Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[saladin]

Walt do the chickens not touch it? Or is this on a outer fence?
I was thinking of putting a few 8ft lodge poles in my chicken yard with a hot wire at the top to see what they thought of that.

This will probably do nothing at all. To have affect the predator must be grounded.

My electric fence strains start at 2 inches from the ground then rise at intervals of 4 inches with a total of 4 strains.

 

[Arielle]

I have been thinking about how I can put up some electric fencing around my animal pens. I just know I am going to zap the heck out of myself. I am going to have to do something though to protect these heritage birds, and I think electric is the way to go. We do have hawks here but I think because the woods are so thick the chickens have lots of hiding places.

Penny

Penny, I have been zapped by electric fencing, DH pushed down the netting for me to step over; he let it up as I was one leg over, and it zapped my naked thigh as I was in shorts. WOw THAT hurt. I have never forgotten it and I am VERY careful to check wires. DH uses a blade of grass to lean on the wires; it dampers the current down to a vibration for quick testing. I prefer to shut off the charger or disconnect a handle. ONCE was enough to ALWAYS be sure. lol

I think you will like the electric wire. I started with netting from Premeir 1, sheep netting originally, but they also have poultry netting now. Easy to move to make new pens, especially in open areas like pastures. Less easy in open woods. Bushes will snag and grab the netting as you set it up so I suggest clearing a path. Just sharing my experiences with netting; each operation can be different in its needs.

 

[Pozees]

I have been thinking about how I can put up some electric fencing around my animal pens. I just know I am going to zap the heck out of myself. I am going to have to do something though to protect these heritage birds, and I think electric is the way to go. We do have hawks here but I think because the woods are so thick the chickens have lots of hiding places.

Penny

I used the step-in posts (had to pre-wet the ground to actually step them in) and polywire, and then added some of the insulators that clamp onto chain link to keep the strands tight. I have four courses, the highest one is around 2' or maybe 2.5' - what we decided was about nose level for a coyote - then three strands below, the lowest only a few inches from the ground. The roof on our chain link enclosure is chain link. The girls free range the three days a week I'm home, and are enclosed the other four except the last hour or so of light; I let them out as soon as I get home, and sometimes it's only a half hour before bed this time of year but they still run out flapping their wings, clucking, "I'm free! I'm free!!" Then they gather 'round DH for their evening apple.

 

[Robert Blosl]

I'm still back on 12/7 posts trying to catch up .. . . .

Predators-- I have sheep and deterents work best. I keep big dogs with big voices to keep the coyotes at bay. Dogs are territorial and the coyote, being a dog, respects the presence of my dogs. THey pass thru on the deer trails, and I have placed 3-4 foot fencing along those trails to keep the coyote moving along and prevent any more detours to the free ranging chickens. THe fox climbed right over, and DH chased it yelling and screaming hoping to impress upon it that this was not a place to get free food. We know we will loose a few, lost a really nice SS , and so I keep the SS confined now until fencing can go up in that area where the SS hangout.


Can I ask a question and hopefully start another discussion about which "heritage" poultry might be good choices . . . . .

It occurred to me that most breeds of animals were developed in specific regions because they thrived there. For ex, in England it is my understanding that when a farm changes hands the sheep stay with the farm, they have adapted to the region and the terrain of that farm. It occurred to me that perhaps for my area the Rhode Island reds and Narrigansett turkey may thrive best here at my farm. As these two were developed in southern New ENgland.
I do see a few holes in this idea, especially if stock is not here regionally anymore; and to get those breeds for ex. to get RIR from Bob, would they thrive here having lived and survived at Bob's farm for say 50 year.
Perhaps it would work to find good stock from the best breeders and return them to their original regions.

THe question is. . should folks try to locate breeds that were common at one time for the region their "farm" is in?

They would do all right but I think it takes about three years for a strain like mine to adjust to a new climate like yours. It would be better to get a strain of Rose Combs from the Judge in Maine or Single Combs from New York Reds or Don Nelson or his friend who has his birds. The reason they are rip and ready to take on this super cold climate. On the other hand if you live in Texas or Oklahoma I think Lloyd Flanagan line from Texas would be good and ready for that climate.

If not then a box of ten started chicks leaves Alabama and heads to tim buck two and they will do fine.

My white rocks adjusted in time in Minnesota after three years and now live in South Dacota and now up in Canada. You just raise 40 or so and keep the best ones and plow away the next year.

In regards to Zeloties he was a master conditioner and could take my White Rock and Red male and show them four or five times and when very well with them. He showed one year a White Rock male I think 5 times and beat Shelby Harrington four times out of the five with just one male. Shelby's showed five fresh males at each of the five shows. I was proud of that. Again I got the male from Mr. Brown in California he would tell the guys , but when I saw his picture in Poultry Press I told my wife that's my boy.

When it comes to a Standard Breed exibtior and judge there was none better than JudgeWilbur Stauffer from Ohio. He could come to your house with a flash night at night and pick champions off your roost. He was one of the top string men in history when he would make the fair tours. I meet him and talked with him for hours at the Knoxville Far when I lived there befor I moved down here. One day I cam to the show and half the birds where gone. The Sectary said Wilbur had to head to a new Fair we let him go so he can get a head start.

I watched him judge the first show I attended at Muscle Skoals Alabama and he could judge like a egg beater. I never saw a judge so fast as Wilbur. He did not need much time to pick the birds he was judging. He had one heck of a eye but most String man who have the experience over the years did also. Her is a question for a pair of purple frizzle seromas.

What was Wilbur Stauffer fathers name and what breed of large fowl was he famous for?

bob

 

[Arielle]

THanks BOb, as always you give me lots to think about. My family is from Maine so I do know the climate there is colder, though the coastal area is more foggy and damp. Here the prevailing weather has been rainier than usual at the start of this winter, and last summer was far warmer than the past years.

How do RIR hold up to the endless rain? OR does it depend on the line? IS the feathering a little different between lines to cope with the local weather?? Earlier there were pics of Orps with tighter feathering about the legs, pantaloons being the more usual fashion--how does this difference effect a birds survivability?

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I had no idea what a "stringman" was until your post Bob! I was picturing someone with a fishing line that went fishing all the time.

On a completely unrelated note, I have been working very hard on my white color and am dying to get some birds with this "silver" gene that supposedly helps decrease the yellow color and brassiness in the hackle and saddle feathers.

Does it usually present like this? These are white birds and no crosses are even remotely possible.

 

[Chris09]

What was Wilbur Stauffer fathers name and what breed of large fowl was he famous for?

bob

I think his father was Elton and White Leghorns was his breed.

Chris

 

[BarnGoddess01]

I had no idea what a "stringman" was until your post Bob! I was picturing someone with a fishing line that went fishing all the time.

On a completely unrelated note, I have been working very hard on my white color and am dying to get some birds with this "silver" gene that supposedly helps decrease the yellow color and brassiness in the hackle and saddle feathers.

Does it usually present like this? These are white birds and no crosses are even remotely possible.

I believe that is exactly what a recessive white (c) is supposed to look like when it is carrying silver. Silver (S) makes the down go grey as opposed to the yellow down of the chicks carrying gold (s+).

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Excellent. Any idea when the feathers will start growing in white?

And thank you!

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Excellent. Any idea when the feathers will start growing in white?

If they are anything like my Silkies, between 2 and 4 weeks.

(Basically, as soon as the hard feathers start to replace the chick down.) You should mark the ones with the grey down because once they all start to feather in, you might lose track of who had which down colour. If you mark them, you can keep track of whether or not the adult white is superior on your "grey" chicks.