Oh my they are nice. VIVI
No, that would be called a slasher. The Gaff is round.
Haven't heard Zelotes name in years ! That takes me back Bob. Wilbur introduced him to me many years ago. I think Wilbur bought the birds for him, and he conditioned them.
I was lurking this moaning on this thread and something caught my eye and I said Wow they look pretty good. These are a pair of White Wyandottes Steve Picked up at the Knoxville, Tenn show a few weeks ago that where in pretty run down worn out out shape. They are really Turing around and looking good Steve. I had a hunch they came from good blood lines and from this pair you should be able to breed a very good strain. We dont talk much about Wyandottes but they had a lot to do with some of the makings of the early breeds years ago. Many times old time breeders would cross Wyandottes, Cochins and Brahmas onto their Rock lines or what ever to make color variety's such as Partridge, Silver Pencil led or Colombian.
Any more pictures of rare old time Standard breeds out there? Those silkies are also in the old black and white standard of mine from 1962. They are part of the so called dirty word HERITAGE Chickens term. You can take a silkie and cross him onto a white rock or Cochin and the females should be excellent mothers. That's why I have Mr. Silkie. He is black and will mate him onto my extra White Rock Bantam females and a year from now I should have a army of sitters for my breeding and I want to hatch and raise under my sitting hens my White Leghorn bantams to see what the wing length will be like com paired to raising them under light bulbs.
I had males on tie cords years ago my big large fowl Reds. I did not leave them out there all day and night just during the day. I would rotate them outside from their 4x4 conditioning pens and then I had some 4x4 square and round pens that a cock er gave me and would put horse turnds in the pens on grass for them to scratch and get ex cerise. Using the same concepts as the cocker to train his male bird befor he took them to the pit. My friend got cut by a gaff got staff infection in his body it went to a bad hip socket and to a heart value and had to have total hip replacement, new heart valve and then two years latter had a stroke and he is no longer walking or taking care of his chickens. However, he taught me allot about caring for my Standard Breed chickens. Some of these guys when you talk to them go over their head. They are like talking to a PhD in Poultry Science and even most people dont like what they do with their chickens they take better care of them than most back yard folks. Today they are pretty much held down in their craft that they do. Many have in the woods Private fights down here. They get busted about once every two to four years by the Sheriff department. The one pictured is pretty much what I had and Zelotes Esyshmeyer of Ohio was the first person to see a picture of one of my Reds with a tie cord. He called me up and said do you teather you Reds? Never heard that word befor but I am not from the south so I cant help that. He use to get one Rhode Island Red and one White Rock large fowl every year and show them. Won up a storm and when the boys in Ohio asked him Zelotes where did you buy that rooster he would say O a fellow in California named BROWN.
It took four years for the Ohio boys to figure out where they came from. He use to make the prettiest show coops to put your chickens in and take to the Poultry Shows. He died of cancer about 10 years ago. He was a master conditioner and exhibitor but could not breed his way out of a wet paper bag. Silkies RULE?
Love the female in the back on picture seven. I did notice the difference of length of body in the Rose Combs from Dick and Radamaker in the pictures however, nice birds.
