Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Pathfinders]

This year I bit the bullet and set up a totally separate pen to grow out the Buckeye cockerels so I wouldn't have to cull them as early as I have in years past. Hoop house and electric poultry netting in the back yard, ah well, such is farm life. If I could I'd put them in one of the horse pastures, but DH won't have that...

 

[armorfirelady]

May I ask a question about feather barring? While out with the hens tonight I noticed a lot of feathers around. The pullets must be going through their juvie molt.

I found 4 feathers from my barred rock. She is 13 weeks old. I'm curious how each of the feathers I found has different barring. And when she grows in her new feathers will the barring be the same as the old feathers?
I'm curious mostly since she won't be bred since I am not allowed roosters. Just curious really & trying to improve my chicken knowledge

Here she is in profile

And here are her feathers I found

And I'm guessing the answer would also answer my other question if a BCM pullet has a white feather will she grow back another white one when she is done molting?

Thank you for your patience
Jenn

 

[Robert Blosl]

This year I bit the bullet and set up a totally separate pen to grow out the Buckeye cockerels so I wouldn't have to cull them as early as I have in years past. Hoop house and electric poultry netting in the back yard, ah well, such is farm life. If I could I'd put them in one of the horse pastures, but DH won't have that...

AS Jackie GLEASON USE TO SAY ON SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT WOOF.

BUCKEYE HEVEN. THAT FOLKS IS A OLD h BREED OF FOWL.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Wow, did I ever just get hit over the head with this. I've been told over and over that Kathy's Delaware line is the way to go... but I can't keep 15 cockerels around for almost a year to sort through the keepers and the culls... I'd have to skip the HRIR completely, and get rid of all of my other birds, and forget about doing any crosses with Cornish just to have the space and MENTAL space to work with this line. Whereas, with the HRIR, I was able with diligent digging, to find a local breeding partner, and a source for half grown solid breeders that won't need fixed, just tweaking, maintaining and following good advice! If you want a project and have tons of space, then Zanna's lovelies from Kathy, or from Kathy might be the way to go, but this is what Zanna suggested for me:
"I got 21 chicks from Kathy, 2 had to be culled early on. Out of the 19 left, I ended up with 11 cockerals and 7 pullets of which I am thinking only 2-3 of the pullets I will breed at this point. One has greenish legs, one has whitish legs (should be bright yellow) and several have columbian type markings, not what the breed calls for. One of the cockerals grew a lower beak that was 1/4 " longer than the upper beak so he went to the auction Monday with 15 marans cockerals. Some of the other cockerals look too narrow, but they will get at least 7-8 mos. before I make any decisions and cull more. They are slow to mature and sometimes the underdog ends up being your best bird. Ahhhh the waiting game....................
All that being said, I would go for 2 doz chicks and if you go the egg route, even more. I will be doing test hatchings before I release any eggs to make sure of hatchability but rarely do you get a 100% hatch even under the most ideal conditions.

Hope this helps!"
Now you know why I'm thinking I was truly crazy to think I could help with this project. HANG IT!

Precisely! You've got to know what you're about, how much space you have, what you're willing to cut to make room. Rebuilding a breed, especially a project that involves crossing, leads to a lot of culling: huge percentages. It's a lot of fun, but there's also a lot of frustration. A lot pops up randomly, but in that there's a lot of education. It requires a lot of patience. It also requires a lot of space and money. There's a lot to be said for the merits of a more predictable bird, especially if one wishes to raise under fifty birds a year. Those birds that are in strong form at the moment are still not secure. The poultry geneticist and author Dr. Carefoot put it is best when he says that the rarest kind of poultry is well bred poultry. There are lots of breeds that currently are not well bred, and some of us are working on them with a vengeance. This isn't for everybody. Several would-be breeders reach for birds they simply will not be successful with because they do not have the room, "mental space", or budget to do the kind of breeding necessary to make it happen. On the other hand, breeds in good form are being overlooked for a wild goose chase. Would it make sense to ignore well-bred RIRs or NHs or Plymouth Rocks, or Leghorns or Minorcas or Hamburgs or Wyandottes until they are so rare that they, too, are in disrepair? Of course not! Indeed, the fancy needs these fowl. Breeders, new and old, need to see well bred birds to stay focused, to help keep the eye on the prize. Nothing gives me more fire and more commitment than seeing other people's beautiful birds. They give me hope and remind me of what quality looks like. Safeguarding what is healthy is a worthy vocation, a very important contribution to the fancy. Many more people need to choose some of the old classics that are still in powerful form:

Barred and White Plymouth Rocks (maybe Buffs and Partridge)
Silver-laced and White Wyandottes (maybe Columbian)
White and Light Brown Leghorns (maybe in RC)
SC Black Minorcas (maybe in RC)
Silver Spangled Hamburgs
Black Langshans
Light Brahmas
Buff Orpingtons
SC and RC RIR
NH
Australorps
White Crested Black Polish
Black Ameraucanas
Salmon Faverolles

In many ways, these are bedrock varieties for standard-bred large fowl. For many people who contribute and/or lurk on this thread, one of these is a very good choice. and there's nothing wrong with dedicating yourself to one of them. It will be a lifetime of discovery. We will not save all of the breeds and especially all of the varieties in the Standard. The 21st century is not the 19th nor 20th. All of the breeds listed above need folks to pick them up and maintain them lest they fall into the same disrepair as the others.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

This year I bit the bullet and set up a totally separate pen to grow out the Buckeye cockerels so I wouldn't have to cull them as early as I have in years past. Hoop house and electric poultry netting in the back yard, ah well, such is farm life. If I could I'd put them in one of the horse pastures, but DH won't have that...

Yep, you got to do it.


PS: Even from a distance they look healthy. Le petit monsieur to the right is looking typical.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Sent you a PM......... You can help!!! Just wait till we have some trio's ready, might be a year or so. Your question to me was how many chicks or eggs did I think you would need. There is another way and ultimately you will probably save time and a lot of $. Work with your HRIR in the meantime.

Yes - I agree with Zanna completely on this - I only have 14 to start with and my view changes from day to day . I have decided only two are a positive cull .
Some of the slow starters are maturing and passing the early good lookers. And to complicate it more we only have five pullets and one has green legs. One of the pullets that came by mistake and is supposed to be a White Rock but all have Delaware marking ? So I am buckling down for the long haul.

Actually, I would offer a differing opinion. If keeping "15 cockerels" around is too much, than one breed of large fowl is sufficient and RIRs are a far wiser choice than project Delawares. AletaG was displaying some strong self-knowledge. One should get the greatest amount of enjoyment for one's space and budget. One thing done well in a moderate space is a gem.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I have a question regarding your slow improvement comment Matt. As I feel this one is something that can take a while. It is regarding Duck Foot. If your selection of stock is small, and you face the possibility of breeding with a bird that has Duck Foot. How long would proper breeding take to get the Duck Foot out?

My daughter had a campine cockerel a few years back that appeared to be duck footed. He was very nice in every other way. This is what we did...

Every night, when we went out to close up at night, we would find him on the perch and reach under him and pull that back toe so that it was on the back side of the perch instead of tucked up under his foot. You might try this with your bird and see if it fixes it. If I remember correctly, it only took about a week (he was already 4 to 6 months old at the time) before we noticed he had it poking out behind while he walked.

 

[BGMatt]

I have a question regarding your slow improvement comment Matt. As I feel this one is something that can take a while. It is regarding Duck Foot.  If your selection of stock is small, and you face the possibility of breeding with a bird that has Duck Foot.  How long would proper breeding take to get the Duck Foot out?

This is one thing I don't know. In 20 years I have never had a bird with duck foot. I'm not sure I've ever seen a live bird with duck foot.

I would probably not breed from it unless you really have no other option, and the bird was an absolute stand out otherwise.

Maybe someone can chime in that's actually dealt with it, myself personally I'd treat it like any other physical deformity and cull as soon as its noticed.

 

[3riverschick]

Quote:
May I quote you on that?
VBG,
Karen

 

[capayvalleychick]

This is one thing I don't know. In 20 years I have never had a bird with duck foot. I'm not sure I've ever seen a live bird with duck foot.

I would probably not breed from it unless you really have no other option, and the bird was an absolute stand out otherwise.

Maybe someone can chime in that's actually dealt with it, myself personally I'd treat it like any other physical deformity and cull as soon as its noticed.

Here is a bird that I had, that was duck footed. He was culled.