Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Yard full o' rocks]

Quote:
Cowgirl.....at the fear of stepping on a few toes (not at all on purpose) the Delaware Club was "re-started" by a group of BYC'ers that are interested in the same thing you are. Trying to preserve the Delaware breed. I do not know all of the breeders on the list, but, I personally know of several that have great flocks from which you should be able to get a start.

Perhaps you could PM KATHYINMO here on BYC and she could direct you

Good luck...they are a fun breed

 

[Robert Blosl]

Quote:
Send a personel message to kathyinmo. She can help ou find some. She has the current non hathery Delawares and she is going to make some new ones buy crossing a super barred rock male onto two or three New Hampshire Females. I figure you will get about one or two good colored Delawares per ten eggs then get say two males three female and breed your heart out to the standard of perfection. With in three years a breeder with this new strain should have Delawares with type and color one to two points better than what is available right now. This breed is on the rise becasue of the interest. All they need is five to ten breeders who are dedicated to breeding and this will be a fun breed to watch as they progress.

In regards to the call duck issue. I agree with you so many birds that win are bought birds. I am learning this in other breeds of bantams as well.

I just need information if its in someones files on how to breed the Gray Call or Rouen Color pattern. I hope to locate copies in the next few years. Just have not found the colectors who have such books or magazines. bob

 

[danhonour]

Bob do you have access to bound copies of Reliable Poultry Journal,or John Robinsons books.I know there are articles on Rouen Ducks in RPJ and Robinson included them in his waterfowl book plus Domestic Fowl book.I am sure you can get some very helpful color breeding material in them.

 

[cybercat]

Wow I have been reading this thread daily from the start. But once a day seems not enough. LOL

For those that are looking for a good feed that has meat protien get ADM. They are the only one that I have found that carries it. They have the 16% and a 20% in chicken feed. Also goes by the name Pen Pals. I just got this when our other feed store moved back out of state. Economy hit feed stores hard here we lost a few. I free range no pen at all but I do have to feed in the winter. Durning rest of the year chickens will not eat much feed at all since we have enough bugs and greens here. Mostly what they do even now is have some in the morning when let out then go off and range then before they go back in to coop eat a bit more. With this feed even with 13 chickens locked up in coop for over a week. We had 8 inches of snow on the ground. I am only going thru one bag and one bag of scratch every 2 and half months it seems. I have not kept a real close eye on the feed as I am buying 2 bags at a time because of distance to feed store. But last time I bought was start of last month and I am still on first bag we open right after we got home. I know for a fact that when I feed all veggi feed I went thru ALOT more feed in winter.

 

[7961]

Bob - I don't know if you own it but maybe the book..The Call Duck Breed Book by Sheraw..would be an aid for you with breeding greys. I do not own it but if it is anything like Sheraw's East Indie book..I more than highly reccomment it! He doesn't raise greys any longer but maybe you would want to contact Lou Horton and ask your grey questions to him. Charlie Hodum is another good breeder of greys.

 

[CharlieVoda]

Quote:
No it is a French Mottled Java having a bad hair day.

Here are the 2 best in the country Grey Call breeders per Don
Art Lundgren in NY and Dennis Fuller in you guessed it Iowa that is in the Midwest.

I respectfully disagree with the above statement. IMO and several other opinions from well noted & respected veteran waterfowl "breeders"..Art Lundgren and Evy Avery are the 2 best grey call breeders in the country. Lundgren and Avery's show records speak for themselves. Because someone goes and purchases top birds from Art Lundgren and Brice Wonders, has the funds and will to advertize that they are the best of the midwest, campaigns and wins with those birds in a short amount of time doesn't make them a breeder. They are solely a buyer and exhibitor.

Scott you are doing the best thing I think taking your few best OH undercolored typed birds to mate with the Canadian line birds. I am sure Tim Bowles was referring to undercolor when talking about that male that was shown by a customer of yours. Taking another breed and crossing it onto the Rocks would likely be more problematic and years of unnecessary work than what it is worth. You have what you need to work with now.

What I meant to say was here are two OF the best breeders.

I was in a hurry replying to various posts. Sorry for the typo.

Don is one of the top waterfowl judges in my and many others minds. I am not a waterfowl guy. LF chickens are my bird of choice. I was getting an opinion for Bob in regards to breeding info.

Don has helped me more than I could ever repay him for, over the years. He showed for his 60th straight year at the MN State Fair this year what an accomplishment. He has never missed a year. Don has Tommy Stanley White and Light Brown Leghorn large fowl. I think he still has LF Spangled Hamburgs they may be older than me.

Bob knows, there are a lot of great waterfowl around the Midwest. Don sold out his Toulouse line this fall after having them forever and they are some of the best in the country probably are the best. I know the fellow who bought them and he will do good things with Don's line.

Scott I agree with 7961, why not raise 50 to 100 of both strains and forget mixing them for a few years. Once you mix em up you have a hard time going back in years to come. It sounds like you have two good lines to work with now.

Good luck with the birds
Charlie

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Hmm...the grey call question. Sometimes I really like the idea of breeding them. They are my favorite call. Don Nelson and I have a running dialigue and critique on the lack of distinct penciling. He, like I, believes that it is on account of breeders getting all tied up with creating new colors instead of working on the old standards.

I think a lot comes from wanting to take the easy or quick road. Six years into working with these white dorking, and I'd say I'm half-way there. Now, when I say "there" I guess it's fair to say that I'm a perfectionist, and the birds are looking better than when I first had them, but..... I think it comes down to realizing that it's about relationship. Such and sucj will be the breed that accompanies you throughout your life. You and it become an indellible part of each other's history. It's the echo in everything Bob says about the RIR's. It is a life time, and art is worthy of a life-time.

I think that choosing a breed, and working with it and on it, and growing along side it is a wonderful metaphore for marriage. It's not that so many roads aren't wonderful, but I think that commitment leads to a depth that can never be tasted from mere dabbling here and there.

Speaking of Houdans? Who's going to save them? My heart breaks for them, but I'm trying my darnedest to be disciplined!

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Roasting a Guinea Fowl:

Slather a guinea fowl with olive oil or butter. Then in a small bowl make a combo of salt, pepper, and herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, parsely). Rub the herb mixture all over the bird; then sprinkle what is left inside the carcass.

Place the bird into a dutch over or other COVERED roaster. Add a cup or two of wine or water about the edges. Do not pour liquid over the bird as not to rinse of the herbs.

Cover.

Place in over pre-heated to 450. Instantly reduce to 350. Calculate 20-25 min to the pound (a tad more if stuffed) and set the timer. Don't touch, don't baste. don't peak!! When timer goes off, remove bird. Let sit for 15 minutes to rest the meat. Carve and serve....DELICIOUS!

 

[danhonour]

I would keep the good Canadian line going pure and toemark the chicks.I would take your best females from the Ohio line and mate also to the Canada line male.I would only keep the pullets from the Ohio line,then use another male (cockerel from this year) from the Canada line on the 1/2 ohio line. Then by the time the ohio line is 3/4 Canada,you can mix them and the blood will be predominantly Canadian yet with a bit of new blood.This way you can retain the traits without diluting them.It sounds like what you might be planning anyway.Also get some of the pure Canadian stock off to someone that will keep them going pure,so that in a few years you can swap males.

 

[fowlman01]

I stayed at Lou Hortons place several timers when he was at his peak in gray Calls and never saw a well penciled female Call. I didn't see any at Graham Oakfords place either and he was probably the best Call breeder of all time. All the Call colors you see now did not exist at that time, so I don't think all the varieties had anything to do with it. There were only a few good Call breeders at that time that bred Calls that were not white or gray. I had one of the winningest gray Calls of the late 80's and it didn't have good penciling either. In the late 80's the ABA wanted to change the seven classes of bantams so that bantam ducks would not compete with bantam chickens until it came to best of show. It was because I took that little gray female down to the Carolina's and kicked some OE butt. Call ducks just didn't do that much in those days and never with 6 OE judges at basically a game bird show. That bird was pretty incredible, but it didn't have good penciling. It was good penciling for a gray Call, but it was terrible compared to a mallard or Rouen.

Gray Calls came from Mallards, so I don't know why it is so hard, but would love to shake the hand of the person who pulls it off.

Walt