Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[jenjscott]

Well, we went to Arkansas state fair this weekend. Twisted feather from Oklahoma walked away with most of the prizes including the big money Heritage prizes.

I learned a lot, like my barred hollands are cuckoo hollands? I'm looking for sop bred stock. Getting some eggs this week, I hope they better! click on pics for larger views.



My Buckeye cockerel, took reserve breed

There were a lot of really nice large fowl heritage breed. Probably had to do with the prize money being offered. You'll probably see that at Shawnee too.

 

[lildinkem]

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I tell ya, there was quality wall to wall.

 

[OSUman]

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I tell ya, there was quality wall to wall.

Yea there was there were only a couple birds that I saw that were close to below par the rest were magnificent looking.

 

[Robert Blosl]

I have been on the phone for two hours talking chickens with two guys and you are all ready on 102 pages. Hard to believe that so much activity has been going on in the last few hours. We were discussing the pictures taken today at the show in Indiana and all of us agreed our favorite large fowl in condition and for type taking points away for top line, cushions breasts on all the pictures we saw ect we like the Silver Laced Wyandotte from Kentucky. What a pretty female with such great lacing and oval Wyandotte type.

The first fellow was in a deer stand this evening and was thinking what he wanted to talk to me about. His first comment was a new judge and a breeder of Plymouth Rocks has an interesting method of judging he puts marks and checks on his coop cards when he is judging. He told me that his mentor who has helped him learn how to judge uses the marks to score defects or to cut for points in making his decesion for placing the top five birds in the class that he is judging. This is a modification of the old score card judging system, but it is refreshing to see this new judge use this method. When I look at a bird I look at him as a possible 100 point bird. Then I start cutting him for defects in my mind and then I can almost give you a score off of the top of my head.

We had a White Rock Female that my new partner really liked but she has some defects that I saw that I have seen years ago. She had a cushion in her back almost what we call a bunny tail in Plymouth Rocks. Then I saw that her skirts where dragging or the loose fluff under her vent are. Then I looked at the pullet that I liked two months ago and she was lean, tight feathered had a nice lift on her back with her tail still going up on the angle. Or no dropping or bunny tails on her. He told me tonight he thinks he has two more females just like her. To me these are once in ten year females. To get one is a dream, but to get three in one season is just hard to believe.
I don’t like dual purpose chickens with loose feathering especially in Rocks and Reds and when I see one I cut them from the breeding pen especially the females. Well enough said on this subject. You got to handle them and look at them to so looking at pictures is not always fair to the birds, breeder or the judge.
In regards to this thread being more towards dual purpose meat and egg laying chickens it kind of got this way as most of the people who has chickens on this web site have those style of chickens. Also this thread is been geared to large fowl and not toward bantams as. There are very few people who even know that great old chickens from the 1930s and 1950s could have been Buff Leghorns, Buff Minorca’s or say Black Faced White Spanish. They truly are as I talked a day or two ago about New Hampshire’s and how a good male can look as nice and pretty as a light brown leghorn male bird . Many of you have never seen a good Brown Leghorn and there are two colors Dark and Light. A Heritage chicken could also, be a Silky or a white rock frizzle large fowl or a new breed I am going to get a Dark Cornish Bantam.
There are so many different breeds egg layers, meat chickens or the dual type that many people would like to have. I met a fellow fishing today who wants to build a chicken coop and just have five egg laying females. He does not want to eat the hens he just wants them for fresh eggs to eat and then get rid of them in two or three years when they loose production. I suggested getting some pullets from the feed store in the spring when the shipments come in from Ideal Hatchery. That’s all he needs and if he wants something else latter he can get it or go with some little bantams that I have. He just wants fresh eggs no roosters, go fishing and have a nice garden. We talked about the Old Farmer’s Almanac and how it effects chickens and hatching and planting by the signs of the moon and how it can effect fishing . Ever here about the old timers talking about this book? bob

 

[kathyinmo]

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Congratulations, Jen.

You do a great job promoting the Buckeyes. I think that is what it takes ..... to educate others and get them interested in learning more ..... then they want some!

 

[fowlman01]

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Bob, a lot of judges out here in the West use the check marks on the coop tags. It is usually a check mark and a plus or minus sign. I don't know how you could judge a large class without these marks. As an example I have had classes of over 100 pullets in a white breed. The check marks are the only way I can remember which bird is which. I use the check mark to show that the bird has a good: body, head, comb, tail and finally color. then all I have to do is flip up the cards on all the birds that have five check marks and those are the ones I start to place based on their finer points. I use the plus and minus signs to refine the check marks. Birds that have the proper body, don't receive a check mark, same with the head etc, etc.

Bill Patterson is the son of the famous Wyandotte bantam breeder "Doc" William Patterson. Bill is a master breeder of Rosecomb bantams.

Walt

 

[Robert Blosl]

http://www.mariasjerseygiants.com/HatchingTips.html
http://www.mariasjerseygiants.com/

Today I got a request for Jersey Giants and found this very nice site. Also I found some great tips by this breeder on shipping eggs and then what you should do once you get your eggs in the mail. Hope this helps this person who has an interest in this rare breed. If there is a color you want other than say blue I am sure if you email this breeder she knows all the top breeders in the country and she can referrer you to the. It seems almost my entire request for chickens is large fowl and big type birds. Not many people want Mediterainian type of birds. I have white leghorn bantams and find them to be excellent laying birds and the females are easy to condition for shows verses the males. Due to space I try to just breed a female line and I show them rather than the males.

Thanks Walt for explaining the reasons for putting the checks and plus on the score cards. This will help the beginners understand how hard it is to judge poultry especially large classes. I clerked for a water fowl judge on white call ducks at the Ohio National in 2002 to learn what to look for in call ducks. He had a class of at least 250 white call ducks to judge. My knees where so sore from standing all this time I could not clerk the Gray Call Class which I wanted to learn about. It is hard work and you only have a minute or so to look at each bird. We had a class of something like 60 or 80 call males and females to go over. Lots of flip the coop tags over which means they were out of the completion. Lots of check marks as well.

Still getting lots of new members to the rock club. Got some new members sent in to us from the last Lucasville Poultry Show collected by our Club President. Sure is nice when you have all your officers and District Directors pushing your club for you. I think we have hit the 190 plus membership mark. We may hit 200 by the end of the year and that will be a record for our club in many many years. I got to get ready to put out a new newsletter for December that takes about two to three weeks of work and will be waiting for the big Poultry Show in Minnesota where we are going to have our National Meet and then their report.

Hope you have a nice day and enjoy your poultry as there are some folks who want some but can’t have them because of zoning. Many want to move but can’t qualify for a hobby farm in the county because the requirements of getting a loan are so high right now. Such a shame. I have helped some people start in poultry by borrowing a place on friends or relatives place to build a chicken pen so they could have a few chickens. When I started 22 years ago I had the dream in Rhode Island Red Large fowl but did not own a place to raise them. I cleared a little spot about 150 feet in diameter in woods and built my own Mickey Mouse chicken pen. Raised 50 chicks in these woods. Had to pack water to them every day by car 8 miles as there was no well on this property. If you have the desire and passion you can accomplish anything even raising chickens in the woods with all the varmints to help you. If you have faith something will show up so you can get your land then you can fulfill your dream.
Bob

 

[lildinkem]

During the sub zero weather I am hauling water from the kitchen sink to the very back of my property where my pole barn is and a hundred chickens. You either have to be a dedicated entusiast or crazy to sign up for that less then minimum wage job.
Walt I am looking forward to the Ohio natl's. I seen you say you are going to be there. It will be a pleasure to bring a few of my birds to the show and see you in action.
After yesterday I can't wait till november. Cya you guys there.

 

[coq au vin]

I have a fledgling "Farm and Sanctuary" in the works, part of which includes a flock of hatchery stock Production Reds and Barred Rocks. I got these as part of the main flock of layers with the option in mind to create Black Sex Links for future generations of layers.

So...that's the "Farm" aspect. As for the "Sanctuary" aspect, in addition to much more exotic things, the idea recently occurred to me that perhaps I should consider replacing my hatchery Reds and Rocks with some true Heritage stock. Why not put these birds back to work the way Grandmama used to?

Or would I be tarred and feathered for using Heritage Reds and Rocks to make Black Sex Links?

 

[fowlman01]

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They are your birds, I think you can do whatever you like with them. They should make good black sex links.

Walt