Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[NYREDS]

What I mean by not wanting to eat fertilized eggs, is because if I eat a fertilized egg I will never know if that egg may have produced a *really* nice chick for my breeding program. At least if the hen is laying eggs and wasn't visited by a roo...I know that particular egg wasn't going to amount to anything other than an egg. :] Just my personal belief...it may not make sense to anyone else and may seem a bit wonky and weird and crazy too...but it makes sense to me, and I'm okay with that.

They're your eggs so you're the only one it has to make sence to. That said, unless you plan to hatch every fertile egg you get it's a bit illogical. The eggs you don't incubate also won't produce a really nice chick either.

 

[NYREDS]

I do not vaccinate for anything. I NEVER use medicated starter. I don't like the amprolium being a thiamine blocker (preventing the absorption of vitamin B1). All my chicks this past season were hen raised outside, some in pens and some totally free range. Hen raised chicks very rarely get coccidiosis. They dig in the compost pile on day one. I have never had coccidiosis.

I have hatched from older birds (hens & cocks) as they have survived everything. I was having a loss or two a year to Marek's, but these have lessened. This past season I've had none so far. I used to have some Bourbon Red turkeys but I was always having to combat blackhead (it is on my place) so I got rid of the turkeys.

As far as I know hen raised chicks, when raised on the floor or ground are never at risk for Coccidiosis. They're exposed almost at birth & develop natural immunity. Incubator hatched, brooder raised chicks are another story. For those chicks it's wise to have a Coccidiostat on hand. Cocci develops quickly & can cause massive losses in a very short time. Even those chicks that, after medication, survive Coccidiosis can be permanently damaged if the infection progresses too far prior to medication. The Cocci organism can cause severe damage to the gut interfering with absorbtion of nutrients.
I too use only birds that have not been affected by disease as breeders. Somewhere on this site there's a lengthy thread dealing with breeding for disease resistance, To me this approach makes much more sence that immunizations & "curing" sick birds. In a book on Chicken Diseases Fred Jeffery outlines this approach. Mr Jeffrey said his poultry medicine cabint contained only louse powder, a Coccidiostat & a hatchet. That's what's in mine.

 

[NYREDS]

I probably SHOULD live in the city, where someone would restrict my "habit" with laws. I started out with 6 "girls". Just wanted eggs. Well, they blew it and I had a boy in the mix. Well, HAD to hatch some of those eggs. Now, some 4 short years later, I have 55 plus birds at any given time, 8 or so vocal boys. Hatching eggs pretty much year round. "Chicken math" was probably created to define someone like me!

I can relate. I sometimes wish there was someone to tell me "that's enough-no more hatching!"

 

[Robert Blosl]

I got a message yesterday asking me what to do with a new breeding pen of old fashion large fowl a family purchased from a good breeder who shows and breeds for many years. To make this simple I am not going to tell you the breed they got but just use a white chicken and we will not use my breed White Plymouth Rocks but a rare and wonder full breed breed up in the deep new England Area White Dorkings.

They have a six by six breeding pen with two nests that are about 14x14 each for the hens to lay their eggs in and have wheat straw for the nest to keep the eggs nice and clean. They have a pencil, tied to the wall on the string to mark the eggs for date and the breed. They collect the eggs every day and put them in the house and put the eggs in a incubator every four days and candle them on the 10th day removing any eggs not fertile. On the 18th day they put the eggs in a separate incubator and then leave the incubator closed until all the chicks are hatched. They are then removed and placed in a home made wooden brooder box 2 feet by 3 feet about 14 inches tall with two light bulb sockets in it with two 40 watt old fashion light bulbs in it the kind that has soft light or a white covering over the bulb. Normal, water is given every day with a one gal on water container. They have two of them and then was the other one in a 10 % bleach wash and then let out to dry and rotate the water container each day. The feed is a plan medicated feed they buy at the feed store by Purina and they stay on this for about three months and then are feed a general grower pellet by Purina.

The adult birds are given a good all around egg laying feed about 16% on top of the feed each day they put cod liver oil and the other day wheat germ oil during the whole breeding season. Then if they can they grow wheat grass in a green house and give the breeders a hand full of green grass from the sprout er as if they where able to go out and eat on the yard as free range. The lights that they have in the pen is a 75 Watt old fashion bulb and they go to Wall Mart and buy a timer and hook the light cord into the timer and set it so the timer comes on at about 4 am and goes off at say 7 am. The birds get a total stimulation of 15 hours per day and as the days lent hen they adjust the time to keep it at the five teen hour mark. It has been said that this stimulates the pituitary gland in the fowl and they produce more eggs during the early months which they want as their children are going to show the young birds at the local fall fair in August. The incubator that they have is a cheap feed store little midget will be used for the hatch er and the new GQCompany sell setting incubator that cost about $150 is going to be the major incubator.

So for those who have asked me how complicated this breeding process is this is how it can be done in a simple KISS method.

Dont make it so hard on yourselves as its no fun and if its not fun you will get turned off and be like many be for us. Here today gone tomorrow chicken hobbyist. This family wants to be PRESERVATIONIST. They dont want to show their chickens at big chicken shows but local fairs as long as their kids are old enough and have a interest. I will go into latter what they will do in culling but for the first three years its all about TYPE TYPE TYPE. They have a strong enough gene pool that they wont loose the color and if they get to wound up in color they will not have a true to type large fowl Standard Breed Chicken anyway. So that's the message of the day for you who are starting your first year and never done this stuff be for. If you need help in the brooder box or anything else send me a personnel message. Hope you have a fine hatching season with your large fowl.

 

[bnjrob]

If you get chickens like mine, you will have plenty of eggs to hatch AND to eat.

Between our 11 pullets, we're drowning in eggs right now. I've got 4 dozen in the fridge and hubby took a dozen to work with him.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

The oldest American Bred Breed of chicken is the American Gamefowl, Game-type fowl were the first breeds brought to the U.S. and I would say is closest breed to the "original" chicken would have to be the slender body type Gamefowl breeds.
Also keep in mind that the Jungle Fowl isn't a chicken although it is said to be the breed of fowl that chicken originate from.

Chris

The White-Faced Black Spanish was brought to the U.S. via the Caribbean Islands, from Spain. "Spanish are the oldest breed of chickens that exist in the United States today."

 

[neopolitancrazy]

I got a message yesterday asking me what to do with a new breeding pen of old fashion large fowl ... a rare and wonder full breed breed up in the deep new England Area White Dorkings.

...
So for those who have asked me how complicated this breeding process is this is how it can be done in a simple KISS method.

Thank you very much for this! I have cut and pasted it into my "BYC chicken wisdom" pages, and am looking forward to the next chapter on culling.

Angela

 

[DMRippy]

Someone asked about feed..... Just my 2 cents.... I use Tuckers feeds. They have several layer feeds I use the 22%, chick started and grower. I love that the main protein is PORK not animal byproducts or Soy....... My birds are doing well with it and are less wasteful with the pellets on the layer than other feeds I have tried. Has also cut the dust down around the farm from that powdery mash I was using.

They may be a regional seller so it may not be available all over, I feel sure you could find it all over the south and some north of here, like KY. You can call tucker milling and ask a rep if anyone around you sell tucker feeds.

http://tuckermilling.com/poultry.html

 

[NYREDS]

The White-Faced Black Spanish was brought to the U.S. via the Caribbean Islands, from Spain. "Spanish are the oldest breed of chickens that exist in the United States today."

Out of curiosity who are you quoting here?

 

[cgmccary]

Quote: Bob: I have had Buckeyes for some years now and done well with them. My starting stock was decent on the female side (Urch sent me a nice starter female, the male not so much), and I later crossed a superb male I got from Schrider over my Urch hens & pullets (in 2007). That cross really beefed up my line, and I have run with it for the last five years & had a lot of success.

I have just acquired a trio of La Fleche from Urch (which I picked up at Ohio National from him) and am getting another trio next week that is a few years Urch removed. The problem I see with them is their size. The cockerel (they are 9 months old) is only about 4 lbs 5 oz & the pullets are not quite 4 lbs (like 3 lbs 14 oz); the pullets are laying very well. I know that Duane Urch has repeatedly said that he has NEVER crossed Minorca or anything else into his La Fleche (I know some breeders did this to get their size up) & I believe Duane on this (and I asked him personally again). I do not plan to cross anything into mine as I don't want to mess them up. I do want to get their size up though. Is their any words of wisdom or advice about selecting (other than keeping the ones that weigh the most) that you can impart on me that would help me with SIZE? Anyone else too with some wisdom {i.e. Chris09, Walt, NYReds, KathyinMO,Yellow House (Joe), Fred's Hens}. I have heard size is a problem elsewhere with La Fleche. Everyone tells me not to keep any that show a white feather & I am wondering, "what if that is my largest bird? Do I keep him then?"

I am interested in talking about feed too. La Fleche grow slower than Buckeyes and probably should be fed differently? This is something I can experiment with.

P.S. I am coming to the Panhandle Poultry show in Pensacola with some of my Buckeyes so will see some of you there! Will be nice to meet you.My brother is coming over to meet me (he lives in Mobile).

Chris McCary