Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

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if you can get the 3 pullets and the cockerel, then i would start there with what you have. add some other strains like birds from whitmore farms, beth holmes, sandhill preservation and paul harter. hatch, breed and cull ruthlessly. i would wait until kathy in mo had a finished product before getting them and maybe only a rooster then.
I think that is (possibly) what the problem with the Delawares is now - too many strains all mixed up together. One strain has green legs, another strain has horrible pinched tails, etc.... Folks have crossed these and now many of them have all those bad traits. From what the old timers say, I think it is best to stick to one strain and keep working with the best ones hatched each generation.
 
Charlie thanks for infoo. Rodney says to get a fan from Granger. Did you? Also, I see he got wafer in his and in mine the temps swing almost two degrees between on and off. What kind of swings do you get with your black box therostate from GQF? On my incubator I got from them GQF 1701 its about a half a degree and that sucker stays almost dead on at 99,5 degrees.

if you have a good element will that one work just as well or do you need to replace it?

Look forward on how to gut one out and replace the parts for a beginner. bob

I got all of my parts from John at Smith. John and Terry are great people and a pleasure to deal with. His parts are about .25 more than GQF per Chris.
http://www.poultrysupplies.com/index_files/Page538.htm
I use the wafer only as a backup to the electronic thermostat. If the electronic fails the wafer kicks in. Mine varies about a half degree. I have it in our laundry room in the basement. It is a pretty constant 65 degrees with about 40% humidity in there. I run mine dry until day 18 it is usually about 40% humidity and 60% last three days. I use a wet bulb - dry bulb Thermometer.
You do not need to replace the element.
If yours has the tin in the back that is rounded at the bottom don't eliminate it. It directs the air from the fan over the element on the bottom.
Good luck with the birds
Charlie
 
From what the old timers say, I think it is best to stick to one strain and keep working with the best ones hatched each generation.
Great advise Kathy
Keep the strain closed, get a buddy to raise them and trade birds with each other.
It is best to stick to one strain and keep working with the best ones hatched each generation.

Good luck with the birds
Charlie
 
I think that is (possibly) what the problem with the Delawares is now - too many strains all mixed up together. One strain has green legs, another strain has horrible pinched tails, etc.... Folks have crossed these and now many of them have all those bad traits. From what the old timers say, I think it is best to stick to one strain and keep working with the best ones hatched each generation.

when i first got the delawares, i was told that they, as a breed were too inbred which was causing dwarfism. i meant no direspect to what you are trying to accomplish. i just see things differently and will breed accordingly.
 
I have F3s on the ground now (Delaware project), originating from Good Shepherd Barred Rocks and German New Hampshires. They are just chicks, but I am impressed with their growth rate already.

I now have another strain of New Hamps and Barred Rocks growing out. Stukel Barred Rocks and Good Shepherd New Hamps. If they turn out well, I think I will begin another project - another strain of Delawares.

What the heck - something to do in my retirement years, right?! My small town loves it when I offer all the free cull chicks from hatching, and I appreciate that they take them. From 200 hatched (F2s) I got only 4 females (and 20 males) to use for F3s. Then, I culled one female with wry neck. It does take alot of hatching - but I like hatching. I would like to see the comparison of the two strains I create.
 
I think that is (possibly) what the problem with the Delawares is now - too many strains all mixed up together. One strain has green legs, another strain has horrible pinched tails, etc.... Folks have crossed these and now many of them have all those bad traits. From what the old timers say, I think it is best to stick to one strain and keep working with the best ones hatched each generation.

It's hard enough with one strain. Many strains just add to the length of time to get good birds. Some of the sources mentioned don't have birds that I would consider good enough to be much help anyway. Each strain has it's problems..

Walt
 
Breeding to SOP:

I've gotten a few of the APA SOP books from the late 1800s - early 1900s. They have slight differences in the SOP compared to the current SOP. Nothing too significant as far as changes, but things like a few changes with coloring/markings.

I understand that if I were to show a bird, that it would need to meet today's SOP.

But as I read the debates of those of you that discuss that birds are not what they were decades ago - what are the thoughts on breeding to the old SOP as opposed to the current SOP if the birds will not be shown and are being bred for conservation of the really old heritage types?
 
Glad Kathy got in and ex planed the concerns. In time the leg color the tails all will be fine. Be patient and dont cross stains and like Charlie the secret is to get a buddy or two and then every four or five years swap birds or rotate your breeders to the right as I ex planed in my line breeding article I wrote for another web site. Out crossing can bring in undesirable traits like meanness as one of my White Rock Breeder friends did two years ago. His strain will mean as some of the production red strains I have heard about. bob
 
the op was a newbie and just looking for some delawares. everyone is not able to buy from kathy. some of us just start with what we have and use several strains right from the begining to add vigor and diversity. we eventually pick the best birds and over time start linebreeding after we have bred the vigor, health, size and diversity in.
 
Breeding to SOP:

I've gotten a few of the APA SOP books from the late 1800s - early 1900s. They have slight differences in the SOP compared to the current SOP. Nothing too significant as far as changes, but things like a few changes with coloring/markings.

I understand that if I were to show a bird, that it would need to meet today's SOP.

But as I read the debates of those of you that discuss that birds are not what they were decades ago - what are the thoughts on breeding to the old SOP as opposed to the current SOP if the birds will not be shown and are being bred for conservation of the really old heritage types?

Judges are required to use the latest version of the SOP for a reason. There is more than a slight difference in some cases. You are reading 100 year old documents. There are breeds now that are not even in those old SOP's.

Walt
 
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