I didn't remember you ever saying anything about Oriental Fowl, but I thought I would ask.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
I was looking at your progress with your birds Joseph and most of all your White Dockings. If people only knew how many chicks you had to hatch over a five year or more period that would be shocked to get a few pure white birds to work with each year. Joseph the old timers I knew would be very pleased and impressed with your progress and methods of toe punching wing banding and rearing your fowl to adult hood.Most people wing band right away.
And you're welcome for the advise. Like the others who do this (and most much better than I) the whole goal is setting people who want to be successful up to be successful. The reality is that we need more breeders of better birds, which means we need more people willing to specialize. In order to specialize one must have a mentor, or rather mentors, because one is in truth learning an old-fashioned profession that, although no longer as remunerative as in by-gone days, still requires the exigencies of a profession if top-notch results are to be had, i.e. if high-quality stock is to move forward into the future.
Thanks Walt. The other Dragon Lady. I thought it was too soon for those shows to be published.
I will be at the Springfield Mass APA National, but I have a conflict with the OH date.
I have been so busy arguing with people on byc that I haven't had a chance to tell you what a good job you have done with the Ancona's and Dorkings. Those are both breeds I have had (s/c Ancona and SG Dorkings) so I know what it takes to get them to the quality you have in your flock. Lots of work and lots of dedication. I am hoping that you show some at the APA National.
Walt
I just spent about an hour and a half this afternoon evaluating pullets in the big range pen, and kept thinking of this photo. I certainly wish I had done this. I don't know how many cages I have stacked up in the barn, but the next time my younger is home from college we're doing this for sure. It would make things so much easier!
I was looking at your progress with your birds Joseph and most of all your White Dockings. If people only knew how many chicks you had to hatch over a five year or more period that would be shocked to get a few pure white birds to work with each year. Joseph the old timers I knew would be very pleased and impressed with your progress and methods of toe punching wing banding and rearing your fowl to adult hood.
I was thinking yesterday as I was resting in bed what would the Hall of Fame Master Breeders of HERITAGE birds think of what we are trying to do today. Would they subscribe to our logic of back yard chicken thinking? Would they just laugh and say I seen this before.? What did they do different than many of us want to do? Remember these mostly men and few women did this for thirty to forty years and are considered pioneers in the area of their breeds which some of the blood lines we have today though people like Mr. Urch who bought their stock before they died.
How many family lines did they have. How many chicks did they raise themselves per year? Did they sell eggs or day old chicks to beginners?
HERE IS A KICKER: Did they show their birds or just stay at home and say I don't show chickens?
Did they Own a Standard of Perfection and used it? Did they subscribe to the Poultry Press or Advertise in it?
What where there feeding habits. Did they feed dry feed or did they have some super method we never heard of before in those old days?
Did they use artificial light to help get chicks out in Jan or Feb or used natural light only like some think is better today more natural?
Did they have any methods of Line Breeding to keep their birds from getting Inbreed.
How many times in ten years did they outcross new strains into their famous lines?
Just questions I was thinking about. I interviewed at least 40 master breeders in my life time and they where students of at least 20 super star master breeders or even yet HALL OF FAME members of their favorite breed. So they must have done something right.
The question is should we follow their methods they used for their success in the old days if we want to be like them or some of the commercial ideas or backyard methods that we use today.Something to think about.
Thanks a lot, Walt! It has been a lot of work, but one that has taught me a lot. It's nice to see things beginning to pan out. The Anconas are closer than the Dorkings, but they're both a lot closer than they used to be.
I certainly will be at the Congress. I'll be clerking. I think there will be a bunch of folks there, and I look forward to meeting everyone. Saturday evening after the show and dinner there's usually a lot of chicken talk at the hotel bar. It's a very good time. One laughs a lot, but one also learns a lot.
I hope to have birds at the show, but I'm not sure what shape they'll be in. The difficulty is of course that I hatched so early that it's hard to keep up show condition. The pullets will all have broken tails. The good part, though, will just be putting them on display. I just showed the Dorkings for the first time, and although they can't touch Dan Castle's Australorps, everyone enjoyed seeing them. There's a lot of handling of the birds, and folks were commenting on their fleshing. On the other hand, we took champion and reserve Mediterranean against a nice looking class of SC Lgt Brn Leghorns. It was a good win.