Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Lacy Blues]

Hi Lacey Blues!
This is wonderful advice. If for some reason, they won't eat the yogurt, there's a product I have used for years
on both dogs and poultry. Poultry-Nutri-Drench is great stuff. Made specificaly for supplemental nutrition and stress.
Can be added to their water or fed a couple of drops on arrival. Here's their webpage: http://www.bovidr.com/poultry.html
BTW, I asked Bovidr and the tech said that Beef Nutri-Drench can also be used on dogs. It is the only Bovidr formula which can
be used on a species other than the species indicated on the bottle.
Merry Christmas,
Karen

Hi Karen! I've used the poultry nutri-drench before and really like it. It doesn't have the probiotics in it to combat the coccidiosis germs and whatnot in the intestinal system that tend to reproduce like rabbits when a bird is under a lot of stress though. I actually use both at different times.

 

[saladin]

For beauty the Game is on the top of the heap bettered only by the Cubalaya.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Of all of this short list above the 'fighting' instinct of these alone may make them difficult to promote. I have cockerels and roosters who will go for you but when it is an across the breed trait that's a bit more than a lot of folks will put up with. There's some who still love the cockfighting but.... I am not saying they don't have their place or value (on the contrary) just that when you mix ugly and mean together, then put beaks and claws on them its real difficult to build a fan base.

I have met only one of those big birds, an asil I think it was, and I was amazed at how sweet tempered it was, and CALM! In the show hall, I don't recall ever seeing one trying to go between the bars of its cage. The owners do block their view of surrounding birds though. I'm not a big fan of those super lean raptors, generally, but there was one that I saw that actually had something of a tail on it - surprising for those birds... and I liked him. However, I only have room for so many and money enough to feed SOME and these are not my passion.

 

[Robert Blosl]

Here is the 2012 Urch-Turnland Price List courtesy the Exhibition Turkey Fanciers.
Chickens For Sale

• Bantam Chickens For Sale
• Ducks For Sale
• Geese For Sale
• Turkeys For Sale
• Guineas For Sale
  

Duane Urch Urch/Turnland Poultry
Duane Urch Urch/Turnland Poultry


2142 NW 47 Ave.
Owatonna, MN 55060
Ph. 507-451-6782

Email Duane Urch Urch/Turnland Poultry
Large Fowl Chicken

• American
  • Buckeye
    • Buckeye
  • Dominique
    • Dominique
  • Holland
    • Barred
  • Java
    • Mottled
    • Black
  • Jersey Giant
    • White
    • Black
  • Rhode Island
    • Red Single Comb
    • White Rose Comb
    • Red Rose Comb
  • Wyandotte
    • Buff
    • Black
    • White
    • Silver Penciled
    • Partridge
    • Columbian
    • Golden Laced
• Asiatic
  • Brahma
    • Dark
  • Cochin
    • White
    • Partridge
    • Buff
    • Blue
    • Black
  • Langshan
    • Black
    • White
• Continental
  • Campine
    • Golden
    • Silver
  • Crevecoeur
    • Black
  • Faverolles
    • Salmon
  • Hamburg
    • Golden Penciled
    • Golden Spangled
    • Silver Penciled
  • La Fleche
    • Black
  • Lakenvelder
    • Lakenvelder
  • Polish
    • Non-Bearded White Crested
    • Non-Bearded Buff Laced
    • Non-Bearded Silver
    • Non-Bearded Golden
    • Bearded White
    • Bearded Silver
    • Bearded Golden
    • Bearded Buff Laced
  • Welsumer
    • Welsumer
• English
  • Australorp Black
    • Australorp Black
  • Dorking
    • Colored
• Other Std Breeds
  • Ameraucana
    • Black
    • Silver
  • Cubalaya
    • Black Breasted Red
  • Naked Neck
    • Red
  • Phoenix
    • Silver
  • Sultan
    • White
  • Sumatra
    • Black

This is a good guide for what is old fashion Standard Breed Fowl. I had a personel message asking me if I would post his yellow price list I copied the wrong page and could not find my way back to the page that had the breeds on. So I went to Charlie Vodas site and copied this. I will also leave you with Charlies web site address. If the breed is on this site of Charlies its pretty much in the ball park of breeds from 1950 and below. To help a breed you dont have to get the most endangered breed just get one that you may like one that is in trouble and hopefully they are above hatchery quality. You hate to spend five years trying to upgrade a breed that is all washed out and would take 30 years to bring back to a respectable level. Also, if you get a breed then a year or two latter find someone who has the same breed but so much better than what you have you can upgrade. Its not a waist of time to practice and learn with a breed even if its not all that hot.
Example: I am getting a trio of Mottled Javas in Jan. I hatch out say 20 chicks. I breed them again and hatch out 40 chicks. Then I go to a chicken show and a person has Mottle Javas that make mine look sick. I can then say to myself its time to get some from them and upgrade with their line and become partners with them.

Some may say cross one of his males onto your stock. Well if my birds score 91 points and his scores 94 I will end up with a bunch of 92 point birds. Its faster to get all of his birds say two males and three females and start up breeding and become partners with him. In ten years the two of us should get or birds to a level of say 94 1/2 or a few at 95 points average. Just a thought.

Make it simple on yourself and be patient. You are all young and have many years to experiment with these breeds.
http://standardbreedpoultry.com/breeder/Duane UrchUrch-Turnland Poultry/190

 

[saladin]

Asil are the most unique chickens I know of. Of course, they are the oldest documented breed but there is so much more to them than that. The cocks like to be handled daily and petted. The hens will jump up into your lap.
I know of no chicken with the intelligence of an Asil.

Two unique traits of the hens:
1. They will hatch successive clutches of eggs. I've had hens sit 3 clutches for me. I only stopped because I was afraid they'd kill themselves.
2. If you allow the hen to raise the chicks, she will stay with them a full 6 months not 6 weeks like barndoor fowl.

I rec'd some naked Ga Don chicks from a friend a couple months back. I had an Asil hen sitting golf balls. I just took her out and put her with those Ga Don chicks. She was clucking for them within an hour. They are now larger than her and she still mothers them with those big chickens under each wing every night.

They will not lay when with chicks, but if you take them away most will lay within a few weeks at most.

There's nothing like them in the chicken world.

 

[ashandvine]

It is important to understand what Walt is saying.

Most don't understand the difference between game and manfighting. The two are not related.

Games, in general, are the only breed where selection has occured for 3,000 for human friendliness. Barnyard rooster are the mean ones not Games! Games are often very affectionate toward their handlers, not all but many. It is each other they despise. Yes, cocks must be kept separate from one another, but many do this even with barnyard chickens.

Cockerels or stags as they are called can run together for up to 10 months before the need to separate them. (Depends on the breed/strain and space given). If they can't see hens or pullets you can often keep them together for longer if on free range.

They are great birds and for vigor/vitality they have no equal.

This is relative familiar to me with regard to dogs, which might seem like an aside, however, it is a very good example of exactly the kind of the thing you are explaining. There are breeds that were selected over and over for their fighting ability but sociability. Then people who were not good husbands of the breeds acquired and used them badly and bred worse. I can not say that I am still quite sure, as many would not be about breeds of dogs either, of keeping one of these non beginner birds. I have read about a blue Don something HEN who would beat up 'stags.'

Could someone, Walt or Saladin perhaps, explain why they are not 'beginner' birds? I find this discussion very interesting.

 

[ashandvine]

I have met only one of those big birds, an asil I think it was, and I was amazed at how sweet tempered it was, and CALM! In the show hall, I don't recall ever seeing one trying to go between the bars of its cage. The owners do block their view of surrounding birds though. I'm not a big fan of those super lean raptors, generally, but there was one that I saw that actually had something of a tail on it - surprising for those birds... and I liked him. However, I only have room for so many and money enough to feed SOME and these are not my passion.

So glad my humor was not wasted this time. There is something to be said for ugly. Without meaning to offend, let us again speak on dogs as an example, and think on how many people love their smash faced drooling farting dog. I am sure that the intelligence and attendance of these fowl as are being described to me have quite an attraction of their own. I am not a fan of loose feathering or lots of butt fluff, like like hard feathering and small combs as a general rule so maybe one day they will be here, but in the mean time I love the Russian Orloffs for all those reasons and they don't kill each other so quickly.

 

[saladin]

I can't give Walt's reasoning. See, I was raised with these birds from day number one. Though at times in my life I didn't have chickens (college years) I've been with them all my life. I don't ever remember beginning. Thus, I'm not the one to help with this answer.

 

[fowlman01]

A young pair of Dark Shamo's.




The "look"...
year old male. They keep growing for about 3 years.




The bird in the bottom two pics is a bit over 30" tall and will end up a few inches taller than that.

Do they look prehistoric?

Walt

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Do the Asils and Shamos look a lot alike???

My FIL needs a "smart" breed that can survive free ranging at his place. I would think an ancient breed would be much more "street smart" than those that have been created

He previously had some Red Jungle Fowl that did relatively well

I might need a few Asil hens just to use a brood birds. I haven't had a broody Rock at my place in nearly 3 yrs. I'd much rather a hen raise for me than deal with incubators and brooders all the time. I have Col Rock chicks hatching upstairs as I type this

Sorry Bob - I cant go the Mr/Mrs Silkie route....dang Ga red clay we have here cleans those feathered feet constantly covered. We had a few one time and my wife swore they were "chickens in pajamas"