Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Robert Blosl]

This moaning I got up and laying on the floor by my bed is a 1916 standard I found after cleaning up some stuff yesterday. I went to it to look up the silver Gray Dorking. Then I com paired this picture to the one in my 1964 standard. Not to much difference. They are brick shaped and have smaller necks more low to the ground. I always thought they would be a neat chicken to raise. Your male has the color just need to round off a few spots. As one master breeder told me one time he said you are almost there. Keep working on it and you will get where you want to be. In regards to your project its the same you are getting there. Just keep working on it and if any of the old genes are still there they will come to the surface if you put breeding pressure on the traits you are trying to reach. bob

 

[3riverschick]

So if you have Rocks that is that kinds of type you want also notice the tight feather they have not a common big fluffy loose feathered kind. This can be corrected just increase the egg production about 25 eggs per pullet year. books. bob

http://books.google.com/books?id=cS...page&q="red sussex" subject:"poultry"&f=false

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Hold the phone, Bob!
You're saying I can breed in close-feathering by increasing egg yield in my girls by 25 eggs a year? I have been looking everywhere for info on how breed closer feathering on Sussex. I knew loose feathering was mark of a lesser producing hen...but it never occurred to me that increasing production would make for a closer feathered bird. Is it this easy?
Thanks a million,
Karen

 

[aveca]

I'm always looking for actual photographs of the old Dorkings. There aren't many to be found, most are drawings or paintings.

That is a good book. The comments about the Dorkings make it sound as if they were just as bad in the 20's as now. When I spoke to Craig Russell, he said there was a time when you would see many good examples at shows. I would love to see a photograph of a Silver that is very close to the Standard.

Thanks,
Kim

i love to go looking at other links to see mostly orps but i do loo at cornish and dorking. saw a pretty decent silver at a show a few years ago...there is bokk abouct dorking might cover some historical photos, not sure..
here are some pics from across the pond websites including austrailaisia club.

 

[Robert Blosl]

I need to write a article on this and put it on my web site but I will try to ex plane year one over a five year plan or goal.I had two problems when i started my Rhode Island Reds and white Plymouth Rocks 25 years ago. Poor feather quality in the Reds and Poor hatch ability in the Rock. So I remembered reading many books on picking fast feathering chicks which brings out higher egg production in the females. The one book is a classic Hogans method of selection May be called the Call of the Hen we had the link on this tread some where. What i did was pick the fastest growing and or feathering chicks each year for five years. I went to the feed store and bought me five Cherry Eggers and put them in the box with 15 chicks that I had hatched. I watched the growth of the wing and tail feathers of the chicks and bought me some magic markers green red black orange ect. I then got me some 5x7 index cards and put down the marks on the chicks head or back with the colors then this was my I D for them till I could wing band them. Then latter as they grew up I had bantam leg bands on their legs then at the correct age I placed adult large fowl numbered bands on their legs. I saw how the production reds grew out their tail feathers something like 8 days. My chicks were taking weeks to come out except a few. I kept the ones that feathered the fastest and put them in the breeding pens the next year.

I saw improvement in laying and the chicks from this bunch feathered lets say three days faster than their parents. Did it again the third year. The white rocks hatching improved allot I got 50 percent hatch and the feathers where getting less fluffy and more tighter. The Red females where showing improvement as well. ON my fifth year the rocks looked small yet when I weighed them they where a pound and half over weight in size. The Red females lay ed like machines and were just one pound over weight which was my goal. The pullets feather quality at eight months was that of a hen of two to three years of age. By the time I got to my eighth year I had a whole new look to my Reds. I had accidental found the old Mohawk gene from 1929 that was introduced into my line by Mrs. Donaldson that year. My males had a different look better type and great feather quality my female lay ed about 200 eggs per year normally a strain of reds like mine lay about 150 to 175 per year. The Rock females had type like no buddy's business like the olden days lost genes where co coming to the surface hidden all these years by low egg production and lack of egg production by the selection process of the breeders. Most breeders who show breed for looks and not feather quality. This is a lost art not hard to do but takes extra effort.

My current White Rock strain is about 50 to 60 years old I have had them about 28 years. They need pushing to get their top back feathers tighter and improve the feather quality as I have not pushed this in about 8 years. Lost interest did not care any more so I have to work on this and encourage the new people I got started to do the same. I shared fifty chicks to five people this year and a got 35 chicks hatched out in Canada so I reached my goal of trying to locate at least two new super stars and I know I have at least two.
The Reds are in the hands of two to three new people and two old breeders so this old line is 100 years old this year and should be shared with about five to ten new people next year. They need crossing as they are inbreed for 17 years on one stain from Florida and 14 years from a strain in Illinois. They have been crossed so we will have fresh blood new vigor and the old Mohawk gene is just a waiting to come to the surface. Push egg production just 15 to 25 percent in your pullets each year and you would be surprised what will come out of the wood work as the old timers use to say.

In summary in this short message to you the secret is in the Dam in breeding. You got to push her to lay lots of eggs, but naturally.. These old breeds are not race horses they are dual breed chickens they cant lay a ton of eggs like the product chickens do. However, they will not wear out early either or have blow outs like some production chickens will. I have seen my old birds live to be 9 years old and produce chicks good ones to. I had a white rock hen live to be 7 and she just died of heat strock when we had extreme heat wave one year. She produced three great pullets like her be for she died. I hope this helps you just watch for the first pullets to start laying each year and in the males look at the ones to start crowing early each year. The sire also has something to do with egg laying he passes this on as well so you cant mate a slow feathering male to fast feathering females and get any where. Its a long process only 1 in 100 people can do. I hope you are one of the chosen few who will do it. If you do you will reach your goals. bob

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Great post Bob.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences with us. I wish more of the people who have been breeding to the SOP for many years would do the same. Always learning..

 

[aveca]

i just love these old lithographs..you can copy them, put them on cardstock as cutouts, lamanate them. blow them up quite large , have staples or one of the other cos laminate it for club meeting ect....or not, make placecard holders, tree ornaments..just a bunch of stuff with them..

m

some newrer pics

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Anyone have any info or links to anything about the old Ricky Bond stock of RC RIRs?

Pictures, articles, historical info... anything?

 

[aveca]

as always, very interesting reading Robert.

 

[Chris09]

Anyone have any info or links to anything about the old Ricky Bond stock of RC RIRs?

Pictures, articles, historical info... anything?

His old stuff or the new stock.
He has had 2 different lines within the last 8 or 9 years.


Chris

 

[NotAFarm]

I saw improvement in laying and the chicks from this bunch feathered lets say three days faster than their parents. Did it again the third year. The white rocks hatching improved allot I got 50 percent hatch and the feathers where getting less fluffy and more tighter. The Red females where showing improvement as well. ON my fifth year the rocks looked small yet when I weighed them they where a pound and half over weight in size. The Red females lay ed like machines and were just one pound over weight which was my goal. The pullets feather quality at eight months was that of a hen of two to three years of age. By the time I got to my eighth year I had a whole new look to my Reds. I had accidental found the old Mohawk gene from 1929 that was introduced into my line by Mrs. Donaldson that year. My males had a different look better type and great feather quality my female lay ed about 200 eggs per year normally a strain of reds like mine lay about 150 to 175 per year. The Rock females had type like no buddy's business like the olden days lost genes where co coming to the surface hidden all these years by low egg production and lack of egg production by the selection process of the breeders. Most breeders who show breed for looks and not feather quality. This is a lost art not hard to do but takes extra effort.

Bob, Are there any breeds you feel this would not help? Would breeds like the Wyandotte, whose look is "rounded", benefit from this type of selection process?