Langshan Thread!!!

[rodriguezpoultry]

Awww!!!!

Seriously, sorry for being away so much guys! I hate that I can't talk Langshans at the moment. Way too busy at the moment. We leave in 10 days! I'm gonna have a heart attack from the stress. Someone buy our house and make this easier on me!

I wanted to share some photos of what is happening in two of my birds. This is the first time I have EVER seen this happen. I am wondering if my birds are trying to show some recessive/rudimentary mottling going on...who knows?



Another pullet:

 

[Dirt Farmer]

Awww!!!!

Seriously, sorry for being away so much guys! I hate that I can't talk Langshans at the moment. Way too busy at the moment. We leave in 10 days! I'm gonna have a heart attack from the stress. Someone buy our house and make this easier on me!

I wanted to share some photos of what is happening in two of my birds. This is the first time I have EVER seen this happen. I am wondering if my birds are trying to show some recessive/rudimentary mottling going on...who knows?



Another pullet:

Well now that I've owned a Langshan for 2 weeks I thought I would weigh in on this. I recently read the chapter on Langshans in The Mating and Breeding of Poultry by Harry M. Lamon and Rob R. Slocum. When discussing breeding problems specific to Black Langshans, they mentioned that pullets can tend to have white or grey frosting on the wing tips as a defect. That doesn't explain much for you, but apparently its been an issue since 1920. Dirt

 

[thorleif]

I think that has been bred out in LF, but in the Banties???? As the banties really are a composite breed, both the Pekin Bantam (Cochin Bantam) and the Australorp Bantam are still influential in some throwbacks, and could also throw some mottled ones? The only thing I would suggest is to not use the same matings again, and be a bit wary when you come to use the siblings of the mottly ones for breeding. They do have their genes stacked in a funny way, that is for sure. I suppose another possibility is that they are from black parents, one of which are blue or mottled? Oh, who said breeding nice birds is easy? I am currently working on a paper about successful line-breeding in rare breeds with extremely small gene-pools, but I'm still a few weeks away from completing it. I used to breed blacks and whites in banties, and the theory worked very well with them, I can see that the guy that bought my stock in the end does very well on shows. Myself, I dont show, apart from maybe a few birds at the local show, just to support them.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I had been tryin to figure out a way to make a mottled Langshan for awhile but have it up as a lost cause. Seeing this rekindled that fire. These are on my standard birds. After reading that it may be a throwback from way back when is kind of a good thing to hear. Maybe a Mottled Langshan isn't as far off as I had thought!

 

[thorleif]

Now, there is a thought, Mikaela. They tried to create buff ones back early 1900, but they lost the type to the color so the gave up.

 

[pcchickens]

Here is a real good read:

http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924003148370;seq=1;view=1up

I find page 20 really interesting where he talks about getting 5 to 6 pound cockerels at 16 weeks of age. That rate of growth seems pretty impressive for a heritage breed. Do anyone happen to weigh your birds at 16 weeks to know how they compare nowadays?

 

[thorleif]

I find that unless I grow them until at least a year, there's no breast-meat on them. I try and try, but I cannot open that link. is it an E-book?
Or is it open only to American citizens?

 

[thorleif]

This is how the American Standard read in 1900.

Standard of Excellence
Size of Cock.In fowls of such remarkable merit for table purposes
size must be one of the considerations, and an adult bird should
not weigh less than nine pounds.
Carriage and Shape.Sufficiently long on the leg
to give a graceful carriage to the body ; fine in bone
head small, carried well back, with full flowing hackle
good wide shoulders; broad, meaty breast; fanshaped
tail, carried high, with plenty of glossy sidehangers
and two sickle feathers, some six inches or
more beyond the rest; general bearing that of an
extremely active, intelligent bird.
Comb.Red, single, straight, upright, of medium
size, fine in quaHty and evenly serrated, being free
from side sprigs.
Beak.Light to dark horn color the latter
preferredstrong, somewhat straight, well tapered,
and slightly curved at point.​

Eye.Large, bright, and intelligent, and ranging in color from lightest

brown to very dark hazel, with black pupil. (Mr. Weir says some of
the imported birds had silver or pearl eyes like the Malay.)
Deaf Ear and Wattles.Brilliant red, fine in quality, and medium size.
Neck.Sufficiently large to give a symmetrical appearance to and
harmonize well with the other proportions of the body.
lT'^/;;i:5.Somewhat low in the carriage, large, and having very brilliant
coverts.
TJiii^hs and Legs.Somewhat short, yet large and full, covered with
long, rather close-fitting feathers.
Shanks.Medium, with the scales of a dark-slate color showing
between the skin under the scales of a light vivid pink, wide apart, a few
feathers running down outside the legs and the centers of the outer toes on
each foot.
Feet.The toes should be long and straight, small of bone, and, like
the shanks, a dark-slate color, with the skin between the toes and scales
a light vivid pink. (TThis vivid pink should be described rather as a quality
than a color, it being the evidence of a thin skin.) Toe-nails white, the
under part of the foot light-pinkish white ; in young birds, the part described
as vivid pink should be white.
Plummage.Dense black throughout, with brilliant beetle-green gloss
upon it. Purple or blue tinge should disqualify, as should white feathers
in adult fowls ; * the closer the plumage is, the better.
Size of Hen.Not less than seven pounds when fully grown.
Carriage and Sliape.Gracefully rounded outline ; general appearance
that of an active, intelligent bird.
Plumage. Same as cock.
Comb.Red, single, medium size, erect, fine in quality and evenly
serrated, coming somewhat to a point at the apex.
Tail.Fan-shaped and full, carried rather high.
* All black-plumage birds arc liable to throw a white feather, especially after the first​

adult molt; such feather should not disqualify.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Awww!!!!

Seriously, sorry for being away so much guys! I hate that I can't talk Langshans at the moment. Way too busy at the moment. We leave in 10 days! I'm gonna have a heart attack from the stress. Someone buy our house and make this easier on me!

I wanted to share some photos of what is happening in two of my birds. This is the first time I have EVER seen this happen. I am wondering if my birds are trying to show some recessive/rudimentary mottling going on...who knows?



Another pullet:

One of my birds has this, not as much as yours though.

 

[pcchickens]

Sometimes the standards are funny because they're descriptive but non-descript at the the same time, like were the Langshan standard says "somewhat short" or "somewhat low in carriage." I guess they're trying to leave room for interpretation.

I'm not sure why the link isn't opening in your browser. The name of the book is a mouthful:

The Croad Langshan ("Beauty based upon utility") Embracing articles by well-known authorities on the exhibiting, breeding, selecting, and management of Croad Langshans for eggs and table, with the Club's official standard of excellence fully outlined.

It was written in 1920, and I've really enjoyed reading it so far. Maybe try going to this link http://www.hathitrust.org/home and trying putting part of the title in the search and see if it comes up that way.

I also enjoyed reading through the book by Mrs. Croad that you posted a link to the other day. It seems like Mrs. Croad and that Wright fellow had a feud going on about the origins of the Langshan. I also thought it was interesting when it talked about egg color. Apparently, the eggs of the first Langshans brought over to England from China varied in color from pinkish-purple to chocolate brown.