Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[NotAFarm]

Well, if you can't pull, you can trim.

Right now I go out to collect the hatching eggs with a pencil. I have some cheap-o thermometers at key points by the nest boxes in breeding coop areas. I write the temperature on each egg while I label it; thus I can keep track of what might actually have been chilled rather than be infertile. On the other hand, this was the warmest February I've ever seen in NH; so we're hatching a strong percentile.

Best of luck!

Man..........I wish I could be as organized as you are......okay, I could be, but, never thought about putting a thermometer where I could write the temps on the eggs to rule out chilling as a cause for infertility. Great tip!! Thanks!

 

[ericsplls]

My fetiltiy in the Silver laced wyandottes has been very poor so far this year. Last year was actually pretty good. I have been setting every egg and so far it appear the fertility is about 25%. I too know that I have some issues with chilled eggs as I only collect once and day and we have some very cold weather. I prefer not to pull feathers on females if I don't have too. I try to keep management to a minimum. If selecting through allowing those with tight enough feathers to works I am all for it. I have what I think are some very nice birds and hope I don't lose type by hatching only those that can be fertile without pulling fluff.

Thanks for the tip.

I am new to breeding chickens and understand what you mean about not wanting to pull feathers and worrying you'll lose type. I still can't wrap my brain around a written standard that requires some breeds to need a seperate line to breed hens and cocks to standard.

 

[greathorse]

Too lazy I guess to get a bunch of birds caught up and pull or trimm, Perhaps I will take the best of the best and trim a few, I will see how motivated I am this weekend

 

[Robert Blosl]

What I did with my White Rock Large Fowl 25 years ago is put 100 eggs in the incubator and hatched 20. The next year I put in 100 eggs and hatched 35. The next year I did the same and hatched 50. Each year the numbers went up and I then got in five years to about 80 % hatch ability. Then for the next three years I saw my bunny tails go away, I got nice lifts on my backs and the males tails had substance and where fully finished. I did not trim or pull the feathers on the rear ends and what I ended up doing is increase my egg production got unreal feather quality my birds looked small yet when I weighed them they where one and half pounds over standard weight. I think I used the Fit of the Fittest Principle to get my hatch ability up as I sure did not want to go back to the bunny tail big white fluffy chicken Rock.

I think you could do this with the Wyandootes as well. I had a strain of white wyadottes from Wade Fullerton of Ohio about 25 years ago. They where very good in feather quality and did not trim their feathers in the rear end. Try it and see what happens it is a five year project but the dividends are excellent.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Hmmmm, Bob, are you saying that, by simply selecting toward the Standard, you gradually saw improvement in your fertility/hatchability as general type came into line? Abdominal fluff in your line had been overdone?

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Too lazy I guess to get a bunch of birds caught up and pull or trimm, Perhaps I will take the best of the best and trim a few, I will see how motivated I am this weekend

So, chickens are essentially blind at night. Whenever I have to do something like this I do it at night. I wear a basic headlamp with a RED light, which they can't process well. It allows you to simply pluck from the roost. The chore is done in a matter of minutes.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

What I did with my White Rock Large Fowl 25 years ago is put 100 eggs in the incubator and hatched 20. The next year I put in 100 eggs and hatched 35. The next year I did the same and hatched 50. Each year the numbers went up and I then got in five years to about 80 % hatch ability. Then for the next three years I saw my bunny tails go away, I got nice lifts on my backs and the males tails had substance and where fully finished. I did not trim or pull the feathers on the rear ends and what I ended up doing is increase my egg production got unreal feather quality my birds looked small yet when I weighed them they where one and half pounds over standard weight. I think I used the Fit of the Fittest Principle to get my hatch ability up as I sure did not want to go back to the bunny tail big white fluffy chicken Rock.

I think you could do this with the Wyandootes as well. I had a strain of white wyadottes from Wade Fullerton of Ohio about 25 years ago. They where very good in feather quality and did not trim their feathers in the rear end. Try it and see what happens it is a five year project but the dividends are excellent.

So only the eggs from hens with more proper tails/fluff would hatch. That does make sense. Natural selection, with culling to the Standard.

A fellow back in December called me and we were talking Orpingtons. I menetioned Ralph Brazelton and he said Ralph never had a large fowl Orpington worth anything. My memory is that few ever beat Ralph. I know I never beat him. Using this method, how successful at the shows were you? Ralph?

Hmmmm, Bob, are you saying that, by simply selecting toward the Standard, you gradually saw improvement in your fertility/hatchability as general type came into line? Abdominal fluff in your line had been overdone?

Makes sense!

 

[cherylcohen]

What I did with my White Rock Large Fowl 25 years ago is put 100 eggs in the incubator and hatched 20. The next year I put in 100 eggs and hatched 35. The next year I did the same and hatched 50. Each year the numbers went up and I then got in five years to about 80 % hatch ability. Then for the next three years I saw my bunny tails go away, I got nice lifts on my backs and the males tails had substance and where fully finished. I did not trim or pull the feathers on the rear ends and what I ended up doing is increase my egg production got unreal feather quality my birds looked small yet when I weighed them they where one and half pounds over standard weight. I think I used the Fit of the Fittest Principle to get my hatch ability up as I sure did not want to go back to the bunny tail big white fluffy chicken Rock.

I think you could do this with the Wyandootes as well. I had a strain of white wyadottes from Wade Fullerton of Ohio about 25 years ago. They where very good in feather quality and did not trim their feathers in the rear end. Try it and see what happens it is a five year project but the dividends are excellent.

What's a bunny tail?

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Check out this thread on Bunny Tails in Wyandottes https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/134857/bunny-tail

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[cherylcohen]

Got it thanks