Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Chris09]

My Oct 20 has been great, with my own eggs I have gotten 100% hatches. I did a lot of research before buying one. If you "like" them on Facebook you can receive updates and know when they are having sales. Right now they have a post with coupon codes for 10% and 20% off. When I needed help they were GREAT at answering my questions right away.

Is that 100% hatch out of 20 eggs?
If so I don't mean anything by it but I get right about 90 percent hatch out of my cheep old GQF Hova-bator. (that is about 90 egg hatched out of the 100 eggs I sat)

Chris

 

[neopolitancrazy]

"The New Incubation Book," by Dr. A.F. Anderson Brown & G.E.S. Robbins (Hancock House publisher) just about covers every aspect of hatching any kind of egg from chickens, geese, falcons, ducks to even penguin eggs.




[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]

Amazon lists this book as available for $1700. Do you have any other sources or recommendations?
Angela

 

[mschlumb]

Does anyone have a good picture of a Golden penciled Hamburg?  They remind me of Campines.   (non professional eye here)  I am used to seeing the silver spangled.  But I would love to find some silver or gold penciled Hamburg LF.

 

Mark Langerman in NY raises all varieties of Hamburgs in large and bantam. His contact info is on the Hamburg club's website

 

[Cedarknob]

Amazon lists this book as available for $1700. Do you have any other sources or recommendations?
Angela

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?isbn=9780862300616&n=100121503

 

[Robert Blosl]

Boy I go to the feed store and you guys have been busy. If you have a home made mix with different additives that would be great but here is the question for the poor little novice beginner. How much does he or she have to buy or order to get this super duper feed?

I have used a FRM Game Bird pellet for over 15 years put a little oyster shell in a butter dish nailed to a corner in a wall for the females if they want it. So far so good. Finish on feathers is what I am after. At 20% protein it seems to work ok.

Got to watch some feed company's they have gone to soy bean products for protein and left out the meat stuff. Either it saves them money or keeps them away from a fear of getting mad cow disease and if that happens they might as well locate the Attorney and file bank rupsey.

Great ideas. I got to order me a new thermostat for my sport man. I do have a Lehy big cabinet which works great but I hate the swing of the temps. I am going to hook up the new thermostat in it to see if it dont swing so bad if it does not I will use it and hand turn the eggs. If not its going in the Sportsman which i have had for years. Thanks for the ideas. The lurkers thank you as well.

 

[melroseladi]

I also use FRM game bird feeds for my birds. They seem to do well on it. They have free choice oyster shells, which I don't find they eat a lot of. I also give them crumbled egg shells.

Penny

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Eggs I want Eggs NOW Why wont this guy ship his Dark Brahma Eggs to me this week?

This is the wrong time of the year to pester Master Breeders for eggs if you are lucky to find a breeder of a good breed who will share his eggs with you. Most breeders find eggs a waist of time. Many of the breeders are scaling down to fewer females and fewer pens because of the cost of feed. So if we have three trios of large fowl we are not going to get many eggs per day this time of the year. Then we want to hatch for ourselves and have young birds ready for the fall shows. There is they sell most of the birds say at Lucas ville or Columbus ect. They may be gone in a hour after they arrive at a show the day be for its starts.

For some of you converting from production CHICKENS to the old fashion standard breed chickens you may have to get your eggs from a person who converted two or three years ago themselves. They normally advertise on this web site that they have chicks for sale or eggs. If you see them making comments on this thread, or the Rhode Island Red or Plymouth Rock tread send them a person message. They feel your PAIN. They where beginners once them selves and the will on the most part help you. If you are a beginner and never owned a incubator getting chicks or eggs from them will be fine. You are going to have a learning curve with incubators anyway unless you buy a fool proof one that is self setting thermostat. Most people buy the cheep est incubator money can buy and put it in a room that is not consistent with the temp and have all kinds problems.

So here is a question for you folks that have mastered a incubator and have had good results. What books have you read that you could recommend to these first time users? What web sites or articles or threads could you post so they could go to to learn. What incubators would you suggest to a beginner to purchase. We all know the wooden incubator the Sportsman from Georgia Quall Factory is tops but its about $800. if its fertil it will hatch in that incubator but some folks are on a budget or small scale they need a less expensive model.

Now her is my tip of the day for buyers and folks who want to share their eggs with beginners. Many of you have chosen your top breeders and have maybe five to ten females left over that are good birds but have maybe a few little faults in color or combs not nothing big for a kid who is getting started in a 4 H project. Take these females and put them in a big pen and place one or two of your top males you are holding over and have a flock mating. Collect these eggs and prepair them to be shipped to the beginner. If you dont want to fool with eggs or dont have time put the eggs in the incubator and sell the chicks when they are ten days old and ship them out overnight express in a small single nest shipping box from Horizon or a small baby chick box five chicks per compartment. The buyer pays you for the cost of the box, shipping and the cost for the chicks. Ten nice chicks is not a bad way to get a start. Just a thought for you who are egg buyers who want these type of Large Fowl.

When its time to feed the chicks its very simple. Buy a good MEDICATED chick starter, convert them over to a grower in about four months, then feed them a good conditioner feed or egg laying feed about 15% or more protein. You are beginners dont get so worked up on feed. I use FRM from Georgia and I use the game bird type better grains but cost more. KISS

I LOVE these questions, Bob!

I am relatively new to chickens. Got interested because I discovered coloured eggs - thus - the breeds I work with; Marans and Ameraucanas. Except the Silkies. The Silkie bug bit me because someone at a show INSISTED that I take a couple of her eggs from show cages home. I don't think she thought for a minute anything would hatch but one of them did. Anyway, I digress ....

I am in Canada so importing birds is a major hassle, not to mention the expense. It is FAR easier to deal with eggs because I am allowed to bring home 2 dozen eggs as "groceries" without all the hassles. So a couple of very respectable breeders in the US working with Marans and Ameraucanas very generously sent me home with eggs even though their preference is to sell birds - assuming they even have those to sell. (In fact, the eggs were given to me - no money changed hands.) Precious cargo, to say the least!!

I started with a Hovabator Genesis. Cheap. Easy for a beginner. Not a factor if half the eggs didn't hatch when they came from my own back yard. (Also, GREAT for taking videos of chicks hatching. Fabulous opportunity for learning.) But, when one is investing a PILE of time, effort, and money into eggs, a 50% hatch rate or worse is disappointing, to say the least. So I researched on BYC for the most part (and using Google) about incubators. Humidity seems to be the really big issue. Low enough but not too low in the beginning (the first 18/19 days,) then high enough that the chicks don't stick but not so high that they drown at hatching. Brinsea had an affordable model, the Octagon 20 Advance, that came with a "humidity pump". Set the numbers, fill the pump, and walk away. That machine obviously required substantially more investment than the Hovabator BUT I'm getting 100% hatch rates! It took some fiddling with the humidity numbers, again, most of which were figured out through conversations on BYC. I am now at the point, if the egg fully develops it will almost certainly hatch when I'm using my Brinsea.

Brinsea has just added the Octagon 40 (DOUBLE size!) to its Advance line so I picked up one of those with the humidity pump as well. I can stuff 28 Silkie eggs into the smaller Brinsea but the huge Marans eggs are another story. They need a bit more room - head room even for the eggs. My eggs were bumping into the humidity pad! Brinsea has moved that pad in the new, bigger model - and added a cooling feature which is intriguing.

That's MY story and why I appreciate that some breeders are willing to share hatching eggs, at least in exceptional circumstances. That does mean I have to cull - a lot typically, but Marans make a good meal pretty quickly so it isn't all bad.

I start all my chicks on medicated feed - and hard boiled egg yolk as a supplement. We don't have nearly the feed choices here in Canada that you have in the US so I've had to do a lot of research myself. First and foremost, I speak to successful breeders in the US working with my breeds and find out what they do. Then I called the Canadian feed companies and talked to the guys who knew what was going into the bag (i.e. is it plant based or animal,) not just the numbers printed on the tag. I always keep game bird starter (not medicated) on hand now for my breeders (breeder formulations aren't available in Canada) so I can make my own by combining what is available here commercially. I also get the Manna Pro Poultry Conditioner from the US to supplement. No such supplements are available in Canada although I did use Calf Manna the first year. Not all the birds like that stuff, however.

I've joined a couple of local poultry clubs, clubs run by active APA supporters. I attend seminars put on by APA judges and Master Breeders. And I keep going out to the big American shows to develop my eye and ask questions. I've even started showing my birds and asking LOTS of questions of the judges there too.

There are lots of books on poultry genetics and line breeding but not a lot of material about general chicken keeping except the very basic stuff. I've been learning primarily by the school of hard knocks, watch and learn and make changes, but I'm meeting FABULOUS people along the way, slowly building a flock that I am actually proud of, and having a ball.

 

[neopolitancrazy]

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?isbn=9780862300616&n=100121503

Just ordered it, thanks!
Angela

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Afternoon all

I know some breeders/exhibitors don't like the idea of messing with shipped eggs. When I got my trio of Columbian Rocks, I promised Bob that I would share them and I find that hatching eggs is the least expensive way to do that, especially if sharing with another experienced poultry person.

I try to mark my eggs by breeding pen #, share the breeding pen info with the person I am sending eggs to and they use their experience and expertise to work from there. Recently, I send 21 (I think) Col Rock eggs to Ron F (who posts here on this thread) and I believe that prior to the ice/snow storm wiping out his hatch, that 17 of those 21 were developing.

Kathyinmo was kind enough to put my method of shipping eggs into a "Member page" (thanks Kathy!!!) and it can be found here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/shipping-eggs-by-yard-full-o

Some folks can't see spending $100 or more to get started with a pair or trio....and if we are truly wanting to continue the "Old Breeds", perhaps we should look at alternatives such as these for beginners. I've shipped eggs as far as California (I'm in Ga) and had eggs hatch at a rate of 80% and better.

Just food for thought

 

[fowlman01]

I LOVE these questions, Bob!

I am relatively new to chickens. Got interested because I discovered coloured eggs - thus - the breeds I work with; Marans and Ameraucanas. Except the Silkies. The Silkie bug bit me because someone at a show INSISTED that I take a couple of her eggs from show cages home. I don't think she thought for a minute anything would hatch but one of them did. Anyway, I digress ....

I am in Canada so importing birds is a major hassle, not to mention the expense. It is FAR easier to deal with eggs because I am allowed to bring home 2 dozen eggs as "groceries" without all the hassles. So a couple of very respectable breeders in the US working with Marans and Ameraucanas very generously sent me home with eggs even though their preference is to sell birds - assuming they even have those to sell. (In fact, the eggs were given to me - no money changed hands.) Precious cargo, to say the least!!

I started with a Hovabator Genesis. Cheap. Easy for a beginner. Not a factor if half the eggs didn't hatch when they came from my own back yard. (Also, GREAT for taking videos of chicks hatching. Fabulous opportunity for learning.) But, when one is investing a PILE of time, effort, and money into eggs, a 50% hatch rate or worse is disappointing, to say the least. So I researched on BYC for the most part (and using Google) about incubators. Humidity seems to be the really big issue. Low enough but not too low in the beginning (the first 18/19 days,) then high enough that the chicks don't stick but not so high that they drown at hatching. Brinsea had an affordable model, the Octagon 20 Advance, that came with a "humidity pump". Set the numbers, fill the pump, and walk away. That machine obviously required substantially more investment than the Hovabator BUT I'm getting 100% hatch rates! It took some fiddling with the humidity numbers, again, most of which were figured out through conversations on BYC. I am now at the point, if the egg fully develops it will almost certainly hatch when I'm using my Brinsea.

Brinsea has just added the Octagon 40 (DOUBLE size!) to its Advance line so I picked up one of those with the humidity pump as well. I can stuff 28 Silkie eggs into the smaller Brinsea but the huge Marans eggs are another story. They need a bit more room - head room even for the eggs. My eggs were bumping into the humidity pad! Brinsea has moved that pad in the new, bigger model - and added a cooling feature which is intriguing.

That's MY story and why I appreciate that some breeders are willing to share hatching eggs, at least in exceptional circumstances. That does mean I have to cull - a lot typically, but Marans make a good meal pretty quickly so it isn't all bad.

I start all my chicks on medicated feed - and hard boiled egg yolk as a supplement. We don't have nearly the feed choices here in Canada that you have in the US so I've had to do a lot of research myself. First and foremost, I speak to successful breeders in the US working with my breeds and find out what they do. Then I called the Canadian feed companies and talked to the guys who knew what was going into the bag (i.e. is it plant based or animal,) not just the numbers printed on the tag. I always keep game bird starter (not medicated) on hand now for my breeders (breeder formulations aren't available in Canada) so I can make my own by combining what is available here commercially. I also get the Manna Pro Poultry Conditioner from the US to supplement. No such supplements are available in Canada although I did use Calf Manna the first year. Not all the birds like that stuff, however.

I've joined a couple of local poultry clubs, clubs run by active APA supporters. I attend seminars put on by APA judges and Master Breeders. And I keep going out to the big American shows to develop my eye and ask questions. I've even started showing my birds and asking LOTS of questions of the judges there too.

There are lots of books on poultry genetics and line breeding but not a lot of material about general chicken keeping except the very basic stuff. I've been learning primarily by the school of hard knocks, watch and learn and make changes, but I'm meeting FABULOUS people along the way, slowly building a flock that I am actually proud of, and having a ball.

This is how you find things in the poultry world........info, birds, eggs whatever.

Walt