Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[BGMatt]

No. They are black tailed buff. Check out the standard for them. Might ask for an extra opinion or two. Especially as you get dug into the color.

Yes. Under color and shade considerations with the pairing.

Have you considered Dan's CD? There is a lot of buff articles, among other things. It is worth it. Especially if you like leghorns or the color buff.

Ah, ok, my apologies for getting it wrong, just didn't have my book handy. I will check out their standard when I get home.

I'll have to invest in Dan's CD. Since I'm a big fan of both those things and that's not likely to change anytime soon. I might not ever add any more breeds, but I could definitely see adding a bunch of Leghorn colors.

 

[brahmabreeder]

Get some yogurt in him quick! If he shakes his head at it, mix it into his food. If he still won't eat it, put it in his water and stir well. That green-blue poop is a sign that he is not eating but his digestion is working. It is the gall from the gall bladder. The yogurt needs to be plain and unsweetened. Give him anything he will eat... hard boiled egg yolks and grated cheese are good examples. If you don't get and keep him eating, you will lose him.

Ok I'll go out there and do that. We may only have vanilla yogurt as the 'simplest' flavor.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Ok I'll go out there and do that. We may only have vanilla yogurt as the 'simplest' flavor.

That will do in a pinch but tomorrow you need to go get him some without sugar. It's not good for man nor beast.

 

[Canieldonrad]

The best heritage breed, and ultimate homesteading fowl.

Give it 20 years I'll change people's minds. La Flèche are the next big thing. At least around here. I'm going to make sure everyone in a 30 mile radius has them.

 

[ronott1]

Ok I'll go out there and do that. We may only have vanilla yogurt as the 'simplest' flavor.

I go to the grocery outlet and get a pint or so of plain Greek Yogurt. It has all of the good bacteria in it. Most of the other stuff is actually too low in what they need.

Kifir is great too!

 

[ronott1]

Give it 20 years I'll change people's minds. La Flèche are the next big thing. At least around here. I'm going to make sure everyone in a 30 mile radius has them.

I absolutely love that attitude!

Ship some hatching egg my way!

 

[3riverschick]

BUFF COLORATION IN POULTRY 2007
BY Dan J. Honour
http://www.aviculture-europe.nl/Buff-Coloration.pdf
273 pages of articles on the color Buff. Note especially the article by Judge Wid Card titled "The True Color of Buff".
Dan called it the finest article he has ever seen on the subject. Judge Card was Dan Honour's Uncle's Uncle.
The apple sure didn't fall far from the tree there. Judge Card created the White Laced Red Cornish and wrote the
classic pithy book, " Laws governing the breeding of standard fowls; a book covering outbreeding , inbreeding and
line breeding of all recognized breeds of domestic fowls, with chart". (1912)
https://archive.org/details/cu31924003158312

Dan Honour recently updated all three of his wonderful books on poultry and is selling them as a 3 DVD set for 50.00.
Circa 1185 pages of classic, rare, and obscure knowledge on "The Art of Breeding" : "The Buff Coloration"; and poultry topics.
Best,
Karen

 

[thedragonlady]

I share your admiration for the color. I think the key to it's lack of popularity is I have had many old timers tell me it's the hardest color to breed. I am too new to my project to assess this, but if it is truly a difficult color to breed for then that would explain a lot. It does sun bleach very easily and if you range your birds at all, or just give them a good dosage of natural light they will fade quickly and not be quite as attractive, I found this even in what I thought was a shady pen, the winter sun coming through the south wire faded my youngsters.

It could also fall in a no man's land gap. The show folks don't breed it as much because it's difficult and even the experts seem to slightly disagree on what shade is given preference and the interpretation of the buff color. So they tend to gravitate towards black or white birds, which tend to win more. The commercial industry has no need for color so why would they breed buff?

Just thinking out loud

Buff IS a hard color to get right, and keep it that way. Buff birds are really Wheaten based, and if you are not careful, the wheaten pattern will come through, and show as fading. The key to breeding good buff, is using birds who are true buff, to the roots of their feathers in the shafts of wings and tails, particularly. The under fluff should be a deep gold also, not white.What is so commonly seen is a bird who has an uneven top color. Necks will be darker, as will the wing bows, with lighter breasts and top color.I call this look "Ring around the collar".

I've not had a problem with fading in my Buff Orps, even though they range every day.In addition to good color, I attribute this to good feather quality also.Thin, weak, narrow feathers are much more prone to fading, and again the wheaten pattern will show through.Proper feeding of a ration high in oils can ameliorate this somewhat, but good feather quality has to be bred into a line.Orps are, after all, a duel purpose bird who should be able to range out in all weathers.There is nothing prettier than a flock of buff birds ranging on green grass. The idea of confining them to a show coop for conditioning, defeats the whole purpose of the breed, and turns them into mere ornamental fowl, in my mind. It's just more enjoyable to breed them right.

 

[thedragonlady]

I have picked up enough on the color to know it is not an easy color, but I think it is a color that can be learned.

Add the black tail, slate legs, and birds that are not fully buff to start with . . . We will see, I guess.

George, I told you you picked a hard one ! The hardest thing I think you will have to accomplish is to breed Catalanas with good buff color, with proper black in tails and wings, without getting black in the necks.

 

[Ripster]

Buff IS a hard color to get right, and keep it that way. Buff birds are really Wheaten based, and if you are not careful, the wheaten pattern will come through, and show as fading. The key to breeding good buff, is using birds who are true buff, to the roots of their feathers in the shafts of wings and tails, particularly. The under fluff should be a deep gold also, not white.What is so commonly seen is a bird who has an uneven top color. Necks will be darker, as will the wing bows, with lighter breasts and top color.I call this look "Ring around the collar".

I've not had a problem with fading in my Buff Orps, even though they range every day.In addition to good color, I attribute this to good feather quality also.Thin, weak, narrow feathers are much more prone to fading, and again the wheaten pattern will show through.Proper feeding of a ration high in oils can ameliorate this somewhat, but good feather quality has to be bred into a line.Orps are, after all, a duel purpose bird who should be able to range out in all weathers.There is nothing prettier than a flock of buff birds ranging on green grass. The idea of confining them to a show coop for conditioning, defeats the whole purpose of the breed, and turns them into mere ornamental fowl, in my mind. It's just more enjoyable to breed them right.

Good post on breeding buffs and the importance of feather quality. There's a lot more breeds that would benefit from improved feather quality as well. IMHO