Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Yard full o' rocks]

Walt, NYREDS, Bob, other judges.....a little advise please

I am "hoping" to show a pair of Columbian Rocks at the Dalton and the Newnan shows in February

I hatched from January thru April last year and while I know (based on tow punch) what breeding pen the birds came from, but NOT their exact birthdates. With that in mind, I "could" have a bird that is just over a year old, OR be just shy of a year old. I don't know whether to enter them as cockerel/pullet or cock/hen....I don't want to be DQ'd for something done unintentionally, nor do I want to "cheat" (other than weight of the bird does it really matter??)

How do I enter these birds without risking getting into trouble?

Thanks

 

[Robert Blosl]

I Think this the best stretch of education this thread has seen in a long time. The toe punch chart is tops with the new numbers on it. Print this out and take it to the office supply shop and have it laminated. Put it on your wall next to your incubator. A little secret I had to do to keep me from screwing up my writing on my eggs is not having a writing device near the nest. By the time you get from the barn to the incubator room you will forget what pen the egg came out of. If you put the egg in your coat pocket you may break the egg. So I got me some chalk sting and cut them about three feet long tied a string around a number two pencil and then mouth the string near the nest. Each breeding pen has a pencil. Such a simple task but if you dont keep good records it could come back to haunt you and then all this hard work can be for nothing.

I have a friend who has some super Black Austrolorps. He might be able to ship you some started chicks about ten days olds. I dont know if he has enough birds to fool with eggs. By the time you get two dozen you may only hatch four or five. They are top strains in the USA. The URCH bird you got to figure out you got to order so many as a minimum order vs ten started chicks.

I like getting or selling started chicks. At least the beginner has a start for the following breeding season and then you can get some more in four or five years for new blood from the same breeder. They are a very good breed and are considered a breed that we call H on this thread. They where around when I started showing chickens as a kid in the 1960s they are in my black and white standard so they need help and glad you want some. There is a nice poultry show also in Salem Oregon during the fall and I think some spring and fall shows are coming up. Great group of Poultry People run it. I use to go to the Oregon State Fair every fall from Washington State it was my favorite show. Every breed of large fowl I ever saw was there.

Here is a question for the experts of Poultry. Do baby chicks have a part of their brain that feels pain? Many fear hurting a chicken because they think they are like humans. Some I am told by Matt and Steve put diapers on them for some reason. Go figure that one out. Any way does the central nervous system of a chicken have a pain center? I think I read in a old poultry book years ago that they do not.

Wing banding and toe punching has been around for maybe a hundred years. It is a must to keep good records. I plan to wing band my birds along with toe punches each year.

Here is another Poultry 102 question. About five years ago a fellow gave me a article to read about Cooling down Toulouse Goose eggs from England. The writer had a time per day to cool the eggs out of the incubator. As the egg got closer to hatch more time was given to cool. Maybe 30 to 45 minutes per day. If I recall it was to strengthen the baby goose in the egg to get out on his own.

Mother hens have this ability in their little pea brains as well. That's why when they get off the nest they may goof around so long it drives you nuts and you think she is going to ruin the eggs. I had a judge tell me his Muscovy Duck hens during the heat of the day would get up off her nest to fan her eggs to cool them down. Nature has a interesting way of doing things. They just seem to know what to do.

Keep up the good questions. Lurkers are you enjoying this?

 

[Arielle]

Walt, NYREDS, Bob, other judges.....a little advise please

I am "hoping" to show a pair of Columbian Rocks at the Dalton and the Newnan shows in February

I hatched from January thru April last year and while I know (based on tow punch) what breeding pen the birds came from, but NOT their exact birthdates. With that in mind, I "could" have a bird that is just over a year old, OR be just shy of a year old. I don't know whether to enter them as cockerel/pullet or cock/hen....I don't want to be DQ'd for something done unintentionally, nor do I want to "cheat" (other than weight of the bird does it really matter??)

How do I enter these birds without risking getting into trouble?

Thanks

Yard ful of rocks-- do you mind if I use your example to ask a question for anyone to answer-- If toe punching is used to know the pen, how do you keep the different hatchings from that pen identified?? I run into age problems too once they grow up, before that I can see the size difference.

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote: Chris, Thank you for this. I purchased the smaller one at a show last year but haven't used it yet.. I will get the larger one before hatching time.

 

[3riverschick]

Yard ful of rocks-- do you mind if I use your example to ask a question for anyone to answer-- If toe punching is used to know the pen, how do you keep the different hatchings from that pen identified?? I run into age problems too once they grow up, before that I can see the size difference.

just a guess, never tried it. how about putting a colored zip tie on a leg. 7 colors in a package. That would give one enough variety for 7 breeding pens.

 

[FOGELLY]

Yard ful of rocks-- do you mind if I use your example to ask a question for anyone to answer-- If toe punching is used to know the pen, how do you keep the different hatchings from that pen identified??  I run into age problems too once they grow up, before that I can see the size difference. 

That is where I use leg bands along with the toe punch. The wide colored ones with numbers. I get them in numerical order. Then I can record for example number 50 thru 60 hatch date, pen ect....
Numbered wing bands work to but require you to move the feathers to see the band.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Wow look at the lurkers coming out of the wood work. What ever it should be we should be honest and not to hurt any ones feelings. I had a judge wake me up on my Buff Brahma Bantams. They dont have good feet feathers. Something I did not put much attention two. So I kept three and going to get rid of five males. The one I like best has feathers all most around his whole leg. Almost. So it should be to learn and those who here the positives and the negatives should work on the negatives and try to improve them.

... There are many others who have the same goals.

It should be a good experience just try not to get bent out of shape about it. ............

You guys figure out what you want. Post the name on a new thread and we will support it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/732985/csu-chicken-state-university-large-fowl-sop

 

[maryhysong]

Keep up the good questions. Lurkers are you enjoying this?

I sure am Bob! I love this thread and saw that Chicken U is about to begin; really looking forward to that one!

 

[Robert Blosl]

Scott go a head and enter them as Cock birds if you want. When they are that close to a birthday they are not going to give you a hard time. I know judges who enter old pullets as hens and get away with it.

Glad you like the tread. You sure can learn alot. The reason to wing band is to have the dates of the birds on a note pad.

Its not a big deal really, but if you are trying to increase egg production it sure is nice to know the date of hatch with the date of first egg layed. By keeping the pullets that lay the eggs first is the way you over time increase your egg production on your strain.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
I also double up on the coloured zip ties if I need to add more possibilities.