Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Robert Blosl]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5519994#p5519994

I posted the picture of the gray call drake. I think I used the wrong term frosting which is for the front bib area. This male has white in the section befor the tail. Instead of solid steal drake color it has a half inch or so section of white. This male was the best colored duck as a baby with the female color pattern. Art Lundgren told me to make sure I maked or wing banded the drakes as when they go into thier adult molt at one year or more the clean penciling will be mudded and I will not be able to see which drakes have the super nice pullet color. I have noticed this with my old drakes as when they go through thier molt I could never tell who had the best pencilling.

Thanks for all the advice on this I am going to put more breeding pressure on type and the neck section and width of body then when I get what I want will hammer down on the color issue. I dont think this is going to be a cut washed and dried project. It may be alot like the blue color pattern where you may hit it and may not and what you see is not what you get type of breeding. Just have not interviewed many people who have breed this color pattern. You would think that some of the old timers may have talked to the past super stars and they passed down the secrets to them. Well off to work to buy chicken feed.

For you who live in the deep south I use Flint River Mills feed out of Georgia. I use game bird pellets and game bird starter for my birds. Puts a great finish on the birds and has much more animal protein than some feeds. I have used alot of feed a few years ago when a switch was on to plant protein like soy beans. My hatch rate went down. Some feel Soy Beans worked like a birth control on the females. After going back to FRM I got my normal hatch rate back. bob

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

What would you "old-timers" suggest? Would you always recommend having a male and female line? I'm debating on the male/female lines for Langshans once my numbers are high enough and I have more birds accessible to me but don't want to get in over my head if there is no real need. I see pros to both breeding systems in this.

 

[Wynette]

Hi, RoPo!

I thought the male/female separate lines were only necessary when your line isn't breeding as true as you'd like for both males/females; shouldn't we be avoiding this?

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
I have been doing alot of research and reading the early 1900's literature, and I believe I am going to do double mating with my Barred Rocks. Back then they say they tried everything, and that was the only way to go with them.

 

[Wynette]

Quote:
I have been doing alot of research and reading the early 1900's literature, and I believe I am going to do double mating with my Barred Rocks. Back then they say they tried everything, and that was the only way to go with them.

Kathy - regarding "the only way to go" - what was the aim? Good stuff to know...I've always wondered on this and have read really good things about it and really bad - some of the bad I've read says double mating is simply a shortcut, but I do not have enough experience in this to know.

 

[kathyinmo]

The aim was to have "standard," birds (SOP birds that could be judged as close to 100 points as possible). All the research I am doing is specifically with the Barred Rock, but I do recall coming across something about the Silver Penciled also. I didn't think to save it or bookmark it. Can't remember what it said.

ETA: The reason for this with the Barred variety is because the male and female are not the same color. Females are always darker than males, and the original SOP (1800's) called for (or wanted to) them to be the same color. It just wasn't possible, and still isn't.

 

[Chickielady]

Yard full o' rocks :

Quote:
Is this safe for those of us with "city water" to use, or is it not-necessary? I would think it would hinder the growth of anything in the water, but perhaps "too much" chlorine??

Thanks

I have not seen that to be the case.
Chlorine is a gas, and will perk out of water after a short while, like over night.
Some municipalities are using a new chemical called "Chloramine" which supposibly does not perk out as fast, hench you need to de-chlorinate some city water before adding to an aquarium.
But I have seen no ill effects with the birds.
If you use those big water fonts, make sure the birds are not kicking poop in the water, as after a day or so you will have alot of bacteria growing.
Symptoms were like Mycoplasma Galleisepticum (sp?) sneezing, pale combs/wattles, exhaustion, coughing, rales and gurgling when breathing and fever...some even had swelling in the face.
A friend insisted it had to be ILT...it was scarey !
It ran through the different flocks overnight..
Necropsy ID'd only coli form bacteria.
I will NOT use all the antibiotics ever again !​

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Quote:
Is this safe for those of us with "city water" to use, or is it not-necessary? I would think it would hinder the growth of anything in the water, but perhaps "too much" chlorine??

Thanks

I have not seen that to be the case.
Chlorine is a gas, and will perk out of water after a short while, like over night.
Some municipalities are using a new chemical called "Chloramine" which supposibly does not perk out as fast, hench you need to de-chlorinate some city water before adding to an aquarium.
But I have seen no ill effects with the birds.
If you use those big water fonts, make sure the birds are not kicking poop in the water, as after a day or so you will have alot of bacteria growing.
Symptoms were like Mycoplasma Galleisepticum (sp?) sneezing, pale combs/wattles, exhaustion, coughing, rales and gurgling when breathing and fever...some even had swelling in the face.
Necropsy ID'd only coli form bacteria.
I will NOT use all the antibiotics ever again !

That is such great info....I've cleaned everything and added bleach to all waterers (except the brooder, wonder if its ok for chicks??)

 

[thechickonthehill]

Quote:
Would the suet blocks that you can get to put out for wild birds be okay to use?

 

[Chickielady]

I do my chicks also.
What I ended up with, is add 2 cups of unscented bleach to a milk jug, fill with water and mark it "solution" and I tied a yard on it so not to get it mixed up.
Then I can fill a spray bottle...and I measured 10 squirts was a Tablespoon.
1 Tablespoon per gallon well, 2 for sick birds.
In the chicks quart waterer I squirt about 5 sprays, and their water is changed daily so bacteria does not build it.
The slippery slime that forms on their waterer (bacterial slime ??) I spray, waite a minute, and rinse off.
So far, everyone is super healthy.
Get an empty squirt bottle and just refill it with the bleach solution, it is so much easier than measuring with a Tablespoon...
I use an empty Chlorox Cleaner spray bottle.
Spray yours in a Tablespoon to measure..
For brooding baby chicks I use about a teaspoon per gallon for them, or nothing, as we change their water everyday, there is little chance that bacteria will get a foothold in their fonts.