Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[NYREDS]

I thought that this was kind of a neat thing that our club is doing for our show November 9th and wanted to share. It’s something that had done and been involved with years ago with a few other hobbies/clubs that I was heavily invested in and it seemed to go over well back then. In fact it’s one of the few trophies that I ever won and kept to date. Tell me what you think.

Our club is going to be doing a People’s Choice Award at our Poultry Show. Anyone can vote for any bird at the show that they like the best for any reason what so ever. Color, Breed, and/or Type whatever tickles you about that particular bird. Throw the SOP books out the window and vote for the bird you like the best just because. We are going to be calling it the "Bob Blosl Award" since he has inspired and touched so many people throughout the years! I'm real excited about this and it helps to get everyone that shows up to see the birds at the show involved in what we are doing. Heck, it should be a lot of fun to boot. We are planning to do a Winner and a Runner Up for this award!

So what do you think...

Chris

People usually enjoy that-almost always select a Silkie or a Polish but still fun.

 

[Arielle]

My kids have never sen a real live silkie, and the bantams really had their attention. Until they found the ducks.

 

[AletaG]

I do the same thing with Orps. Depth of keel, and a good "bread basket" are very important, as well as wide hip and pelvic bones , combined with a decent length of body.Don't forget a good strong head, with a sturdy beak, to shovel in food too. In Orps, the shorter the back, the fewer eggs you'll get.

You breed both American and English Orpingtons, right? I was wondering, how far could you work in lengthening the Englishers back, and increasing egg production, but still be within their SOP? If you have a link or 2 I could go study? I'm going to be aquiring some Eng. bantam stock at the WA state Feather Fanciers, if the snow in the passes lets her come out... and want to start getting to know the standards better. Thanks!

My kids have never sen a real live silkie, and the bantams really had their attention. Until they found the ducks.

What I wish I'd never, ever seen is a bantam duck. Why? Why? I can't keep ducks here. I'd have to get rid of everything else. But I drool over them anyway!

 

[Arielle]

I need to do a few single matings, how much space , or how little space can I keep a hen and the rooster?

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

I need to do a few single matings, how much space , or how little space can I keep a hen and the rooster?

Let me see if I can find a pix of my single mating pens.....its a 2ft deep x 4ft wide "coop" attached to a 4ft x 6ft "run"....

Here are a few pix

 

[Wynette]

Hubby and I built this a couple years ago and it works great. It's got wheels on one end so I can put it wherever I want, a roost, and a nest box. It's large enough for a pair or trio, and I also use it to break a broody by putting something in the nest box so she can't get in, for injured birds, or trap nesting. Love this thing. (sigh...it sure doesn't look this clean right now, although a power washing a couple of times a year really helps!) OH, it's 4' wide by about 3' high by about 24" deep (the enclosed portion)

 

[thedragonlady]

You breed both American and English Orpingtons, right? I was wondering, how far could you work in lengthening the Englishers back, and increasing egg production, but still be within their SOP? If you have a link or 2 I could go study? I'm going to be aquiring some Eng. bantam stock at the WA state Feather Fanciers, if the snow in the passes lets her come out... and want to start getting to know the standards better. Thanks!


What I wish I'd never, ever seen is a bantam duck. Why? Why? I can't keep ducks here. I'd have to get rid of everything else. But I drool over them anyway!

I am using English imports to over come all the Rock blood added to Buff Orps over the years.The English bred birds that I'm using have tremendous depth of keel and wonderful feather quality and color, coupled with much better combs. These are not the extreme type English you see so often with feathers trailing on the ground. I am keeping the gene pool of these Eng. birds intact in a few birds. I am NOT specifically breeding them to the British standard, even though it is very similar to ours.Read the British standard. The birds winning over there now do not fit it. It is a fad that the very Cochiny birds are winning, particularly in Blacks and Blues.

You will find English bantams to be much larger than ours. If you are going to show successfully over here, you will need to work on size, getting stiff main tail feathers., and reducing fluff.

This is a US bred Buff Orp Pullet...

Here is her daughter at about the same age. She is 50% English.

 

[call ducks]

The last picture is a nice hen. I can see improvement on the length of the back (more space for eggs). Looks like you have some improvement in size.

I feel like a rouge when I say this. But no one should use a SOP when breeding chickens. There is no need to have one when you work with your hands.

 

[BGMatt]

The last picture is a nice hen. I can see improvement on the length of the back (more space for eggs). Looks like you have some improvement in size. 

I feel like a rouge when I say this. But no one should use a SOP when breeding chickens. There is no need to have one when you work with your hands.  

Both agree and disagree. Yours hands and handling of the birds is very important and tells you far more than just eyes. However, a Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, and Wyandotte all have much different structures. And those are all (well were) common farm breeds. There's dozens of examples. The Standard tells us what the ideal for each breed is (as originally intended), while our hands on with the birds lets us properly evaluate our birds and produce better producing birds relative to their breed. The latter half of that sentence being important, as breed choice for fulfilling their job is very important, you wouldn't for instance keep a flock of Cornish if you primarily desired eggs.

 

[NYREDS]

I feel like a rouge when I say this. But no one should use a SOP when breeding chickens. There is no need to have one when you work with your hands.

Could you expand on this 'cause I don't even understand what you mean?