Checoukan, that sounds very promising about the goat meat!! So you don't think it's gamey, at all? I can not eat deer meat, it is just too gamey for me. I would love a mild flavored meat! Is it more mild than sheep? I can handle lamb from time to time, but don't really "love" it.Got my cream legbars in the mail yesterday, so I have my small incubator going. Kinda excited to see if they hatch. Yes, Ivy will be heading this way after awhile, they had drizzle rain yesterday along with the wind. So the things they needed to load didn't get loaded. So now they are trying to do it this morning. She has some new furniture coming, so she is really excited.
Hawkeye- is porcelean an accepted color in silkies, I don't want to look it up.
Danz- I would be using the baytril now. What ever they have come down with sounds really bad!
maidenwolf- have you talked to the FSA office, they have different programs, and they have one for women, and first time farm buyers. Maybe you could talk to them. Worth your time. I would think they could help you.
It was really windy here to yesterday, not as bad this morning. We have had rain, so it was not dusty here, but you could see the dust in the sky from out west. Really had a spooky look too it. My DH said "I think we are in for a bad winter". Last year was so nice, I hope we don't pay for it this winter.
Well guess I had better she who is chasing who out side. Crazy roosters, hormones are kicking in on the young guys!
Oh, the goat meat topic. I have been raising goats for 7, or 8 years now. I have butchered and eaten my own meat. The meat is a very mild flavored meat. The burger is almost as light as ground turkey. The chops, are very tender. I tried to fool my husband, and didn't tell him what I was fixen. Sat down started eating, and he looked at me. I asked him is something is wrong, he asked me what I fixed, a I just said meat, what ever it was. He raised his eyebrow and said you aint fooling me, thats goat, and It sure is good.
So don't be afraid, it is very good meat.
No, porcelain (aka Isabel) is not accepted yet. In fact, you'll get farther calling them Isabel vs Porcelain. But it is getting the numbers behind it for sure. Right now, they are fighting over what name to call them, because the ABA/APA will not accept that variety as labeled Porcelain because there is already that color in the SOP and it does not fit the silkie color. Other people are fighting over what the standard should be exactly for the new color they've created! So the silkie color must come up with a new name, AND a Standard for the color... possibly the Isabel name will be used. We shall see. They do seem to breed true for the most part, so I think it's getting close. George Mihalik created this color to begin with-- so he is sort of the "founding father" on this variety. ANYone who is in this program, is keeping in contact with him to get the genes straight for their program. Like it's mentioned below, I think the Wheaten over Partridge base might be in favor... but if that is something you are interested in-- definitely seek these people out to try to correct faults, and go for the color "most" of them are breeding for.
Here are a couple of the thoughts on the American Silkie Bantam Club site-- right in the midst of the arguments: (very interesting stuff, I follow along, but have no desire to breed such a difficult color right now!) And a couple of names are mentioned below-- but I must add, that there are about 5 other names being tossed around for this color, too! They'll have to have some kind of consensus on it eventually. --there is a lot more discussion that I just didn't copy/paste here-- but this is the gist of the argument.
"I think we all need to start thinking about what we are calling Porcelain. As it is bred now, it is a Lavender Buff. The name porcelain will most likely be rejected by any standard committee down the road. Porcelain exists in other breeds and it is a Millie Fluer Pattern diluted by Lavender or Self Blue. Sigrid, describes the Isabel as a Lavender Buff in her book and it seems to me that is the bird that so many of us fell in love with after seeing George Mahalik's creation which has been called Porcelain.
With the first cross you will get a variety of patterns and colors. It will depend on the base type of the Buff used. A Partridge Based Buff, one that has darker skin, eye, and color will give you some darker chicks and some that are lighter. Using a Wheaten Based Buff, the lighter ones with a redder comb and lighter eyes and skin, will produce a different mix in chicks. That is as far as I got with the project since I did not have a clue what to do next. That was before Sigrids book. I think expermenting is going to be essential and finding someone who is willing to share with you the results of their attempts. "
"I knew Sigrid told me what I had, from the European stand point at least, was Isabel and not what most in the U.S. were calling Porcelain. Again, being AOV we can call them whatever but genetcially we probably need to be sure of the reasonable name for this color like you are saying"
"I would very much like to see some consensus on what we are striving for. In my porcelain to porcelain breedings (at least that's what I'm calling them for now), I get a wide variation of dilutions and since there is really no "standard" for the color, I am just breeding for type and the colors that are most pleasing to my eye. George's birds look a lot different from the ones pictured in Sigrid's book and most of the porcelains in this country are some variation of George's color. Breeding these birds back to lavender has produced chicks that are too lavender in my opinion. I love the color and really want to continue working with it, but like Jaynie, I feel like I'm in a boat without paddles LOL. I try to explain to people that the color has no standard because I don't want anyone being mislead, but would love to hear from other porcelain/dilute/pastel breeders about what they are striving for."
"The only thing I can tell you is what George said to a friend and that was" they should be 2/3 Lavender and 1/3 Buff, That leaves a large range of color depending on the degree of dilution. I did see one in the Nationals in Lawrenceburg TN that was much more vivid colors than the photos of what George had and what Sigrid's book shows. How to even describe it? But oh so lovely"
"Sherri H. has made some super progress with the project she took over from George, the latest pics I have seen of her males & females are just stunners! Eric Kutch suggested Blue Fawn and will not DQ them at a show as long as you don't call it a Porc since it does not have the white spangle pattern which is in the Porc standard color descrip. They will need their own name & standard descrip. when you all decide on what it is you want to go for as a group. Much like the paint breeders are doing now."
"I get porcelains of all variations, but they all have a lavender/self blue base. I’m no expert on what ABA wants, but I personally don’t think we should set the top coat color in stone. I think of porcelain as more of a shading gene. Like blues- you can get dark blues or light blues and they are all fine, it’s just a matter of personal preference. I get porcelains that range in color from a dark buff top coat to cream top coat and a ground/base color of light blue to lavender. I think they are all lovely and correct and GM does too. George says that you need to keep breeding back into buff or buff/lav/porcelain crosses to keep the color from washing out. I have found that very accurate. I breed back to both lavender and buffs in my program frequently. I keep a porcelain boy or girl in all my buff pens for that reason. Also, Because GM’s line is so heavy lavender; I also get porcelains from our all splash pens and our all blue pens. I personally can’t imagine it called anything but porcelain as George intended, but that’s up to you guys. I think we should ask George what he thinks it should be called since he is invented the color. I’ll talk to him about it and Connie & Marty, y’all do the same."
