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Robert Blosl
Rest in Peace 1947-2013
I had the problem with my large fowl rocks 23 years ago. The tails drooped down like a Cochin. Then I said to myself what breeds where used to make the Plymouth Rocks.? Cochin's with feathers where used in the 1850s on many strains. What you need to know some times when breeding large fowl rocks and reds is the history of the breed. Here you are breeding and hatching your chickens year in and year out and most of the time we go back wards. We don't cull for things like feather quality or egg production.
So I bought me some production reds at the feed store you know the ones that every buddy has on their yards and calls them rhode island reds. Well I watched them feather with my rocks and my reds. My reds and rocks took 15 to 20 days to feather out their tail feathers. The production reds tails where out in a week. Their wing feathers where coming out like crazy my birds slow as can be. So I looked at the chicks I hatched that year and took a black or red magic marker and put a mark on their heads for the ones that feathered the fastest. I then took these chicks and put them in a separate brooder house. Took the other chicks and put them in a separate brooder house. I watched them and the ones that where feathering the fastest started to crow and lay be for the other birds that where slower.
I then breed from these birds and the next year I watched them again with my production pullets. They where getting their tails in a little better than the year be for.. I did this for five years and then my large fowl rocks lost thier bunny tails. The fluff in the vent area got tighter and the feather quality on thier backs was tighter webbed. When the females came out of the breeding pens after four months their backs where not torn up like the early birds where.
Then the egg production improved, the tail feathers where stronger and and the mails tails where more fully furnished. The females tails had that nice Tee Pee look or fan ed out from the rear. They could be put in a show coop and the would hold their tail feathers up all day long and not let their tails droop or be bunny tailed.
What I did is I brought out more of the game blood in my reds and my rocks and got away from the fluffy feathers of the Cochin or Brahma blood that is still floating around in the germ plasma.
Breeding by selection and culling the ones that had the faults was the secret. Same thing with working on the Rhode Island Reds I had pullets that had tight feathers over their backs
instead of shredded feathers. I use to take a garden hose with a old fashion nozzle and put it on fine mist. Then put the spray over the birds backs as they where eating scratch and look at the mist spray over their backs. In the first two years the feathers soaked up the mist spray. After I used this method of early development and fast feathering genes the water beaded up like you think a duck would do on their backs. On tight feathered large fowl the mist water beads up and rolls off and on my old birds the feathers soaked up the mist like a sponge. Did they have more oil in the feathers or just better substance or both I would ask my self. All I know is I kept putting breeding pressure on the fast feathering and early development and increased egg production and boy the type sure came to the surface. I was looking at old videos I made last night that I produced 12 and 15 years ago and the rocks type would make you fall to your knees. My Rhode Island Red females looked like they jumped out of the standard. Brick shape and feather quality that you would see in a hen not a pullet. Thats how I found the old Mohawk gene from Mohawk Five. It was there all along but no buddy put breeding pressure on this trait.
What I was using in a nut shell was the old Carl Hogan method of selection that he wrote about in his book in the 1920s to get leghorns to lay 300 eggs per year.
They have done this with the Buck Eyes ten years ago using the same method. Don Sch rider from North Carolina was behind this project.
Frank Reese has done this with his large fowl at Good Shepard Ranch and if you go to the Barred Plymouth Rock Thread you will see the pictures of the barred rocks that have come from his strain through Jeremy and now Kathyinmo has three trios.
Its a long drawn out project that can be done with any large fowl if you have a goal and the passion to do it. Most people do not understand breeding large fowl. They want results right now. They want to cross a new line in to see if it will help. I call this Russian Roolett breeding.
So there you have it. How many of you will do it? One out of 100. Thats the odds.
Well I am going to get off my soap box. Thats the secret to breeding large fowl. You do need a book in order to reach your goal.
Does any one know the name of the book???bob
look at the male that Jermey raised last year. Look at his tail section. This is a great tail for a Barred Rock.
So I bought me some production reds at the feed store you know the ones that every buddy has on their yards and calls them rhode island reds. Well I watched them feather with my rocks and my reds. My reds and rocks took 15 to 20 days to feather out their tail feathers. The production reds tails where out in a week. Their wing feathers where coming out like crazy my birds slow as can be. So I looked at the chicks I hatched that year and took a black or red magic marker and put a mark on their heads for the ones that feathered the fastest. I then took these chicks and put them in a separate brooder house. Took the other chicks and put them in a separate brooder house. I watched them and the ones that where feathering the fastest started to crow and lay be for the other birds that where slower.
I then breed from these birds and the next year I watched them again with my production pullets. They where getting their tails in a little better than the year be for.. I did this for five years and then my large fowl rocks lost thier bunny tails. The fluff in the vent area got tighter and the feather quality on thier backs was tighter webbed. When the females came out of the breeding pens after four months their backs where not torn up like the early birds where.
Then the egg production improved, the tail feathers where stronger and and the mails tails where more fully furnished. The females tails had that nice Tee Pee look or fan ed out from the rear. They could be put in a show coop and the would hold their tail feathers up all day long and not let their tails droop or be bunny tailed.
What I did is I brought out more of the game blood in my reds and my rocks and got away from the fluffy feathers of the Cochin or Brahma blood that is still floating around in the germ plasma.
Breeding by selection and culling the ones that had the faults was the secret. Same thing with working on the Rhode Island Reds I had pullets that had tight feathers over their backs
instead of shredded feathers. I use to take a garden hose with a old fashion nozzle and put it on fine mist. Then put the spray over the birds backs as they where eating scratch and look at the mist spray over their backs. In the first two years the feathers soaked up the mist spray. After I used this method of early development and fast feathering genes the water beaded up like you think a duck would do on their backs. On tight feathered large fowl the mist water beads up and rolls off and on my old birds the feathers soaked up the mist like a sponge. Did they have more oil in the feathers or just better substance or both I would ask my self. All I know is I kept putting breeding pressure on the fast feathering and early development and increased egg production and boy the type sure came to the surface. I was looking at old videos I made last night that I produced 12 and 15 years ago and the rocks type would make you fall to your knees. My Rhode Island Red females looked like they jumped out of the standard. Brick shape and feather quality that you would see in a hen not a pullet. Thats how I found the old Mohawk gene from Mohawk Five. It was there all along but no buddy put breeding pressure on this trait.
What I was using in a nut shell was the old Carl Hogan method of selection that he wrote about in his book in the 1920s to get leghorns to lay 300 eggs per year.
They have done this with the Buck Eyes ten years ago using the same method. Don Sch rider from North Carolina was behind this project.
Frank Reese has done this with his large fowl at Good Shepard Ranch and if you go to the Barred Plymouth Rock Thread you will see the pictures of the barred rocks that have come from his strain through Jeremy and now Kathyinmo has three trios.
Its a long drawn out project that can be done with any large fowl if you have a goal and the passion to do it. Most people do not understand breeding large fowl. They want results right now. They want to cross a new line in to see if it will help. I call this Russian Roolett breeding.
So there you have it. How many of you will do it? One out of 100. Thats the odds.
Well I am going to get off my soap box. Thats the secret to breeding large fowl. You do need a book in order to reach your goal.
Does any one know the name of the book???bob
look at the male that Jermey raised last year. Look at his tail section. This is a great tail for a Barred Rock.
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