Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Hangtown Farms]

If you were going to wash these white chickens how would you go about it?

Any secrets.??

They look clean to me but maybe just a moist rag on a dry day

 

[Lacy Blues]

I think I would just use some baby shampoo on them. It wouldn't strip the oils from their feathers. They look fantastic to me and I probably wouldn't wash them but if I had to, if they got dirty, this is what I would do. That and make sure their feet and legs are nice and clean too.

 

[Chris Herzog]

I don't know but make sure you separate your loads,,,,whites in one pile,,,reds in another

LOL! To funny!

Chris

 

[Chris09]

If you were going to wash these white chickens how would you go about it?

Any secrets.??

Bob,
On birds/ Livestock I use either;

Orvus,

or

Sullivan's Bright Lights Whitening Shampoo,

Don't use Dish Soap, Dish Soap is designed to remove grease and oils and it can/ will pull oils from the birds feathers.


Chris

 

[Robert Blosl]

http://plymouthrockfanicersclub.blogspot.com/

I found a blog on my wife's favorites of one of her friends in Texas and got on hit a spot and all of a sudden I found a site I started two years ago. Will try to learn how to post pictures and a few ideas on breeding for the beginners to go to.

Thanks for the ideas on washing my White Rock Males. I have a pullet I am going to show in two weeks that is right on Target. I need to wash her a week be for the show and then make sure the oils come back and she should have a shot at Champion American. I have a bunch of White Rock Bantams to wash also and one White Leghorn Cockerel who is almost in full bloom.

Got another show in December in Pensacola Florida and boy Matt 1616 has some big time name judges coming to judge. Cant tell you right now its a secret but the three of them are all top Large Fowl JUDGES in the country and should know where to locate birds in the Texas, Ohio and Iowa Region. Did I give a hint? Shame on me. But these judges should help us locate the rare breeds you are looking for so make a list of what you would like to locate and send me a personnel message and we will try to give you the names of those they feel have the top blood lines.

Or we can give you the names of the top hatcheries and you can order from them. Might take you a few years to improve them but who cares some dont use standards anyway.

However, for the 1% who do plan to use a Standard of Perfection from the American Poultry Association I will let you know who has done the hard work and save you five to ten years of work.

I am going to order a bottle of the cattle shampoo today Chris and should be here in a week. Thanks for the tip as you have a good point as soap works well such as Ivory Bar of Soap but it takes the oils out. How much Glycerin do you put in say four gallons of water?

Have any one heard of using vinegar in one of the rinses? If So how much for four gallons of water? Vinegar cuts the soap out in one of the rinses. For those who don't know how to wash a bird. You have five tubs of water or in my case five five gallon buckets. Fill them up with four gallons of warm water about 100 degrees. The first tub is the soap tub, then the second is a rinse, third is a rinse the fourth is a rinse and the fifth is a rinse with a little bluing maybe four or five drops to bring the white out. I dont use it as I lost my old bottle and if you use to much you will have a blue hue to the feathers and judges like Walt will cut you and you may not even get a first place.

I had a lady in Maine that use to put Downy Fa brick Softener in her water for her kids twenty years ago. I forgot the oz per four gallons any thought on it. It helped I guess replace the oils into the feathers.

Her son one of two the youngest was a killer exhibitor he should be about 35 years old and maybe one day he will contact me and want to show again. He use to give his Red Males five grass hoppers every day a month be for the show. It looked like he spayed his males with a lacquer and he would beat his older brother. His mother never could figure out what he did as both males got the same feed per day. But one day after show season they were driving to town and his mom asked him and he said Mom don't get MAD. I over heard you and Bob talking on the phone one night and Bob said he use to feed his Reds Grass Hooper when he was a kid and so I thought I would go out and catch me some in the field and do the same. It must of been the oils or the bug juice that gave them the gloss on their feathers. His mother could not be leave it and she called me that night and told me. He won something like four Trophy's as a junior and two Grand Champion Large fowl of the shows in Open Class when he was showing. Not bad for Ten Started chicks I gave them four their 4H project.

Well out side I will go and take some pictures of my Buff Brahma males. Maybe if they turn out ok I will post them. bob

 

[galanie]

Don't know from experience but this lady has been showing for many many years and a guess "a touch" is the measurement hehe.

If you were going to wash these white chickens how would you go about it?

Any secrets.??

Dawn dishwashing liquid, some blueboy bluing and a touch of downey fabric softener. Start at the feet and vents, and go from there.

 

[Fred's Hens]

5 months old today.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

5 months old today.

nice pattern

 

[WinklerFarms]

5 months old today.

What lines are your from?

 

[ashandvine]

Dear Mr. Bob,
in reading some of the older books on washing fowl put forward for showmanship there are several suggestions that regard trying to dust them first-- as in get out some of the dirt from their dustbaths before you put them in the water or else you have to change it in between. Then they said to be gentle or a bird could look worse. It said to plunge them up and down in warm water a few times, use a cup to pour water all over, and work in a small amount of glycerin soap, working with the grain of the feathers not against. It did say you could add some vinegar to the white birds but that makes me a bit nervous. It was a random amount like a splash of white to your wash bucket. Then it says be sure to rinse well, usually in another bucket that's prepared, gently squeeze water out of them and then try them out by the fire... it was an old text. In truth I would just take a white bird I wasn't going to show, use baby soap or glycerin soap, a teaspoon or two in the water and rinse really well,, and I would try oxyclean. I know, its weird, but I would try it if I was really worried about white and see what the bird looked like after I blew it dry with a hair drier. If that bird didn't look too bad repeat with one you want to show. (The woodstove way takes too long for me.) Anything harsh will take the shine right off those feathers. They did say you could go digging in the crevices of the legs with a toothpick or old toothbrush, file toes and beaks and oil the legs and waddles/comb the day before. There was a lot of warning not to be to rough on the feathers or they would look a lot worse than when they were just a little dirty.

On another note, I attended the Northeast Bird Fancier Show in Windsor Maine. There were few LF and so many bantams. It was a bit disappointing. I did see a few nice zippers and tried to take pics. I also met a man who made me think of you, Mr. Bob; he was selling a trio of RIR LF. I asked a few questions. Nice man. He said his birds came from Underwood (I think that was the name) who was showing back as far as 1913. I took his information in case you didn't already have it. I found another bird I liked the look of, although they were a bit comical, Cornish. Cute little things with their wide set legs and 'goggles' on.

Here's a few pics I got before the battery died. I hope you all don't mind. I liked the LF Hamburgs. I had never seen a mottled D'anvers and I liked the Dominique. I saw my first Javas in person.