Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Yellow House Farm]

If you had more breeds you could say "we have had these for years".

w.

Ahhh, get thee behind me Fowlman!

Honestly, though, those are some rudely nice Barred Rocks. I am very pleased that Jeremy has done and does such a good job with them, especially because he has also adopted White Dorkings, which he procured from Ed Hart. The bloodlines between our birds are close and do share some points, but they are divergent enough to be usefully different. Both have been outcrossed to SG Dorkngs, but to different SG lines. Here's crossing fingers for some good birds.

 

[gjensen]

Ahhh, get thee behind me Fowlman!

Honestly, though, those are some rudely nice Barred Rocks. I am very pleased that Jeremy has done and does such a good job with them, especially because he has also adopted White Dorkings, which he procured from Ed Hart. The bloodlines between our birds are close and do share some points, but they are divergent enough to be usefully different. Both have been outcrossed to SG Dorkngs, but to different SG lines. Here's crossing fingers for some good birds.

I can picture Walt called a few things, but not Satan. LOL.

Jeremy has done well with the Rocks, and I imagine that will continue. I enjoyed them. If only I could have everything I would like to have. I like my New Hampshires though. They have kept my interest for some time. Now the Catalanas are here to stay. I could not imagine another. I do not have it like that. Maybe another day.
At least I will only make two messes, lol.

 

[gjensen]

George

I find my LF Rocks the same way.....BIG eaters, but I try to let them free range as much as possible (most every day) and they find A LOT to eat. Two young pullets were playing "tug-of-war" a few days ago with a snake they had caught. Last night I was trying to band a few "keepers, to watch, culls" with some colored zip ties. I carried a few cups of scratch up there with me to encourage them so I could catch them in a small pen. Probably 1/2 of them could care less and never even came to get any

My current brood cock is a tad over 12lbs and it takes a lot to fill him up!

I'll let the Good Lord feed 'em as much as they'll eat....
and its good exercise for them as well. Leftovers of any kind never go to waste around here anymore either!

I think it helps those big birds to get out and forage naturally. Let them develop that frame. I pushed mine a little too far before I saw what was happening, but I figure it out along the way.

 

[3riverschick]

hey Tucson
Ask your local butcher for meat scraps. Might also try the dude ranches. Leftovers from trimming those huge prime beef roasts and such.
Best,
Karen

 

[desertmarcy]

Roebuck's LF Buff Rock eggs arrived in good shape on 5/30 at 10am ...they shipped on the 29th from VA...pretty good turnaround time I'd say...air cells appear intact and 'tight'....and nice cool temp...first time I've had hatching eggs via express mail in a horizon box...sure seems like this may prove to be another and perhaps 'safer' way to get hatching eggs from coast to coast...they are finishing their resting period in the incubator room...and then into incubator they go today.

May 'the Force" be with them. LOL

Good luck with those

 

[cbnovick]

Quote: Thanks, Marcia !

 

[Yellow House Farm]

@gjensen: Hey, two messes, done well, is a heck of a mess! I'm glad you're so bent on the Catalanas. They're certainly a Hail Mary pass and in need of a champion.

 

[fowlman01]

@gjensen: Hey, two messes, done well, is a heck of a mess! I'm glad you're so bent on the Catalanas. They're certainly a Hail Mary pass and in need of a champion.

We have had a Class Champion with a Catalana out here in a show.......a big show, by Bridget Riddle who raises a number of heritage birds. They are very nice birds. I posted some pics a while back.

Walt

 

[Pathfinders]

I learned something from one of these BYC ladies. She marks the chicks with felt pens on the shank. Right side or left side or a combination and then with colors, she has all kinds of info. Right where the feathers meet the shank and she colors the feathers too. Then she toe punches them when they are a little older so that the hole does not close. Maybe everyone does it that way.....lol.....but it was new to me.

Walt

That's an interesting tip. With chicks that are light colored, I use food coloring to mark on their stomachs, two stripes per bird, get lots of combinations that way. Then you can toe punch later as well. I wrote an article about how I used to do it when I was breeding Dutch that I put on my website here: http://pathfindersfarm.com/PedigreeBreeding.html

 

[Robert Blosl]

Quote: You know I tried five years ago to get the post office to allow us to ship eggs two day priory mail and ship them in a box like this or at least state on the box Live Embryos Hatching Eggs. I Got the South East United States Manager to back me up on this. Only had to change two sentences on shipping hatching eggs would take maybe five minutes of labor.

The Feds in Washington DC said they could not afford the money to make the changes.

I have learned unless there is a force behind the cause one person with common sense would not be able to pull it off. The cost per dozen eggs would be the same.

However, by purchasing a box like this for ten dollars and the shipping of the box which is five dollars, you could wrap two to three dozen eggs in day old baby diapers large air cell up and ship them two day priory mail. They should go into the live section of the Fed Ex plane which was my whole purpose to avoid extreme temps and air cell damage. I learned that most Fed Ex air planes that handle the freight are former passenger planes so the temps and air pressure are the same as the pilots cabin and or where the lives go. When you put the eggs in a regular box or a box that are flat rate two day priory mail they go in a ben type system and if the eggs are on the bottom you may have failures and these boxes may be not handled carefully like a box with a handle on it.

I hope others will try this method. If you share the single nest box with others then the cost for the shipping would be less.

I do know when I go to the shows I can buy the boxes for ten bucks and then this saves me the shipping to my home.

These are also great boxes to put ten started chicks in and the cost would be about $70. or less to ship them to the buyers home.

Thanks for the post and I hope you have a successful hatch. Thanks for Tom to offer to do this as well.