Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[fowlman01]

Thank you. One correction ... Eric Kutch was the judge for the American class at the Red Bluff show, not Dave Anderson.

I watched the judging and both judges did have a discussion in front of the cages before the placings.

Judge Anderson judged the English class. I got a reprimand from him for white lobes on my Dorking.

I'm sure it was gentle.

w.

 

[capayvalleychick]

I'm sure it was gentle.

w.

Oh yes. He wrote Lobes on the cage card. When I talked to him about it, trying to explain that my largest Dorkings have white lobes and the ones with red lobes are underweight - he just said "Liz Munro was able to get rid of the white lobes in her Dorkings and so can you."

 

[fowlman01]

Oh yes. He wrote Lobes on the cage card. When I talked to him about it, trying to explain that my largest Dorkings have white lobes and the ones with red lobes are underweight - he just said "Liz Munro was able to get rid of the white lobes in her Dorkings and so can you."

Don't you have some of her birds?

w.

 

[capayvalleychick]

Don't you have some of her birds?

w.

Yes, I have a trio from her.

The male and one of the pullets were entered in the Red Bluff show. The hen from my breeding (with the white lobe) placed higher than the Dorkings from Liz at both the Red Bluff and the Modesto show. You liked Liz's pullet at the Modesto show the best.

I had trouble with fertility with both of Liz's pullets this year. The male was able to breed the hens from my line.

The line cross produced some strange results. I'm not sure about them.

 

[Wisher1000]

Quote:

Good luck with your program I really need this! Thanks, Ron!

 

[hellbender]

You'll get there!

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
Well, we have chicks! Mama hen has been sitting a bunch of eggs and yesterday hatched out 8 chicks! They are so cute. Unfortunately most all of them have that darker "hue" of yellow where their hackles will eventually be. This tells me they will have grey and white feathers in the white on their "withers" where the hackle slides down and "leaks" out onto the white back. Sigh. One of the smallest one is correct solid yellow tho. This color pollution is spreading in the flock. But each generation I am getting about one in 8 that don't have it. I do know that Tux was the sire but I flock mated him so I don't know which hen was the dam of the correct chick. I wonder what 1 in 8 ratio tells me. It was about that ratio ( circa 1 in 6) last year in the 42 chicks.
Sigh,
Karen

 

[colburg]

My mobile hoop coop is going on 3 years old with no problems. It's 13' wide and 32' long(used 6 2x6's for the bottom frame), about 7' tall in the middle. It is a bit too big to easily move around the orchard, so it's getting retired to open pasture to grow out meaties and start chicks. It has cattle panels covered with chicken wire.

It has 4 tires on levers and 2 hand crank pulleys, like you use to pull a boat onto a trailer. The roost portion is 13' x 6' and easily sleeps 70 hatchery hens. 4 nest boxes got a little crowded, but worked out most of the year. I put a door on the roost portion so I could close them up when I wanted to move longer distances. The floor is expanded metal, I haven't had to clean poop in 3 years.

 

[finnfur]

My mobile hoop coop is going on 3 years old with no problems. It's 13' wide and 32' long(used 6 2x6's for the bottom frame), about 7' tall in the middle. It is a bit too big to easily move around the orchard, so it's getting retired to open pasture to grow out meaties and start chicks. It has cattle panels covered with chicken wire.

It has 4 tires on levers and 2 hand crank pulleys, like you use to pull a boat onto a trailer. The roost portion is 13' x 6' and easily sleeps 70 hatchery hens. 4 nest boxes got a little crowded, but worked out most of the year. I put a door on the roost portion so I could close them up when I wanted to move longer distances. The floor is expanded metal, I haven't had to clean poop in 3 years.

Great design - thats a whole lot of chicken tractor there ! I have a 4x8 and need to use my tractor to move it. But its younger than me.
It appears the large openings are covered with chicken wire. Coons here chew thru regular chicken wire.
I heard rumors @Fowlman01 has coons that can chew thru 1/4 " rebar .

 

[fowlman01]

Great design - thats a whole lot of chicken tractor there !  I have a 4x8 and need to use my tractor to move it. But its younger than me.
It appears the large openings are covered with chicken wire. Coons here chew thru regular chicken wire.
I heard rumors @Fowlman01 has coons that can chew thru 1/4 " rebar .

They are big here but they can't go through that.

Walt