Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[NYREDS]

AM/CA Light Sussex? What's the AM/CA mean?
Light Sussex aren't shown much because there just aren't many of them around to be shown. Nothing more complicated than that. That's in the US of course. Not sure what's up north of the border.

 

[call ducks]

American / Canadian Sussex is what Am/Ca meant. But when i think about it there must be a reason people arn't keeping them. (cause and effect).

 

[NYREDS]

If I wanted to raise Light Sussex I'm not sure where I'd go to get started. There was a pair at a show I recently judged. They were the first pair I'd ever handled & the first pair I'd seen in I don't know how long.
Exposure is what usually triggers people's interest & with them being so rare they don't get much exposure. I have never heard that they are any harder to breed than anything else & I can't imagine why they would be. I think it's just a question of awareness & availability.

 

[Robert Blosl]

You should see the emails and phone calls I get wanting off the wall breeds. I ask the question why do you want these rare rare breeds. They say its a interesting history, they have great egg laying ability, they lay lots of eggs, they where popular in the 1950s ect. I tell them if they where so great why dont people fool with them any more. Some of these breeds where promotions of breeders who wanted to make money selling chicks. I think the worse one was the Rhode Island Whites trying to ride the coat tails of the Rhode Island Red explosion in the 1930s. The Delawares was another, sounds great on paper but try breeding these breeds they are hard, if you try to show them the dont win and sooner or latter they become almost extinct.

Many beginners take on breeds that only a ten year experienced chicken person should have. How ever, many just want them in the yard to look at and say they are preservationist but they are not. They keep the birds and they will revert back to their origin and become barnyard culls in no time. Thats why many who go in and buy out a good breeders flock are out of them in three years. They dont know how to breed them. The worse story is having a guy buy two dozen eggs from a rare breed who has not raised a chicken in a incubator for twenty years and then goes to a feed store and buys a $35. Styrofoam cheap incubator. Puts the incubator in a old spare bedroom near a window where the sun hits it during the day and hatches one chick. Sound familiar? It was me 32 years ago. I did this so many want these hard to get eggs and they have no skills using a incubator and then buy the worse incubator you could have for such rare eggs. That is why if I was a beginner I would like to have ten started chicks sent to me over night express and then I should get two males and two females for next year and you would be off to the races for breeding the next year. Or make a road trip of four or five hundred miles with the family and go pick them up one weekend at the persons house.

Anyway, most of the chickens you all want are very very rare. You need to have a list of the top five breeds you would like to obtain then study the population of these breeds and pick one that makes sense and is around. If Mr. Urch does not have them then they may not be available. Of course there are the Hatcheries most of the time they have the old breed and what you get is about what is available but that is just the facts of life. At least my two phone calls last night where breeds I could manage to help people locate this spring with chicks from good breeders. I guess today I will get a call for a purple chicken with a crazy looking comb today.

Well off my soap box and going to clean conditioning pens and get dust up my noise. I should feel real good by Noon. Have a nice day and keep the pictures coming .

 

[Robert Blosl]

I am cutting back the number of breeds I am raising and therefore am parting with the following: All large fowl:

Single Comb and Rose Comb Mottled Anconas
Single Comb and Rose Comb White Leghorns
Single Comb and Rose Comb Black Leghorns
Single Comb Dark Brown Leghorns
Single Comb Black Minorcas
White Faced Black Spanish

I also have two single comb buff leghorn cockerels that might be of use to somebody. All the birds above are from Fred Zillich's strain. These are my breeders and not culls. please PM me or email me at: [email protected]

edited by staff to remove link​

 

[keesmom]

I am cutting back the number of breeds I am raising and therefore am parting with the following: All large fowl:

Single Comb and Rose Comb Mottled Anconas
Single Comb and Rose Comb White Leghorns
Single Comb and Rose Comb Black Leghorns
Single Comb Dark Brown Leghorns
Single Comb Black Minorcas
White Faced Black Spanish

I also have two single comb buff leghorn cockerels that might be of use to somebody. All the birds above are from Fred Zillich's strain. These are my breeders and not culls. please PM me or email me at: [email protected]

​

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I looked at the original post on showbirdbid. It's dated November 2010. If it's who I think it is he cut back to bantam and LF Barred Rocks over a year ago

 

[Chris09]

I think the worse one was the Rhode Island Whites trying to ride the coat tails of the Rhode Island Red explosion in the 1930s.

Bob,
I think it is safe to say that there are a good many breeds trying to ride the coat tails of the Rhode Island Red.

Chris

 

[Robert Blosl]

Quote:

I looked at the original post on showbirdbid. It's dated November 2010. If it's who I think it is he cut back to bantam and LF Barred Rocks over a year ago

Here is a example of a nice fellow who wanted to get back into chickens and went to big to fast the opposite of what we try to preach here. He contacted me after he got out of the service and wanted every color of Plymouth Rocks know to man. He paid big bucks for some of the last of the great Buff Rocks from Minn. Over time failure after failure and sooner or later reduced down. He should of got some nice white rock large fowl played with them won with them, learned good hatching skills and he then could move on to a rare and difficult color pattern.

O well they come and they go. Here today and gone tomorrow breeders. See what I say they don't think thier breeds out right and there is no way a beginner can take on to many breeds. I have five breeds with 30 years under my belt and I am going to tone down to three next year. I don't have the mental energy to focus the good on each breed. That's why the super stars who really do well have only one or two breeds.

I did find out last night there are some very nice Partridge Plymouth Rocks in Minnesota. Got to locate the fellow.

Back to the chicken house to clean more pens. Mulch pile is filling up. Got more friends who are collectors of old time seeds. Going to be a big time organic Gardner next year. Will see what varieties will grow well in my climate. I think the same thing in that hobby and skill will be learned in chickens. Go slow, Go small and go down the middle of the road. quote Ralph Brazelton 30 years ago. His wisdom still effects what I do today. Have a nice day

 

[fowlman01]

Here is a example of a nice fellow who wanted to get back into chickens and went to big to fast the opposite of what we try to preach here. He contacted me after he got out of the service and wanted every color of Plymouth Rocks know to man. He paid big bucks for some of the last of the great Buff Rocks from Minn. Over time failure after failure and sooner or later reduced down. He should of got some nice white rock large fowl played with them won with them, learned good hatching skills and he then could move on to a rare and difficult color pattern.


O well they come and they go. Here today and gone tomorrow breeders. See what I say they don't think thier breeds out right and there is no way a beginner can take on to many breeds. I have five breeds with 30 years under my belt and I am going to tone down to three next year. I don't have the mental energy to focus the good on each breed. That's why the super stars who really do well have only one or two breeds.


I did find out last night there are some very nice Partridge Plymouth Rocks in Minnesota. Got to locate the fellow.


Back to the chicken house to clean more pens. Mulch pile is filling up. Got more friends who are collectors of old time seeds. Going to be a big time organic Gardner next year. Will see what varieties will grow well in my climate. I think the same thing in that hobby and skill will be learned in chickens. Go slow, Go small and go down the middle of the road. quote Ralph Brazelton 30 years ago. His wisdom still effects what I do today. Have a nice day

Good advice as usual. When I started I had 48 breeds/varieties of poultry.couldn't win a 5th place in a show cuz they were all junk. Some were not junk when I got them, but I swiftly made them into junk. It is very seductive to have all these cool breeds and if you don't care what they look like in a few years it is a lot of fun. If you plan on showing and want to do fairly well, you can't have too many breeds. I have more than I should at the moment, but there are only 3 or 4 that I concentrate on at a time. The rest pretty much stay dormant until I need to breed some to keep the line going. I'm one of those point chasers Bob talks about.......one of my dogs is even a Master Exhibitor in the APA. My wife didn't know she was a Grand Master Exhibitor of Calls and China geese until a few years ago. My mailman will be a Master Exhibitor soon.

If you want to do well, concentrate on a breed that has been established and keep at it. It is very rewarding when youn bring it to a higher level of quality.

Bob....I thought you went down the middle of the road cuz you couldn't see the sides.

Walt

 

[aveca]

that is why i stick to one variety..i am way too novice to play in a lot of colors and breeds..

i wish i would have taken pics of the light sussex at twin tiers show..i saw 2 ..they were right next to the buff orps..not sure about the quality, but it struck me that they were good sized birds..looked like a nice meat - egg combo.. next year i will take more pics, better camera for heritage group.. i only wish they would have let me off work for the classic..it was a no..but hopefully next year they will have things straightened out and more staff..and i will NOT loose any more to weasles..