Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Robert Blosl]

Quote: Wow I am glad my wife did not read this it abut drove her crazy when I was Secretary of the Plymouth Rock Club for four years. One reason I gave it up was I had beginners wanting Blue large Fowl Rocks which are not out there but they see the pretty picture and that's what they want. Here we have people who cant even operate a incubator and they want to breed the most I mean most difficult color pattern even for a guy with ten to twenty years experience raising multi colored birds by the standard. They never get anywhere and when I follow up they are out of chickens are on some other weird breed color plan.

I just wanted to let you know as a beginner you are going to have to most likely double mate them to get good males or females and you may end up with four different colors to get what you want. I don't know if this is how you have to breed a blue breed but its not easy.

Heck its hard to get a person to stick with a solid white breed for five years let alone a colored variety just wanted to put my two cents worth in on that.

With feed prices what they are today I want a strain of birds that have been line breed for at lest ten years or more with no out cross blood in it. If you ask us for the breeds say the top 20 out there we can locate for you. Stay away from these people on eBay who sell eggs, people who have production feed store chickens who say they are Standard Breed but go with a person who got some good birds from a good breeder as many of the master breeders who have the top birds don't fool with eggs or chicks.

When I finish my article on how to get started in Plymouth Rock large fowl I will send you a copy. You can see how I write it I would get started if I was starting all over again. There is a right way and most of the time we do it the wrong way.

Have you a alternative breed of chickens to start with other than blue and splash ones? For the German chicken that starts with a W I have no idea who has them but you would be better off getting some of those as they are more popular. I don't consider them H chickens and there are more breeds in danger than them that need new homes to keep from dying off.

If you just want to look at them collet them and not want to improve them that's fine. But if you want to be a preservationist to help save a old breed like we do pick a breed and color that is manageable for a beginners expertise.

Thanks for your post and hope you find what you like but I have no idea who to send you to.

 

[cbnovick]

Wow I am glad my wife did not read this it abut drove her crazy when I was Secretary of the Plymouth Rock Club for four years. One reason I gave it up was I had beginners wanting Blue large Fowl Rocks which are not out there but they see the pretty picture and that's what they want. Here we have people who cant even operate a incubator and they want to breed the most I mean most difficult color pattern even for a guy with ten to twenty years experience raising multi colored birds by the standard. They never get anywhere and when I follow up they are out of chickens are on some other weird breed color plan.

I just wanted to let you know as a beginner you are going to have to most likely double mate them to get good males or females and you may end up with four different colors to get what you want. I don't know if this is how you have to breed a blue breed but its not easy.

Heck its hard to get a person to stick with a solid white breed for five years let alone a colored variety just wanted to put my two cents worth in on that.

With feed prices what they are today I want a strain of birds that have been line breed for at lest ten years or more with no out cross blood in it. If you ask us for the breeds say the top 20 out there we can locate for you. Stay away from these people on eBay who sell eggs, people who have production feed store chickens who say they are Standard Breed but go with a person who got some good birds from a good breeder as many of the master breeders who have the top birds don't fool with eggs or chicks.

When I finish my article on how to get started in Plymouth Rock large fowl I will send you a copy. You can see how I write it I would get started if I was starting all over again. There is a right way and most of the time we do it the wrong way.

Have you a alternative breed of chickens to start with other than blue and splash ones? For the German chicken that starts with a W I have no idea who has them but you would be better off getting some of those as they are more popular. I don't consider them H chickens and there are more breeds in danger than them that need new homes to keep from dying off.

If you just want to look at them collet them and not want to improve them that's fine. But if you want to be a preservationist to help save a old breed like we do pick a breed and color that is manageable for a beginners expertise.

Thanks for your post and hope you find what you like but I have no idea who to send you to.

Bob, I am really looking forward to the next edition of the Plymouth Rock Newsletter...even more so to your article on "How to Get Started in Plymouth Rock Large Fowl". It is wonderful that you are willing to share your experience with others in a large way via this article. How will you make it available for those wanting it? I am certain you could charge a fee for your time and efforts too.
Hope your blood pressure is stable and you continue getting better

 

[chickadoodles]

Wow I am glad my wife did not read this it abut drove her crazy when I was Secretary of the Plymouth Rock Club for four years. One reason I gave it up was I had beginners wanting Blue large Fowl Rocks which are not out there but they see the pretty picture and that's what they want. Here we have people who cant even operate a incubator and they want to breed the most I mean most difficult color pattern even for a guy with ten to twenty years experience raising multi colored birds by the standard. They never get anywhere and when I follow up they are out of chickens are on some other weird breed color plan.

I just wanted to let you know as a beginner you are going to have to most likely double mate them to get good males or females and you may end up with four different colors to get what you want. I don't know if this is how you have to breed a blue breed but its not easy.

Heck its hard to get a person to stick with a solid white breed for five years let alone a colored variety just wanted to put my two cents worth in on that.

With feed prices what they are today I want a strain of birds that have been line breed for at lest ten years or more with no out cross blood in it. If you ask us for the breeds say the top 20 out there we can locate for you. Stay away from these people on eBay who sell eggs, people who have production feed store chickens who say they are Standard Breed but go with a person who got some good birds from a good breeder as many of the master breeders who have the top birds don't fool with eggs or chicks.

When I finish my article on how to get started in Plymouth Rock large fowl I will send you a copy. You can see how I write it I would get started if I was starting all over again. There is a right way and most of the time we do it the wrong way.

Have you a alternative breed of chickens to start with other than blue and splash ones? For the German chicken that starts with a W I have no idea who has them but you would be better off getting some of those as they are more popular. I don't consider them H chickens and there are more breeds in danger than them that need new homes to keep from dying off.

If you just want to look at them collet them and not want to improve them that's fine. But if you want to be a preservationist to help save a old breed like we do pick a breed and color that is manageable for a beginners expertise.

Thanks for your post and hope you find what you like but I have no idea who to send you to.

Hello Mr. Blosl,
Thank you so much for your advice. I have read a little about the blue breeding. I did not really think I could breed them yet. I just wanted a few to look at in my run for now. I am still learning. And I am reading everything I can find on raising Turkey. I and buying Heritage Turkey to raise. So far I have Slate Blue, Black, Narragansett, and a White Holland.
I have never had any poultry and I just wanted to get several breeds and see what I like best. I am raising these I have at this time for personal use and enjoyment. Next year I would like to have the privilege of raising some nice heritage birds.
And thank you Sir for your offer to send me a copy of your article.

 

[catdaddyfro]

Originally Posted by chickadoodles

Can anyone please answer a question for me? I had been doing some research on BYC trying to figure out where to buy my birds. The first ones I bought from the feed stores.
Then I tried some breeders. One breeder sent me a bird that I did not know what it was till just last week and that was 4 months ago. Then another breeder sold me some JG and one has brown specks all around her neck and the others are suppose to have red combs but mine are black! I ordered some birds the other day from a hatchery! I thought I would at least get what I wanted.
I don't know what to do!

The best thing to do is to hang out on the breed thread(s) for the breeds you want. Find someone there that is willing to sell you some. Often you can find someone close to you. Other times you can find someone that is going to a Poultry show in your area where you can arrange to meet them and get birds or hatching eggs from them.

For the one with the black comb, check to see if the seller has a black combed breed at their place.

Yeah I agree with Ron here too. Just hang around and watch a bit you will figure out who has the real deals and if ever in ques. ask the regulars on here(or via PM) if you want to be descrete(sp?) about it LOL The dregs will eventually sink to the bottom and chaff will be carried off by the wind (hot air,LOL) generally. Its not hard to tell who knows who or what after a little bit of observation.

Jeff

 

[3riverschick]

Quote: Hi Chickadoodles,
I know what Bob wrote is probably not what you wanted to hear. It is wisdom. I am like a lot of people, I learned it the hard way over a 3 year period. I decided I wanted a rare chicken which was pretty I decided on Golden Salmon Marans. A wildtype colored bird, the black-breasted red cock with the salmon-breasted stippled hen. Over more than a 2 year period I tried 5 times to obtain birds of this color for a foundation flock. I hatched all kinds of weird colors, and raised all kinds of weird colored chicks But never obtained one,.
finally, I gave up and decided to go with a simpler color. I had picked Sussex fowl. Was looking for a solid-colored bird, older and wiser now about starting with a multi-colored bird. I was looking for Red Sussex when a Light Sussex breeder contacted my and offered to sell me some of his proven show stock. I was floored and so grateful. I bought a foundation trio of started birds{my avatar is ne of them} ( no eggs or chicks this time, I had learned better). and this year, after almost 4 years, am finally raising my 1st generation of worthy birds. It is so exciting
You are blessed to have ended up here where you can get wise counsel to start out. I wish I had been so fortunate 4 years ago. Barred birds, multi-colored birds and blue birds are difficult to breed correct. Pick a solid-colored breed. Or a bi-colored breed which is based on the Silver gene, and the eWh locus..( why?) ...because bi-colored birds based on the eWh locus and the silver gene, ( like Light Sussex) do not need color balancing in their underfluff to get the top feathers to come out the right color. The underfullff on an eWh based /Silver based bird is white to the skin and breeding the black points is much easier.
Basically, you want to find a color which doesn't require color balancing. That way you can concentrate on learning to breed the bird and keep the color generally sound, then fine tune the color if you need to later on when the breed type has been well set and learned.
Don't be like me and learn the hard way, spending all that money and time on wasted effort. There is good counsel here and folk who will help you find quality birds in a breed which meets your needs and is also easier to breed for color.
Best Regards,
Karen

 

[cbnovick]

Here's a quick photo update of my Buff Rock chicks at almost 2 weeks old...really enjoying them!

 

[catdaddyfro]

There are tons of people who breed. Well, what they mostly do is propagate. Most are propagating hatchery quality stuff. It just is what it is. It takes time to know the real breeders from the propagators. Patience. Hatcheries can deliver quickly and feed stores have chicks to take home, but you won't ever get the birds that are discussed and displayed here on this thread.

In a world where folks get used to Fast food, Fast Photos, Fast everything....... 4G, instant gratification kind of thing. With these rare, gorgeous, real-deal birds it simply takes time. Most true breeders of these birds only mate up their birds in late winter to early spring. That's it. Poultry shows are mainly held in autumn and many breeders take birds to sell. It takes time to know the wheat and separate the chaff. It's a test. It takes time to develop a relationship with the right people, who in most cases, don't advertise, don't have websites and don't even use the internet all that much.

Since it takes gobs of patience to grow these birds and breed them intelligently, the patience training begins before one even gets them. We feel blessed to have migrated from hatchery type stock to full bred, heritage birds over the last 3 years. We have some of the best Rocks and Reds in existence to get started with. It has taken three years to complete the transition and I'm still waiting for White Rocks, LOL. So, you can see I'm preaching to myself here as well.

Fred Mrs. Kathy(kathyinmo) has/had some young WR chicks she offered to send me (its too hot down "this-a-way" for that now) but they would probly make it northward now as it is still pleasant enough still yet I'd reckon. So if you interested in those they are from the ones I post up frequently of J-whip(JeremyWoepple/XW poultry farms) stock(Harrisons orig.) nice birds.

Jeff

 

[catdaddyfro]

Here's a quick photo update of my Buff Rock chicks at almost 2 weeks old...really enjoying them!

Big smiles here and what a stately young lad in that bottom pick he has a boastful chest as if he is already full of himself(that's a good thing in the chicken world) LOL

Jeff

 

[ronott1]

Big smiles here and what a stately young lad in that bottom pick he has a boastful chest as if he is already full of himself(that's a good thing in the chicken world) LOL

Jeff

I think he is looking for a treat!

The look great so far!

 

[chickadoodles]

Originally Posted by chickadoodles

Can anyone please answer a question for me? I had been doing some research on BYC trying to figure out where to buy my birds. The first ones I bought from the feed stores.
Then I tried some breeders. One breeder sent me a bird that I did not know what it was till just last week and that was 4 months ago. Then another breeder sold me some JG and one has brown specks all around her neck and the others are suppose to have red combs but mine are black! I ordered some birds the other day from a hatchery! I thought I would at least get what I wanted.
I don't know what to do!
Yeah I agree with Ron here too. Just hang around and watch a bit you will figure out who has the real deals and if ever in ques. ask the regulars on here(or via PM) if you want to be descrete(sp?) about it LOL The dregs will eventually sink to the bottom and chaff will be carried off by the wind (hot air,LOL) generally. Its not hard to tell who knows who or what after a little bit of observation.

Jeff

Thank you Jeff! I will!