Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[snowbird]

Good choice, read the first 40 pagers first. After you have read them you will be one of the most knowledgeable people on BYC. I guarantee it!

Walt

Walt, I read the first 40 pages once and when I mention what it says no one knows what I am trying to say.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: IT's at the top of my Christmas list!! And there is only ONE item on the list.

 

[fowlman01]

Walt, I read the first 40 pages once and when I mention what it says no one knows what I am trying to say.

You are one of the most knowledgeable people on here, so see it works. Most people go right to the breeds they are interested in and don't bother to read the beginning.......they may look at the drawings. They also don't know where the important parts are, so they get all hung up on points on the comb...meanwhile the body is going down hill because they have been culling by how many points are on the comb. If they don't at least read the glossary, I don't know how they can understand any of the book.

Walt

 

[snowbird]

You are one of the most knowledgeable people on here, so see it works. Most people go right to the breeds they are interested in and don't bother to read the beginning.......they may look at the drawings. They also don't know where the important parts are, so they get all hung up on points on the comb...meanwhile the body is going down hill because they have been culling by how many points are on the comb. If they don't at least read the glossary, I don't know how they can understand any of the book.

Walt

Walt, I keep a copy of the SOP by my recliner and open it often. I have been blessed over the years by having some great Mentors in some of the oldtimers.

 

[fowlman01]

Walt, I keep a copy of the SOP by my recliner and open it often. I have been blessed over the years by having some great Mentors in some of the oldtimers.

When I first received my license I judged with the great west coast judge Ben Wilson. Back at the motel room he told me that I should read the SOP every day. I had just taken my test, so I thought...poor old guy can't remember it. Long before I became old I found that unless you have a photographic memory, you do have to read it often. I have forgotten things about breeds I have raised....now that is scary. I look it while judging if I have to...some judges think it is a sign that you don't know what you are doing, so they guess. Judges are required to have the latest edition of the APA SOP with them every time they judge.

Good mentors make a huge difference.

Walt

 

[WallTenters]

Question...

Those who have worked on their heritage breeds, do your birds start laying at 5 months (like the accepted norm)? I think I remember someone saying that some don't lay til 6 months or later?

Is expecting your bird to lay its first egg at 5 months, or before, looking for "production" qualities? Is there any information regarding an early lay age correlated to how long they lay?

Just curious.

I was surprised that so many heritage breeds AREN'T laying by 6 months. We are happy by 20 weeks and get rid of the pullet if she hasn't laid after 26 unless she was hatched a strange time. We have had many Dominique pullets start laying at 4 months (16 weeks) but they tend to be the smaller layers their whole life - it seems the ones that wait until about 18 weeks are more productive in the long run. The ones who wait to lay past 24 weeks are usually less frequent layers, I am sure there are many factors at work there but with a Dominique they should lay early so we cull for laying early.

Thankfully the commercial poultry industry has done a lot of research on the matter and has found that POL is determined by the sire it seems, and we find that to ring true. We mark our breeding pens by sire used - this year and last we use the same cock birds and one consistently throws pullets that lay at 18 weeks on the ringer and the other at 20 weeks. Next year the breeding pens will be rotational and so the pen # will stay with the females as they stay in the pen, vs. the males that will move around. We finally got the good traits of these guys cemented in but we also have all their bad traits- both had coarse oversized combs and not the best feather quality. We are more consistent across the board on the traits we were looking for but this next year will be more fun as we see everything start to come together. We are only keeping three old hens, two first year hens, and the rest of the breeding stock will be young birds. The older birds look so poor next to what we have now we are very pleased with all the advice and help we have gotten from other breeders to help make this progress possible!

 

[WallTenters]

You are one of the most knowledgeable people on here, so see it works. Most people go right to the breeds they are interested in and don't bother to read the beginning.......they may look at the drawings. They also don't know where the important parts are, so they get all hung up on points on the comb...meanwhile the body is going down hill because they have been culling by how many points are on the comb. If they don't at least read the glossary, I don't know how they can understand any of the book.

Walt

Walt, can you start judging Dominiques and let folks know just what you said before - there are more points to be earned elsewhere? It is embarrassing some of the combs we have but I try to blind myself to that when picking breeders because the back, breast, tail spread, legs, everything not only carries more points but also contributes more to overall type than the comb, but still I always am a bit surprised when a judge picks one of our pullets over the other and it seems their first comment is her comb is better. :/

 

[fowlman01]

Walt, can you start judging Dominiques and let folks know just what you said before - there are more points to be earned elsewhere? It is embarrassing some of the combs we have but I try to blind myself to that when picking breeders because the back, breast, tail spread, legs, everything not only carries more points but also contributes more to overall type than the comb, but still I always am a bit surprised when a judge picks one of our pullets over the other and it seems their first comment is her comb is better. :/

I should have specified singel comb. A rose comb has five places it can be cut and if it bad it can be 9 points instead of a Single comb with a total of 5, but usually you don't see more than a couple points deducted from a single comb. Rosecombs have 5 things a judge can mark down and many times they have all five things wrong. You can get away with more with a pullets comb. The defects don't look as bad.

Walt

 

[ve]

Guys please help me! Ab a week ago some body posted article about Good Shepard line of Barred Rocks. That this line is 100 y old and they called it Royal something, because of its crispy barring. My printer was broken. Now I can not find it and even can not remember Royal what they called the line. I am getting old to soon.

 

[poularde]

They are the Royal Ringlets. I believe.