Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[stephanie1992]

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I think a key thing we're forgetting here is that this thread mainly focuses on the ALBC's definition of Heritage Breed, BEYOND the fact that it is a breed accepted before the 60's. So that excludes hatchery and production strains, I believe the main subject here, and the definition we mean, is one bred to the origin/standard. After all, old farmers in the days didn't want skinny Reds to simply lay a bunch of eggs. . . They wanted to be able to have hens set their own eggs too, and have birds big enough and meaty enough to offer food.

ohhh ok lol thank u that makes since

 

[hossfeathers]

I think a key thing we're forgetting here is that this thread mainly focuses on the ALBC's definition of Heritage Breed, BEYOND the fact that it is a breed accepted before the 60's. So that excludes hatchery and production strains, I believe the main subject here, and the definition we mean, is one bred to the origin/standard. After all, old farmers in the days didn't want skinny Reds to simply lay a bunch of eggs. . . They wanted to be able to have hens set their own eggs too, and have birds big enough and meaty enough to offer food.

Did they?

I mean, I wasn't a farmer in the old days...but surely there were some who were only interested in eggs, and had minimal interest in keeping a bunch of hens over the winter in a dark barn who didn't lay.

Given that "a chicken in every pot" was a big selling point because chickens were hard to raise, and much more rarely eaten than they are now, but is it a good assumption to make that all farmers wanted a multi-purpose breed the way some of us do now?

(Don't get me wrong - I support raising old style animals.)​

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Back them there were no small incubators. Commercial units existed that were huge, but none for the farmers. It was a different time. Even the farmers with non-broody breeds like Leghorns had Cochins and Orpingtons for incubation.

 

[kathyinmo]

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My grandparents and great grandparents had kerosene incubators.

 

[Stevenson]

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Funny how many times this question, or one like it, has been asked in this thread. I hope everyone keeps a level head as it is once again discussed!

 

[stephanie1992]

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Funny how many times this question, or one like it, has been asked in this thread. I hope everyone keeps a level head as it is once again discussed!

i knew it was prob discussed but i didnt wanna have to go through all the pages lol

 

[Illia]

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Just because a bird isn't bred solely for production doesn't mean it will lay as well as a rooster.

I only have 4 hens right now that are hatchery-based, and all my heritage and non-hatchery based girls lay just as well. In fact, I used to have a lot more than 4 hatchery girls, but most of them either quit out after 2-3 years, didn't have enough value in their eggs to pay off for their feed intake, or had genetic deformities or egg laying issues. (internal laying, eggbound, etc) Only one of my breeds that is non-hatchery does not lay in the winter. The rest; the only time they don't lay is when they're broody or molting. And most of the time I don't mind the broodiness at all.

Don't get me wrong, I love a hen no matter what stock she is from, I'm just saying - You have to know both sides before you vote.

Not all farmers wanted dual purpose breeds, yes, but, there's GOT to be a reason we created so many and still to this day preserve their old type, right?

I myself have an incubator, yes, but I live off of dual purpose birds. They feed me both eggs and meat, and they also take care of what young they want to, which seriously cuts back the feed and electric bill.

 

[fowlman01]

One of the reasons we have so may breeds is that they started out as regional hybrids that enough folks raised in that area to finally fix their traits. People didn't always know what was going on 100 miles away, so they raised what they knew would work for them in their location. We preserved their types because people started to show them and each of the breeds served their local community well. The APA is the oldest livestock organization in the US and in 1873 became the custodian of the breed Standards.

Walt

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Most of the American breeds were developed on the east coast. Only one was developed in the "west". The Buckeye in Ohio. It is interesting reading the orgins of the older breeds.

 

[fowlman01]

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Well, we have all the good birds here in the real west now. hahaha

w.