similar things out, once we had to replace the phone system, printer, fax machine, load cell in a truck scale and computer chip in the scale display (chip shattered inside the display), but it all happened overnight when we were not there. Worst thing that happened at home was a hail storm that kept circling, lasting 30 minutes, destroyed windshields and car bodies. Made the gardens look like nuclear wasteland. Had no chickens at that time, and for that day I was glad we didn't. I walked through what had been the best vegetable garden I had ever had and just cried.

 

[galanie]

When you say the other end of the state, are you talking about the Amarillo or El Paso areas?  Or somewhere else? 
I got excited when I saw Tx state fair thinking it might be close enough, but it's in Dallas.  470 miles...Prolly won't make that one either.

I just meant from say Brownsville to the panhandle.

The Fancy Feathers in San Marcos would be closer to you probably. Their website is Fancyfeatherstx.org

Also I forgot the Bluebonnet Classic is in College Station. Sponsored by the Brazos Valley Poultry Club. They have a great website at www.bluebonnetclassic.com

Dallas is some 300 miles from here as are the ones above.

 

[Texasmja]

I just meant from say Brownsville to the panhandle.

The Fancy Feathers in San Marcos would be closer to you probably. Their website is Fancyfeatherstx.org

Also I forgot the Bluebonnet Classic is in College Station. Sponsored by the Brazos Valley Poultry Club. They have a great website at www.bluebonnetclassic.com

Dallas is some 300 miles from here as are the ones above.

I am pretty sure that no birds from out of state can show in Texas.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

And a question I have for some of you who take multiple birds to a show, how do you transport them? Mine are all large fowl, no bantams, and the cockerels or cocks especially are big. I do not have a big travel trailer type thing to transport birds.

It will be the same with the Catalanas. I will wait two or three generations, and I will probably show them even if they are junk. I will know where I started and whether or not I made progress.
With these rare breeds, I would not wait until they are "show worthy", before you show them. It is better for the breed if people saw them. You might strike someone else's interest. Maybe you will run across someone that has had some experience with them.

This is what I did with the Anconas. Turned out I was getting a bit "coop blind". All I could see were their faults and not their positives. Brian and Don came over one day and looked at them. They didn't think they were bad at all and encouraged me to enter some. This, I imagine, will be the first season I enter White Dorkings. All for the same considerations you mentioned--both the hold off and the go for it.

 

[1MrsMagoo]

Well I'm going to jump in here on the "I don't plan to show" discussion. I had never planned to show. Then I started looking for sanctioned shows around here and found that there's only 3 per year anywhere within reasonable driving distance. I consider "reasonable" to be somewhere that I can get to and back in one day and still have at least a couple hours to spend there. There are other shows, but they are not sanctioned. There's the Fancy Feathers shows in New Braunfels, Beaumont Fair, and the State Fair show in Dallas. All of which are more than 200 miles away. But I have been to a couple now. Yes, they are fun. Yes, you do learn. Yes, I will be showing someday.

There are others, which are in my state, but driving from one end of this state to the other is farther than driving from Fairfax to Tallahassee. And I don't have the resources to go on holiday much. But I'll be moving soon and there could be shows in adjoining states that will be close enough. But I've yet to research it. Too much else to do now and in the coming months to focus on that.

And of those shows I have attended, there was only ONE bird entered that was the same color and breed as what I have. And that wasn't exactly a tiny show. So the opportunity to learn about my breed at shows is even more limited. But that won't stop me from doing the best I possibly can and with the help of a wonderful mentor, I still think I'll have something worth having.

Initially, the post said to show, but then it focus was more on "go to shows" - there is a difference there. You dont' have to actually take a bird to a show to attend and learn, but I can see that you would learn more if you did.

Guess my point of all this is that there are those of us who indeed cannot make it to many shows. But we still have the SOP and some great folks around to help.

Well, I used to think the same way. I purchased an SOP to use in breeding my Pomeranian geese, New Hampshires, Red Dorkings, and Cornish. Their wasn't a poultry show closer than 8 hours from me at that point and I couldn't afford to go beyond that to show.

Then I found out a couple local poultry clubs were forming and I jumped in the closest one both feet and we have been making things happen. The small hand full of us that started the club decided if we wanted local shows, we just needed to put a couple on. We have applied for a sanctioned show from both the APA and the ABA, have a location (LSU Ag Center on campus in Baton Rouge, LA), and a date, November 9th (same as the Ohio National, but none of us can afford to go there). It will be a double show (two separate shows and set of judges... One APA and one ABA judge per show), and will have a junior show as well. We have the Plymouth Rock club and probably the International Cornish Breeders on board for district meets during the show as well. We are calling it the Gulf South Fall Classic. We are looking at locations right now for a spring show as well, but it will probably be at another location to give others easier access to the second show.

I am in charge of getting the judges lined up and that actually take a lot more thought than I had anticipated. I have been informed by those who have put together the other shows in our state, that we need to be careful who we get for the Old English game and Modern game bantams: I was given a short list of the preferred local judges. Some of the better judges were already booked for the entire year months ago. So far we have 2 of 4 judges confirmed (one APA and one ABA), one APA judge that can't confirm till after June 30th, and I am still speaking with guys about the second ABA judge spot.

Another local club in Central Louisiana had their first show this past April in Jennings, LA. Also, the state of Mississippi will have its first APA/ABA sanctioned poultry show in 27 years this October at the state fair in Jackson thanks to the work of one woman: Dr. Shirley Johnson. She went toe-to-toe with those in the state agriculture/livestock department and got them to lift the ban on poultry shows in the state. Then, she formed the Mississippi Poultry Show Club.

Big things are starting to happen for those of us in the deep south as far as showing poultry is concerned. If we all work together and keep our noses to the grindstone so-to-speak, we can see enough shows spread across the region that everyone will have one close enough so that they can participate and not break their budget.

 

[galanie]

I am pretty sure that no birds from out of state can show in Texas.

The IP testing and certificate needs to be done but I'm not aware of a requirement that the birds be from Texas. Anyway just suggestions. They may or may not be closer and if they are, one can attend to see anyway.

 

[aveca]

usually they require pullorum, and some states ai and vet cert for out of staters..pa ,md,all of new england pretty much require pullorum and thats it..they all go back and forth to each others shows..but i suppose every area is different..it should say on entry forms.

 

[1MrsMagoo]

The IP testing and certificate needs to be done but I'm not aware of a requirement that the birds be from Texas. Anyway just suggestions. They may or may not be closer and if they are, one can attend to see anyway.

From what other local exhibitors have told me it is nearly impossible to take a bird into Texas to show there. Here is a link to the requirements to bring a bird into the state: They are extensive....http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/regs/EntryRequirements_Poultry.pdf