Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[NanaKat]

Quote:
As a lifelong gardener who has done that very thing....
I chose the Columbian Wyandotte and picked up where another breeder left off....
Looking at my breed pen today where sire is being mated to his daughters and the original hens again...one pullet really stood out...she is the bright white with crisp contrast in the middle of the flock. The cock bird singed his back and tail feathers on a heat lamp during the single digit temps last month so he looks a little ragged.

The Bantam Cochin is in the pen because a Wyandotte hen was broody and giving her the chick was my way of breaking her.

In the juvenile pen, a cockerel I've been watching is filling out and looking hopeful...more in line with the type in the SOP. He is 9 months old. Underline hopeful...



Each year I continue to seed (breed) and weed (cull) my garden (flock) hoping for the best crop.

 

[gjensen]

When I was a kid looking through Murray Mcmurray catalogs, the description and pictures of the White and Columbian Wyandotes were always at the top of my wish list. Right there with White Rocks, and only beaten by The Rhode Island Reds.

 

[galanie]

 

Passion is how I wound up with Black Javas.  Saw a good trio at a show and fell in love.  Had never heard of the breed before that.  Now we'll see if I can actually do something with them.  Never had anything but hatchery mutts before.  This breeding thing is a challenge that's going to keep me busy for a long time.  With chickens you can eat your mistakes, so it's all good.   

Sarah

  I am where you are Sarah. I am new in this, but like the birds.

 I have liked the birds since I had a box of chicks as a kid. One of those feed store specials. Where you got the free dozen chicks (black sex link cockerels, by the way LOL), for purchasing a bag of feed. I cut some serious grass to maintain my little flock. I went back and added this and that.

 I think that I killed a couple along the way figuring it out. Guess they were sacrificial lambs.

 Still today, I look forward to the box of chicks in the spring. I do not think that will ever change.

 I think starting is like learning to garden. A gardener has failures and set backs, but likes doing it enough to keep doing it. And for all the year's failures is still looking through the seed catalogs over the winter.
 After a couple years, you learn your seasons and your specific conditions. You get better and know what to expect. When to plant this to avoid that. But then you move, and though you have experience, you learn your new circumstances. What worked there doesn't work here.
 A gardener keeps on gardening and a breeder keeps on breeding. A master gardener and a master breeder is the ones that enjoyed it enough to stick it out over a life time and get pretty darn good at it.

Well stated.

 

[smarsh]

love those seed catalogs, pretty tattered already. I know what works, but have to try something new too; can't help myself.

 

[3riverschick]

Well here we are on a new thread and its a new day. I have received a letter from a fellowlister asking for the original list to be reinstated. Not going to happen. Despite our best efforts, I believe Bob was the even keel and the heart and soul of the old list. Personally, I think it was right to archive it as a teaching tool in his memory. So now we need to decide what we are going to do with this new thread.. I don't think what happened on the old list was anyone's particular fault. I think it was just a result of Bob not being there. I miss him so much. ( tears). He always had a gift for bringing things back to the center of the road without offending anyone.
So I guess we all move on now? In the tradition of the old list, who is looking for Heritage Large Fowl? How can we help you decide which breed or find the birds you want?
As an aside, I finally found the growth charts I needed in another breed. I think they are close enough to Sussex that I can modify them to fit. They come from the Corndel folk whom I thank fro sharing them with me.
Best Regards,
Karen

 

[NikonD2xer]

Well Karen, I don't need any help deciding on a breed or locating birds. I will have had my Underwood Rhode Island Reds for 6 months next week. I was almost in a panic the other night when I couldn't get into the old thread. I need the information, the experience and all the words of wisdom from the great people on the old thread and hopefully this one too. This is a treasure trove of ideas for everyone, newbie and experienced alike.

There have been numerous debates and discussions that got a little heated. That is always going to happen when a group of people with different ideas come together into a forum like this. Everyone is different but I see everyone here with ONE thing in common. I think it is the core of this group. It is PASSION.

Passion for a certain breed or class, passion for doing things a particular way, passion for for sharing experiences and teaching others.

Passion for preserving HERITAGE POULTRY.

So if you are a lurker like i was / am trying to decide whether or not to go down the heritage road, read everything here, ask some questions.

You won't find a better group find the answers you need. just my humble opinion

Dan


PS thanks BOB and others for giving me the gentle nudge down the middle of the road but mostly thank you for PASSION. it is contagious.

 

[MagicChicken]

Well here we are on a new thread and its a new day. I have received a letter from a fellowlister asking for the original list to be reinstated. Not going to happen. Despite our best efforts, I believe Bob was the even keel and the heart and soul of the old list. Personally, I think it was right to archive it as a teaching tool in his memory. So now we need to decide what we are going to do with this new thread.. I don't think what happened on the old list was anyone's particular fault. I think it was just a result of Bob not being there. I miss him so much. ( tears). He always had a gift for bringing things back to the center of the road without offending anyone.
So I guess we all move on now? In the tradition of the old list, who is looking for Heritage Large Fowl? How can we help you decide which breed or find the birds you want?
As an aside, I finally found the growth charts I needed in another breed. I think they are close enough to Sussex that I can modify them to fit. They come from the Corndel folk whom I thank fro sharing them with me.
Best Regards,
Karen

The old thread hasn't gone away. It changed names and is available for reference. After taking some time to reflect about the change, I think it was a good idea.

Thank you for keeping the focus on Bob's original intent with the thread. I hope we all maintain that focus. It was what kept me coming back to the Heritage Fowl threads, and it is what helped me get into breeding heritage birds instead of just keeping a few hatchery hens. Time for all of us to kick the can down the road.

I hope all the posters on the original thread can find this "new" one... ("New" being relative, since this thread started out with all the posts from the old thread after Bob died - over 3,000 posts - yikes)

Glad you found your growth charts, Karen. Let us know how they work for you.

I had great intentions of keeping good weight records on my birds this year. Hah. Fishing chicks out of my brooder is not easy. The little rascals are fast. And the brooder is 4' x 4' so they have a lot of room to run out of reach. I am going to have to turn off the heat lamp and collect them all in the dark, then do the weighing inside. Have to do that soon because the wing bands arrived a few days ago and I want to band the chicks before the birds get much larger.

Sarah

 

[Apdeb]

Pm me if you want pics/contact info on any winners at ne congress
Im going to have walt really look at my birds
Cant wait

 

[Texasmja]

Pm me if you want pics/contact info on any winners at ne congress
Im going to have walt really look at my birds
Cant wait

I would love to see any LF Wyandottes please. And if you could get the exhibitor numbers/names.

 

[BGMatt]

Pm me if you want pics/contact info on any winners at ne congress
Im going to have walt really look at my birds
Cant wait

Please get as many as you can and share them with us all here, would be nice to see what is out there. Personally I'd love to see the Langshan breed and variety winners.