Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[fowlman01]

Does that mean he really didn't breed them?

Urch breeds his own birds and he is no longer a string man.

Walt

 

[Robert Blosl]

Crossing strains has been done every year for a hundred plus years. My point if you are a beginner with limited skiiks in breeding watch out. If you are not a person who is coming back after a twenty year vacation from chickens and plan on doing this for twenty years I have not seen mnay great results. However, lets take the Buckeys or Javas if they came from maybe one source like Urch they are related somewhat. So it may work very well. But you take R I Reds from Mass and one from Illiniois and one from Calif and cross them all up. Boy the sparks are going to hit the fan.

Most people loose so much control they just give up and don't even start over again. What they should have done is get a good start from Mass or R I sland or from Illinois and plowed away with. Many of you are doing this right now and will have success and if you need new blood some day for vigor go back to someone who has pure Mr. So and Sos line. You will be back in he drivers seat for many years to come.

String men like Mr. Miller did breed many of his old breeds and I am sure he bought some from good breeders these guys ran the Fair Secrets years ago going in a pick up and a two ton trailer with chickens bantams and waterfowl to the State Fairs. The last big one was Wilbur Stauffer. He would come to your house at night with a flash light and pull champions off the roost. He had a eye for a fowl and was a killer judge as well. He did not breed these birds why should he could buy them show them and then sell them at the end of the road to beginners. They where good birds. If he was doing this today I would tell you to meet him at the last show and see what he had to get you a good start of rare breeds.

I got a message from a lady yesterday telling me she changed her mind on her off the wall breed she wanted because they where a breed that she thought needed help. It was foolish on her part a she has no skills to run a incubator let alone she does not want to kill the birds to eat them. She is what I call a want a be Preservationist but is not willing to do the things that you have to do to raise chickens. I bet she would have to hire someone to clean her chicken houses out for her because she didn't like the smell of the poop.

The come and go all he time wanting these off he wall weird rare breeds that are just not here anymore. Then the are off trying to find one that they say in a Chicken Magazine at Wall Mart that some guy imported from Europe. Don't put much faith in those folks they are here today and gone tomorrow anyway. One thing is for sure should be some good used chicken equipment out there on Craigs list ect from these people who got out of the game.

I have been thinking a lot about Urchs birds. Lots of old time genes locked up in those rare breeds. Hope some of you got some as God only knows one day when he says he has to retire. The old lines will go up in smoke in two to three years. bob

 

[Apdeb]

Bob
Where are urch's barnevelders from?

 

[Pathfinders]

I have been thinking a lot about Urchs birds. Lots of old time genes locked up in those rare breeds. Hope some of you got some as God only knows one day when he says he has to retire. The old lines will go up in smoke in two to three years. bob

That's a very good point. Hmm. Need to go look at his list of breeds and see if I can convince myself (and DH) to take on another breed. Not that I have room for it, LOL! But you make a very good point.

Mind you, if I had a big poultry barn the first trip I'd make would be up to LeJean Marshall's place and stock up on a bunch of his birds. He's got Rosecomb and Dutch genetics to die for, and his health is none too good either.

 

[Robert Blosl]

Bob
Where are urch's barnevelders from?

don't know that's not a top breed on my list in need of help. I am sure he could tell you. Heck I don't think they are in the APA standard are they?

No offence on my part but I am pulling for the underdog breeds who need help.

I am just suggesting a lot of these breeds he picked up many years ago. The Reds came from Kansas about 30 years ago and are pretty darn good especially the Rose Combs. Old gene pool. Not that they are going to beat out a top notch Single Comb Red but the old 50 years of breeding is still there to be found.

I have thought about some of these old breeds for example the Silver Dorking. Most of them came from Urch so going out there you may order six different orders of eggs from different people and raise these birds up the key here is you may not see much improvement from what you already have but when you take your Silver Dorkings that you breed in Calif for six years and cross them onto a strain from Penn or Iowa there is a difference in climate, food, water and eye ball breeding from the breeder. That one bird or two may help jump start your strain that you have in Calif that you are stuck with and be all you need to moving the type or size or color around. Just a hunch on my part but if you put breeding pressure on a certain section long enough it should change to the better. They are micro points which I call point cuts from 100 that is how you score. You may have a bird and you score him 93 points he is your best bird. But if you can move up every year a half a point in quality in type, size or color you are making progress. Then in five to seven years you may have your best bird say a female at 94 1/2 points scoring them under the old APA standards from the 30s. You might get on champion row with a bird like that or say in a case of a Columbian Plymouth Rock Pullet with great type and color could get Res of Class at a big show and that I have seen in Plymouth Rock Bantams.

Just remember this idea I have of doing this is only for maybe one in five hundred people. These people are die hard stick to their goals and have a passion people. They only come around about ten years but they are out there. If they have the will and work at it it can be done. However, the harder the color pattern the harder to get to that level. That's why these people should be honored wittth the term master breeder. They don't win started wins to get this name. They do this each year by improving their breed through selection and there friends in the hobby and judges know this.

Keep dreaming keep looking and keep learning.

 

[3riverschick]

Quote:

Quote:

 

[BGMatt]

Bob while I agree that barnvelders aren't in dire need of help, they were admitted to the standard in 91 or 92. Same year as welsummer and black rock bantams. (If my local poultry history is correct their qualifying meets were all at the PNPA show that year which hosted the APA national. I think it was 1991, a year before I got started in poultry.

 

[Apdeb]

Not trying to start war
What line are urch barnevelders
Mine are from donna fossil rock farm
Johann easton ct
I am native connecticut person
Also dutch deBruycker
Proud of my johann barnies

 

[3riverschick]

Quote: Is this the same 90+ yr. old Mr. Miller who was conversing on the old Standard Of Perfection thread?
Best,
Karen

 

[NanaKat]

Was leaning on the pen rail this evening with a glass of tea looking at the 6 and 7 month old pullets and cockerels from this year's Columbian Wyandotte hatch. The 10 young birds saved back for final review are healthy, typey and have most of the characteristics I wanted for the breeding program....type, structure, vigor, combs, tail tents, wing set, shank color and feather. Made my heart swell with a little pride.

This is my fourth year to have my Wyandotte and I have learned so much the past 10 months. I have appreciated the information shared both here and on the CSU thread and from other Wyandotte breeders who have shared on the breed threads.

The first year, my rooster was bred to his sisters. Then the second year, I was able to acquire his mother and aunts and kept two pullets from that breeding. The third year he was bred to those same hens and two of his daughters. Now these in the juvenile pen are his get. There was heavy culling for the SOP following the Standard and what advice gleaned here.

My plan for pens next year include pairing the best cockerel to the older hens and breeding the old rooster to the pullets. Then followup with another breeding of the rooster to the older hens and a pen with the best cockerel to the pullets. Of course this means selecting carefully the pairing for characteristics....type first and color next.