Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Arielle]

@ the Old Yolk-- If Punky is perhaps Punky Rooster, he is a really nice young man for sure. We met up at the BOston Poultry Show last December. He's pretty busy these days and doesn't get on BYC much.

 

[The Old Yolks]

Arielle,
Yes I was referring to Punky Rooster, thank you for clarifying that. He was a delight to me, trying so hard to say and do everything right. I loved it. I was a little timid about posting here but my enthusiasm finally got the best of me and I had to introduce myself. I am so happy I came across this website it has a plethora of information and this thread in particular an education I don't think I could have possibly gotten by simply reading books, which I do as well. Gotta love the google freebies. I have been to and posted on a few of the other threads but people seem to just have more of a personal opinion or a monetary gain in mind then actual legitimate information or a desire to truly help people. I personally like the "educators" here on this thread. I'm looking so forward to the next 6000+ posts.
Nan

 

[Arielle]

Arielle,
Yes I was referring to Punky Rooster, thank you for clarifying that. He was a delight to me, trying so hard to say and do everything right. I loved it. I was a little timid about posting here but my enthusiasm finally got the best of me and I had to introduce myself. I am so happy I came across this website it has a plethora of information and this thread in particular an education I don't think I could have possibly gotten by simply reading books, which I do as well. Gotta love the google freebies. I have been to and posted on a few of the other threads but people seem to just have more of a personal opinion or a monetary gain in mind then actual legitimate information or a desire to truly help people. I personally like the "educators" here on this thread. I'm looking so forward to the next 6000+ posts.
Nan

Nan, for what it's worth, read , read, read and you will find out who the long time breeders are and who the judges are. THere are a LOT of good people with good information, just takes a little sifting thru to find the gems. This thread has an number of them.

Punky rooster lives near me; he introduced me to Buckeyes. I actually bought a few from him this summer but I had a problem with coccidia and lost all of them and a number of other birds as well. Live and learn.

Welcome to chickens.

 

[coopslave]

I have been a poultry breeder for a few years now. I am new to the Mottled Java and enjoying them. I think I have found another breed to get serious about. I only like to concentrate on 2 or 3 at a time.
Here are some of my youngsters:







Thanks for the great thread. I have read it with interest.

 

[bnjrob]

Yay, another Java person!

 

[Robert Blosl]

Good Afternoon Everyone,
I have been a lurker for quite some time and have read every single post on here. First and foremost I want to pass on a sincere and heart felt thank you to all of you who have grabbed my hand and led me down the correct path and provided all of us who read this forum with knowledge we can only hope to accumulate in our lifetime. Like most people I have had hatchery birds for several years not knowing any better and purchasing them based on a picture I've seen either in a advertising catalog or a website soley based on their "eye candy" appeal and I must confess I have also been suckered into the "rare heritage breed" hatching egg scam. Needless to say I have seen the errors of my ways and took the words of advice to heart and have since significantly down sized my flock, just kept a few hens and one old guardian rooster for eggs, and up sized my freezer volume. So now that I have cleared out my "practice stock" I am hoping that I am now on the correct path to better chicken husbandry. I already had the coop but we have modified it so that it now has a breeding pen and seperate run attached as well, I ordered my SOP which will be delivered on monday next week (plenty of time to read it starting on page 1 (I have been listening Walt) several times before my birds get here), I know it was suggested that you should pick just 1 breed to start with but I faultered here a bit. I have a small flock of Nankins that I just couldn't part with, so in addition to them I will be adding a trio of New Hampshires that I will be picking up from Bill Braden in October (thank you for providing his name Bob, what a wonderful man he is). Now that I have braved posting here I want to give some personal thank yous to specific people. Kathyinmo, chickens in pool, LOVED IT! I have shared it with every person I know who have themselves passed it on to everyone they know it may be viral by now. There aren't words to describe how much I enjoyed that post. Thank you. Punky, where ever you are (haven't seen him post for quite sometime) you young man give me hope for our younger generation. Chris09 you sir are like my own personal cyber encyclopedia. I know if you don't have the answer about a particular question, you will search until you find it. I thoroughly enjoy every post you write. Thank you. And to Bob and Walt what can I say, thank you for starting this thread, thank you for generously and freely giving us your knowledge and not giving up on us. Thank you for having hope that people will take that knowledge and use it so that they may pass it on to others just like us one day. Oh and Bob my hubby wanted me to share this photo with you and let you know if you ever wanted to join him on one of his fishing trips he would be delighted to have you. After all it is the least he could do considering all the education you have given me for free. He caught it on 10lb test line. Have a spectacular day everyone. I will share pictures of my birds when I get them home.

Located just eight miles from the Omaha metropolitan area, Fort Calhoun is nestled on the bluff overlooking the Missouri River valley in central Washington County

I use to catch fish like these when I was a kid in Washington. Where did your husband catch such a nice fish??? Job well don on his part.

Nice to read your post. Yes I love to see new lurkers think, analyze then make a change. We need Preservationist. It cost just as much to Feed a mutt from the feed store as a Standard Breed Large Fowl. You dont have to show them but it would be nice if you could try to just keep them at the level you got them then maybe in three to five years you will see changes.

Today I saw a pure breed German Shepard stick his head out of his car window. What a pretty dog. If you remember Rin Tin Tin in the old days he was a dead ringer. I dont have such a dog but my dog is a want a be German Shepard and has it in his blood line. He needed a family really bad and I adopted him almost five years ago. I love him to death and I give money every year to the Human Society but when it comes to chickens I want the real deal.

We will be there to help you during your change of bird. Any other lurkers out there feel free to just ask a question or two. We need more folks to help us preserve these rare breeds. I dont think we will hurt the 5000 or so folks who like the hatchery chickens on this web site. One or two converts over wont put the hatcheries out of business. Thanks for message.

 

[kathyinmo]

Located just eight miles from the Omaha metropolitan area, Fort Calhoun is nestled on the bluff overlooking the Missouri River valley in central Washington County

Awww, now that's my neck of the woods! My home town (Missouri Valley, Iowa) is just across the river from Washington County (got grandkids in Washington County). Beautiful place - and lots of good "fishin' holes!" I'm going up that way real soon.

 

[nyanamia]

I'm lurking. I've read the entire thread and taken some notes, but mostly I just lurk for now. I don't have any chickens, have never had chickens before, and couldn't even have them if I wanted to right now. I've always wanted some, though, and you guys really have me intrigued about raising "heritage" poultry. I hope that one day we will be able to move into a house with enough land for a small scale flock. I want to keep some hatchery birds for a while, just to try it out and make sure I get good at keeping birds alive in this lovely Texas heat. I will make all the newbie mistakes with this first flock (and probably lots more with any others that come along

)

If I can get that part down, I want to get a copy of the Standard and maybe help keep one of the old breeds going. The ones that really catch my eye are Barnevelders and the White faced black Spanish. I was excited when GallusFarm posted those pictures. Gallus, I went to your website and found all the info on the Spanish fowl that you had posted from those old poultry books. Thanks for posting it. Those birds are so rare that I can't find ANY info on them, at least not in English. If there's any more info/history on them, I would much appreciate it if anyone could direct me to it.

I'm one of those people who likes to absorb as much information as I can about something before getting started, often way ahead of time...In this case it may sound ridiculous lol, since I'm entertaining ideas that probably won't come to fruition until many years down the road. For now I will keep lurking and go to a couple poultry shows to see what those are like.

Thank you to Bob and all the other experienced people for being willing to help the newbies out!

Emily

 

[fowlman01]

I'm lurking. I've read the entire thread and taken some notes, but mostly I just lurk for now. I don't have any chickens, have never had chickens before, and couldn't even have them if I wanted to right now. I've always wanted some, though, and you guys really have me intrigued about raising "heritage" poultry. I hope that one day we will be able to move into a house with enough land for a small scale flock. I want to keep some hatchery birds for a while, just to try it out and make sure I get good at keeping birds alive in this lovely Texas heat. I will make all the newbie mistakes with this first flock (and probably lots more with any others that come along

)

If I can get that part down, I want to get a copy of the Standard and maybe help keep one of the old breeds going. The ones that really catch my eye are Barnevelders and the White faced black Spanish. I was excited when GallusFarm posted those pictures. Gallus, I went to your website and found all the info on the Spanish fowl that you had posted from those old poultry books. Thanks for posting it. Those birds are so rare that I can't find ANY info on them, at least not in English. If there's any more info/history on them, I would much appreciate it if anyone could direct me to it.

I'm one of those people who likes to absorb as much information as I can about something before getting started, often way ahead of time...In this case it may sound ridiculous lol, since I'm entertaining ideas that probably won't come to fruition until many years down the road. For now I will keep lurking and go to a couple poultry shows to see what those are like.

Thank you to Bob and all the other experienced people for being willing to help the newbies out!

Emily

It is a good idea to be prepared.......even if it is a long time in advance. many people here buy the chickens first and then try to figure out what to do.

Walt

 

[The Old Yolks]

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. I was so nervous when I was typing my post. I confess I felt slightly intimidated but like the true country girl I am I hiked up my boots and jump in with both feet. First step is always the scariest right. Anyways, Bob my hubby caught that fish in Coos Bay, Oregon (our home state) last year. He takes a 2 week vacation every September (which he is leaving for tomorrow) with two of his life long friends and they spend the first 10 days doing nothing but fishing and the last 4 prepping their catches for shipment home. I honestly don't think it takes that long, I think they forget how old they are and it takes them that long to recuperate from their debauchery. They would never admit it, they are real men after all. I want to thank you again for mentioning Bill Braden, I am so anxious to get my birds home. He is a very kind and generous man. Setting me up the right way which I will forever be grateful for. I will do my best not to let his trust in me with his birds fall to the wayside. I want to raise my birds they way they were originally designed and hopefully learn enough to pass it on to my Grandchildren.
Nyanamia mentioned White-Faced Black Spanish. I have two 8 week old chicks I need to re-home. If any of you know someone in my area who would like to have them I would love to pass them on. I believe they are both pullets but I will post a picture tomorrow (providing I can get them to stay calm long enough) so someone could confirm it for me. I would be willing to deliver them within a reasonable distance. I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. Thank you again for such a warm welcome to this forum.
Nan