Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[chickadoodles]

Yes, the $52 was just the postage. The chick boxes I buy in bulk, so it would have been about $3 (total cost plus shipping divided by 25, I don't remember what the shipping was, that's an approximate figure.) And yes, that's just the shipping and supplies, the cost of the chicks was separate.

But as someone else said, honestly, buying started birds is almost more worth it than buying chicks. I am actually considering just selling started birds next year. That way I can keep the extra males for my own freezer, and be sure what I send out is of breeding quality (yes, I do have some chicks that grow out to be culls, like everyone else.) Better for me, IMO to cull before shipping than to expect a new breeder of my breed to know what to cull for and do so well enough so it won't blow back on me later.

I had a problem this year with someone who had purchased non-breeding quality culls from me two years ago (not telling me they intended to breed and sell offspring from these birds.) These folks were brand new to poultry, and had no idea how to set up breeding pens. So they took my culls (for which they paid a very low price), bred them, then sold the chicks to people saying they were from my line. Um, strictly speaking, no. And I got a lot of flack about it online this year, when someone started complaining about the poor quality of "my" birds.

Well, had the person who initially bought birds from me told me that a) they wanted breeding quality birds and b) they were going to breed them and sell the offspring, I would not have sold them culls, and would have helped them set up their breeding pens so they could have kept the quality they needed in order to sell offspring.

But I thought I was doing them a favor, and they were adamant about not wanting to spend a lot of money. No good deed goes unpunished I guess, and it will be the last time I will ever sell anything that isn't breeding quality as a given breed.

Any female I decide to send down the road will be sold as a generic laying hen, with the caveat that she is NOT to be bred. And she won't be sold with any males, I eat all my extra males now.

Not getting bitten in the butt like that again, nope.

I am still new to poultry but I do understand how someone doing this could really damage someone's reputation! I contacted a breeder not far from me asking about one of her breeds and asked to see pics of her birds after she told me they were from Foley's line. After I looked at these orange birds I just told her maybe later. I did not know what to say, I have seen Foley's birds online and her birds looked nothing like his!

 

[chickadoodles]

When you are trying to kill mites and lice and things like that and spray on a regular basis you need to switch up your spray or dust. These critters build up an immunity to all these things! Even pest control companies have to switch up chemicals or the spray does not work after a while! So if you use one in the spring use something else in the fall...

 

[Yellow House Farm]

200 pounds of DE a month?!! We might go through 10 pounds a year! Wear dust mask, hat and gloves. If one's going through 200lb of DE a month, there is something crazy going on.

 

[Robert Blosl]

Good for you. When we get pictures on here of the right and the wrong it helps put this in your minds eye even if you are a beginner. I had a person send me some pictures of some old R I Reds that where suppose to my old line the Mohawks and when I saw them I said they look like POW from Viet man that I took care of after they came back from POW camp They had no type poor feather quality but where still dark. All I could do is send them pictures that I had of my old Mohawks then say compare yours with my pictures and see for yourself.

That's why some people don't like to sell young birds. Once you get a stake in your heart from someone like this it hurts and hurts big.

I am still new to poultry but I do understand how someone doing this could really damage someone's reputation! I contacted a breeder not far from me asking about one of her breeds and asked to see pics of her birds after she told me they were from Foley's line. After I looked at these orange birds I just told her maybe later. I did not know what to say, I have seen Foley's birds online and her birds looked nothing like his!

http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=8

editre is a new site a friend told me about.

 

[chickadoodles]

Good for you. When we get pictures on here of the right and the wrong it helps put this in your minds eye even if you are a beginner. I had a person send me some pictures of some old R I Reds that where suppose to my old line the Mohawks and when I saw them I said they look like POW from Viet man that I took care of after they came back from POW camp They had no type poor feather quality but where still dark. All I could do is send them pictures that I had of my old Mohawks then say compare yours with my pictures and see for yourself.

That's why some people don't like to sell young birds. Once you get a stake in your heart from someone like this it hurts and hurts big.

I am still new to poultry but I do understand how someone doing this could really damage someone's reputation! I contacted a breeder not far from me asking about one of her breeds and asked to see pics of her birds after she told me they were from Foley's line. After I looked at these orange birds I just told her maybe later. I did not know what to say, I have seen Foley's birds online and her birds looked nothing like his!

Yes it really does help with all the pics on BYC! I thought about sending her some pics of what they should look like but I do not want to step on her toes....

 

[Extra Java]

Yellow House,
Something crazy is ALWAYS going on over here!

We have fire ants, scorpions, tarantulas and all kinds of venomous spiders. I have a large dairy goat herd and the does get stung on their udders which causes problems at milking time. After using DE in 3 pastures focusing where they lay including housing, I finally figured out that DE cracked their teats and made them bleed from lying in it. (even small amounts)

The problem went away with sulfur...including my dry bleeding hands which would crack and bleed just from closing them. My herd enjoys eating it in their mineral feeders free choice.

Gas stations using it for drying up spills and sweeping it away.

 

[thedragonlady]

Yes they are called Rebel Mites Ya'll

Actually they are a strain of Northern Fowl mite that has mutated, and due to the climate down here, they are active all year. We call 'em D#!%&!d mites.

 

[wekiva bird]

Actually they are a strain of Northern Fowl mite that has mutated, and due to the climate down here, they are active all year. We call 'em D#!%&!d mites.

I don't want to see any of those here.

 

[Canieldonrad]

Been PM'ing Bob a couple of times. And something came to mind. Feather mites, does anyone have experience with them? It seems to me that most people I know in Northern Kentucky with poultry has, to some extent, feather mites.


Is this a problem that is bad in other areas, and how do you deal with the issue?

My father always suggested dipping birds in Permethrin until the primaries had moisture on the inside of the shaft.

 

[thedragonlady]

I don't want to see any of those here.

You better not ! You dust !