Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[math ace]

Quote:
If you are taking requests

then I would LOVE

to see one for speckled sussex OR delawares.

 

[math ace]

Quote:
A new "breeder," needs to have a mentor, don't you think? Are there many willing to help out the newbies? It is difficult when there is no local mentor available. Do you have suggestions for a new chicken keeper that would be interested in breeding? I do understand the SOP is most helpful, however, a mentor would sure be beneficial.

I need a mentor - - - Does anybody want to sign up for the task ? ?

My interests are Delawares, BCM Marans, and Speckled Sussex. We have some good forums that discuss the delawares and BCM marans, but not so much for the speckled sussex.

Go ahead and make my day - - - PM me if you would like to be my mentor!

 

[hcammack]

Quote:
This couldn't be truer I got very lucky and am in contact with Dick Boulanger, Peter Merlin, and other Faverolles breeders on a dairy basis. It can be hard as many master breeders are not online. But I cannot tell you how helpful it was.

Henry

 

[Chickielady]

I have lucked out and have 2 wonderful OLD time breeders as mentors, and I do not think I have any business giving anyone else tips ....But, I can read.
Sorry, I guess you need to find, and befriend, a breeder that has bred birds that you intend to breed.

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
I like the way you think, Charlie. ...... 3 to 6 new breeders per variety. That really would be great for these old breeds. Would you suggest mentors for these new breeders? What I mean is, could we have mentors' names for each breed, so as we could have someone to help us out? Maybe put a couple names next to the breeds, with contact information.

I dunno, maybe that is asking too much. Just a thought .....

 

[punky rooster]

Quote:

 

[mississippifarmboy]

I think that's a great idea Charlie. And I agree with Kathy too, that a list of breeders/mentors of each breed would help us that are wanting to learn and help preserve these breeds to find someone willing to help us. I'm not that into bantams, but don't see any reason they couldn't be included too.
I have been lucky in that I have several people on this thread that are helping me and several others who don't post that I can email questions too, so I am learning.

 

[Robert Blosl]

Love your list Charlie: I think the first thing to do is find the breed you want to help out with. Then get two dozen eggs or ten chicks or a breeding trio and just raise them up the best you can and if you need help on rearing them to adult hood many can help who have rasied chickens a year or two. Then take pictures or a 45 second video of your birds and put on U tube or put togeather a DVD with the pictures of your birds and send it to a few of us old guys and we can help you pick out your birds. One thing we got to do and we have not talked about this on this thread is getting large fowl leg bands with numbers on them. This way when we see the pictures or videos we can write down on a pad which birds we like and then you can pick these birds out and put them in a seperate pen and use them as breeders for the coming year.

Some breeds are going to be work breeds to breed up and we dont need to get to worked up about why they dont fit the standard of perfection and just work on their breed type for a year or two. Color can be improved latter. You may want Delawares say and you may want to get with Kathinmo and get some of her birds not this year but next year. She is going to cross the barred rock male onto the New Hampsire REDs whoops sorry New Hampshires and get the Future Delawares. What I saw that Dough A. did this female to me was the best type and colored Delaware I ever saw on Film. So my hopes is to be patient and wait till the good birds are reinvented and then get started with Kathys new line.

Some of you dont want to show but want a rare breed and color pattern. You do not have to go to the best breeder in the USA to get your start. There are so many people who have good Buff Orpingtons, Black Austrolorps, Rhode Island Reds ect. Just get what you can afford. Get some eggs or chicks and just get started. Over three years you will learn so much that you may want to go a different direction and go with some other strain or breed.

One person asked me how can I learn to be a master of Type. Get you a white bird to learn how to breed type. Then in three to four years after you learn how to breed and improve this white bird take on the color pattern of that breed and learn how to breed for color and type.

A good example is White Plymouth Rocks. You could get large fowl as I did 23 years ago but boy do they cost a lot of money to grow up 50 chicks to find good breeders each year. I did it and got them to lay like crazy and they would win at the shows. But no one has talked about bantams. You could get a good strain of White Rock bantams and breed and raise 50 chicks on a shoe string budget. Each year improve them and keep two good breeding pens. Improve and breed again year in and year out. Then once you see how it works go to a barred or Silver Penciled or Colubian color pattern. You could go with bantams or jump up to large fowl.

I raised white call ducks for four or five years. Once I learned just how to hatch them and not kill the babies I got rid of them and started with the Gray Calls. They are so much harder as they have a difficult color pattern. You just about have to double mate them to get good males and females. But my point is it is a learning curve of about four or five years to learn to breed for type. To become a master of raising chicks from day old to adult birds then to learn how to put a finish on them then train them to show them.

Anyone who thinks they can do all of this in two years is nuts. With some of our breeds that Charlie has mentioned are so run down and poor it will take ten years of hard breeding to get them to score 93 points.

It can be done because the Buckeyes are a clasic example they did it in about 5 to 8 years. Smart breeding and culling using the Logan method of culling.

On the pedegree baskets. I was at Bed Bath and Beyond the other night in the kitchen section and they had wire dieviders that you put spoons forks and knives in that are about three inches tall and are made out of a screen wire product these would be perfect to hold the eggs and then keep the little chicks in the sections in your incubator.

Well its raining and wanting to snow and I have my electic blanket on number three.

See you all tomorrow and keep thinking how we can become new and improved breeders of the breeds Charlie has posted. It is a start. Rare breeds can have thier list and you can raise them as well.

Just dont worry which breed should be on what list It will not do any of us any good.

The secret is to you who carry the feed bucket get the breed you want and support the others who have it like the Delaware boys and girls are doing. Thats what we need in our hobby is team work. bob

 

[al6517]

I am a heritage Breeder of Standard White Cornish, although I do keep some other color variety's the large Whites are my passion as this bird in my opinion is so difficult to find let alone buy. Years ago I chose to work with this breed for that very same reason. I look forward to posting more on here in the future.

Here is my prized Standard White Cornish Rooster.

AL

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
I know nothing at all about Cornish. I had to run and get my SOP to look up their standard weight. HOLY COW, AL .... that boy looks huge! How much does he weigh? WOW, he does look beautiful! (Can I say beautiful for a cock?)

Glad you joined the thread, AL ! Lots of great information here. You will be yet another asset and great resource to beginners.