Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[fowlman01]

This is what we all do that are serious about raising birds to the Standard.

Yes, it is.

Walt

 

[Zanna]

Had an excellent afternoon of selecting Ancona pullets with friend and APA judge Brian Knox. It's a great time, and it's great to have a lot of birds from which to select. Keeping good records is key. Then the birds can be lines up and bunched by ages and like can be compared to like.

This is awesome! Ordered six show cages last week upon NYREDS recommendation, think I am going to need more.............

 

[capayvalleychick]

Keeping good records is key. Then the birds can be lines up and bunched by ages and like can be compared to like.

That is an awesome sight and an ideal set up. Much easier system than the way I've been doing it. What size are those coops?

I do need cages like that ... no prices on the Keipper website ... I'll probably need to sell a cow to be able to afford that many.

 

[colburg]

Another cheap watering dish is the tops and bottoms of 30 and 50 gallon plastic drums. Figure out what height you want, use a piece of duct tape to wrap around it for a guide and use a jigsaw, skill saw, or sawzall to cut it. They're pretty thick and I haven't had one bust yet.

For the tops of the barrels, just silicon the bungs in place and they won't leak.


OT, speaking of Baker Creek, I finally got a pic of our okra. Apperantly, some people around here have said this is normal for their okra, but I've never seen it before.


I'm 6'2" and our girls are sitting on my shoulders.


Cheers,

 

[galanie]

Right mind??  You're so funny....

 

[galanie]

Another cheap watering dish is the tops and bottoms of 30 and 50 gallon plastic drums. Figure out what height you want, use a piece of duct tape to wrap around it for a guide and use a jigsaw, skill saw, or sawzall to cut it. They're pretty thick and I haven't had one bust yet. For the tops of the barrels, just silicon the bungs in place and they won't leak. OT, speaking of Baker Creek, I finally got a pic of our okra. Apperantly, some people around here have said this is normal for their okra, but I've never seen it before. I'm 6'2" and our girls are sitting on my shoulders. Cheers,

I love the raw baby okra right off the plant and yes it grows that tall here too. But I itch just thinking about picking the stuff. Love it! And the idea about the plastic barrels is great! Another suggestion: I have one of those round plastic pans that are supposed to go under a water heater. They're oh around 3' in diameter and only 2 inches deep. Great watering and wading containers but they do have a drain hole in the side. Being the "redneck" I am, and living on a hill, I just situated mine so the hole is on the uphill side but really I should put a fitting on there and block it off.

 

[bnjrob]

OMG. This is what you actually do? I'm glad you posted this picture and I am sure it is great fun. I'm just cracking up. I'm sitting in my folding chair with a beer in the middle of 8,000 square feet of free range, trying to look at the RIR mixed in with the other birds from last year, trying to make a decision and of course their heads are down most of time because they are feeding etc. Thankfully my analysis is a lot more basic than what yours appears to be. Great Picture.

LOL - that's us here. Grab a chair and sit in the pasture while the chickens run around and we try to look at them from every angle to see who is going to make the breeding cut. Have more photos of chickens with their butts in the air than of their other ends.

 

[bnjrob]

That is an awesome sight and an ideal set up. Much easier system than the way I've been doing it. What size are those coops?

I do need cages like that ... no prices on the Keipper website ... I'll probably need to sell a cow to be able to afford that many.

Me too, which is why I have a few crates that I use for broody breaking, but not nearly enough to stick them all into a crate at one time.

 

[bnjrob]

Well, as my pops would say, "God will bless you for it."

Yes, grouping in rows by age and pairings is rather neat, and it allows one to be able to see everything clearly. One can consider them long enough to actually make important, careful comparisons, and then appropriate culling/promoting decisions.

This is probably why it takes me a lot longer to decide who makes the cut or not, since I have to spend extra time watching them, taking photos of them to study instead of being able to line them up separate from one another all at one time.

 

[fowlman01]

That is an awesome sight and an ideal set up. Much easier system than the way I've been doing it. What size are those coops?

I do need cages like that ... no prices on the Keipper website ... I'll probably need to sell a cow to be able to afford that many.

When you get ready to order let me know and post something on the local threads to cut the cost of shipping.

Walt