Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Yellow House Farm]

Thanks for the suggestion Yellow, but if I am going to do that I'll work on my English orps for broodies and get some private stock dorkings next year. If I am going to breed it would be better to start with something other than hatchery stock if possible. Thank you for the information, much appreciated.

Well, Orps certainly should be strong broodies.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

I LOVE this idea! I just posted elsewhere that I had eliminated Dorkings from my Urch wishlist because he bred away from broodiness, but heck if I can persuade them, might have to add them back!

Indeed, just be looking for a good beginning, and go from there.

 

[Bentley]

It's generally assumed that hatcheries select against broodiness. Our strain, not from a big hatchery line, is reliable as any game.

Hatcheries don't intentionally select against broodiness. They colony breed and in that situation they then unintentionally select against broodiness. When a hen goes broody she quits laying eggs, in a colony pen that means that the hens that never go broody lay more eggs and therefore produce more progeny. Do this for a few years and a few generations and as a population that line will be less broody. This is why production birds rarely go broody, they actually select for egg production, and therefore are indirectly selecting against broody traits.

 

[thedragonlady]

I had used broodies for the last 4-5 years to hatch for me. I find Phoenix females and Asil females to be very good incubators and moms. This year I used an incubator because of the amount of birds I wanted out. I don't know what experience others have had, but for some reason the birds I have that were hatched and brooded by hens are a cut above the incubated birds in almost every way. I don't now why, that is just what I have seen. I understand that they develop immunity with the hen, but why do they end up physically looking better?

Walt

I think they get more exercise Walt. They develop muscles, and eat more too. Think of the difference in diet that they get following their mother's lead. More bugs ? Probably more minerals from the ground too.They certainly do develop more immunity from being on the ground early. I try to mimic this with my incubator babies. I get them out in the sunshine at least once a day to forage on the ground from about 3 days old. Instead of sitting in a warm brooder all day, they get a chance to run , use their wings ,and eat all sorts of goodies on the grass.It's kinda fun being a mother hen too. I couldn't do this with huge numbers though.

 

[Robert Blosl]

Schilling pictures. How can you get them.? Does a poultry supply house have any? Thats all you need. The words in the standard are the same regardless if its 1962 or 2000. Its the picture I am talking about.

Keep your eyes on Ebay for somesome black and white standads for sale or what ever sight they may be. You will not find them on the Internet for free.

In regards to the Silver Pencil led Rock Pictures it sure is a nice one he did. Wish the breed looked like that. The pretty the picture the more the bird today looks like the you know what. I was talking to a friend who is working on Partridge Plymouth Rocks he has had them for three or four years. Still light years away. He is thinking of crossing a big white rock onto them and then breeding back to the Partridge Color over four or five years to get the correct type. So pretty dont mean nothing. Sometimes we find some pretty good ones but they got bantam blood in them and they are about a half a pound under weight. I guess if they have good type and color why beat the poor birds up because they are not as big as a white rock. If you could get them to a 8 1/2 pound ckl at ten months and that is it I thing we should be happy and just work on type and color. They may not beat a white rock at a show because they are not two pounds over standard weight but at least you are breeding to the standard. Winning is not everything. Breeding to the standard in your own heart and having them close to the weights is more important in my view.

So many breeds need help yet so many wanting to make new color that will never turn out to much. Folks drove me nuts wanting blue rocks last year. This is like hit and miss breeding. They never breed pure and why people spend so much on feed on this color pattern over the other colors that need help I dont know. How many people do you know who have Buff Rock Large Fowl? Silver Pencil led? Colombian? Partridge. Maybe one or two.

When selecting a color you can not look at the stand ad picture as you dont know if any are alive that even come close to that picture today. Just my thoughts on rare and endangered breeds and colors of chickens.

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:
Broody-raised chicks not only get exercise and more variety of food, they get fresh air and sunshine and interesting things to check out. All of which lead to healthier human children. I expect it extends to chickens as well.

Yesterday I put a chick-sized pop door on my new brooder. It's going to attach to a chick-sized expandable run. Not much in the way of grass or bugs here in scorched-earth-desertville, but there's plenty of fresh air and sunshine and outside is way more interesting than inside. I'll let them out when I'm around to supervise. We'll see how the new brooder works out once my java chicks arrive. No broody available this year.

Sarah

 

[Chris09]

Broody-raised chicks not only get exercise and more variety of food, they get fresh air and sunshine and interesting things to check out. All of which lead to healthier human children. I expect it extends to chickens as well.

Yesterday I put a chick-sized pop door on my new brooder. It's going to attach to a chick-sized expandable run. Not much in the way of grass or bugs here in scorched-earth-desertville, but there's plenty of fresh air and sunshine and outside is way more interesting than inside. I'll let them out when I'm around to supervise. We'll see how the new brooder works out once my java chicks arrive. No broody available this year.

Sarah

My broody's are in 6'x10' brood pen and eat only what I give them, so the exercise and more variety of food part is out (at least here) and the air and sunshine part can be ruled out also here since all chicks in brooders and under broody's are under full spectrum lights and also get extra vitamin D in there diet since we get very little good sunlight here in the winter time.

I believe that it has to do more on what go's on in the shell at the time of incubation than what go'g on out of the shell after incubation.


Chris

 

[BRITROCK]

Hi Bob
Loving this thread, I'm with you on the breeds and colour front.
These are the figures for Large fowl numbers from 75% who answered on breeding numbers.

Colour Males Females

Barred 50 111
Buff 20 74
Columbian 6 15
Partridge 8 25
Silver Pen 5 19
White 8 32
Blue 3 15
Black 3 15

Not big numbers but not every Breeder is in the club or show for that matter.
The numbers suggest that in some colours their may only be one or breeders of that colour.
This year I am starting to sell eggs from an additional pen to get more started then i will sell a breeding trio when I have finished with them to a new enthusiast.
The additional pen is very good but last years breeders, if I use them again myself I will not get improvement in my strain.
I plan to hatch double this years hatch for two reasons, one increase my slection numbers and second to sell more.
We do not try to save individual lines as you seem to do but just concentrate on the breed with each breeder creating there own strain either through an out-cross or just selection differences.
In the future I may add another colour which would be Whites which I think are the daddy of all rocks but getting them isn't easy. I struggled to get started but luckily for me another breeder began to help me get started and continue with quality Rocks.

Plenty of these this year 20 in the incubator on Wednesday. Britrock

 

[fowlman01]

A few years ago when black Orps were contenders in shows. Click on the pic to get a better look at the bird. This photo is fading.




Walt

 

[armorfirelady]

Plenty of these this year 20 in the incubator on Wednesday. Britrock

Britrock
I am a newbie lurker on this thread. Could you tell me what kind of rocks these are? I have Partridge rocks and love the breed.
Thank you