Old and Rare Breeds

[Robert Blosl]

I decided to share pictures of these. I never see them or even hear them mentioned. I have been interested in this breed, and decided to locate some. That was not easy.

I was asked about this breed and never heard of it. I am into old breeds from the 1950s and earler so I try to find homes for breeds that are in need of being built up. However, these are nice chickens and people would be happy with them. I am know helping find homes for Black Jersey Giants, Mottle Javas and Rose Comb Rhode Isladn Reds. Found homes for a old strain of White Plymouth Rocks , Rhode Island Reds, and Silver Laced Wyandottes.

The most disappointing breed I have tried to help these past two years is Rhode Island Whites. All the people who got them got rid of them. Just not there anymore as they are crossed up White Rocks and White Wyandottes and just don't perform for the beginners who want them.. bob

 

[msladyhawke]

For those of you interested in old and rare breeds of fowl: whether it be breeding, locating stock, or just an interesting read.


Many today refer to heritage or heirloom breeds of fowl. Nothing in the world wrong with those words; they are real eye-cathchers, but they are not well defined. Many times they are refering to Modern Breeds that have been created since 1900.


There are truly Ancient Breeds of fowl that are included in our APA Standard that need breeders across the country. These would include:


Asil

Dorkings

Malays

Old English (Large Fowl)

Nankins

Pyncheons


There are also many others that are not presently in the Standard.


Further, there are many Old Breeds which are excellent utility fowl that need help as well. These would include:


Creves

LaFleche

Houdan

Java

Polish

Red Caps

Shamo

Sussex


There are others too, but you get the pictures.


Some of the Modern Breeds that are in need of breeders include:


Cubalaya

Delaware

HOLLAND
etc.


I'm in hopes that you'll write about the breed you keep or ask questions before you acquire stock.


Where a written standard for your breed of choice does not exist in the US, hopefully we will be able to provide you with one from the country of origin.

I am starting off the new year by starting to work with barred hollands. I am getting some eggs from byc member "jenjscott". I also tried to contact byc member "graciemae" but with no response. Duane Urch no longer has them. Does anyone else have any suggestions on where to get eggs from quality birds? I can't wait to get started!!!
Michelle

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Quote:

With this thought in mind, would some of you "experts" please join me at https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/731859/buff-wyandotte-large-fowl-project. I wish to use a Tom Roebuck Buff Wyandotte Bantam male on large fowl Buff Orpington hens to develop a line of Buff Wyandotte large fowl.

Jim

 

[Bentley]

Since size comes from the female and I was thinking that OSU has standard WFB Spanish, then one of your bantam cocks over his hen(s) would go a long way in helping his overall type without affecting the size too much. Not that his type is bad at all, but it seems improvement is the name of the game.

I don't think it quite works that easily with 'size coming from the female'. From an old research paper I read from some 20 or so years ago this did not hold true. As a matter fact I was involved with the very tail end of the project. The researchers made a cross of bantam (Wyandotte I believe) and a standard fowl, I can't remember what breed. They made the cross both ways and then determined that because the LF hen laid a bigger egg that the chicks from the LF hen bantam male cross were obviously bigger at hatch. When they grew them out, compared to the chicks from the reciprocal cross, they chicks from the LF hens egg stayed bigger through much of the growout period but the difference decreased every week until they were fully mature at which time there was no real difference in size.

 

[gjensen]

I was asked about this breed and never heard of it. I am into old breeds from the 1950s and earler so I try to find homes for breeds that are in need of being built up. However, these are nice chickens and people would be happy with them. I am know helping find homes for Black Jersey Giants, Mottle Javas and Rose Comb Rhode Isladn Reds. Found homes for a old strain of White Plymouth Rocks , Rhode Island Reds, and Silver Laced Wyandottes.

The most disappointing breed I have tried to help these past two years is Rhode Island Whites. All the people who got them got rid of them. Just not there anymore as they are crossed up White Rocks and White Wyandottes and just don't perform for the beginners who want them.. bob

This breed is in the standard Bob. They were around before the 50s. There are a lot less of these around than any of the breeds that you mentioned, to include the the Rhode Island Whites. We all can't want the same birds.

 

[OSUman]

http://www.paulspoultry.com/buff.html

With this thought in mind, would some of you "experts" please join me at https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/731859/buff-wyandotte-large-fowl-project. I wish to use a Tom Roebuck Buff Wyandotte Bantam male on large fowl Buff Orpington hens to develop a line of Buff Wyandotte large fowl.

Jim

 

[OSUman]

Do you think it would be hard to get the size back?

I don't think it quite works that easily with 'size coming from the female'. From an old research paper I read from some 20 or so years ago this did not hold true. As a matter fact I was involved with the very tail end of the project. The researchers made a cross of bantam (Wyandotte I believe) and a standard fowl, I can't remember what breed. They made the cross both ways and then determined that because the LF hen laid a bigger egg that the chicks from the LF hen bantam male cross were obviously bigger at hatch. When they grew them out, compared to the chicks from the reciprocal cross, they chicks from the LF hens egg stayed bigger through much of the growout period but the difference decreased every week until they were fully mature at which time there was no real difference in size.

 

[saladin]

Do you think it would be hard to get the size back?

bentley,

I know that genetics are often not as simple as we would like them to be; especially with chickens. However, from my own experience if you want bigger chickens utilizing the biggest hens with each generation will give you what you want.

In this case, bantam cock over standard hen, we know that all the chicks would carry the dwarfing gene. This can easily be bred out from the second generation onward through selection.

I think the cross would be worth it just to introduce the excellence of type manifested in bentley stock. That's all I was saying.

 

[saladin]

I was asked about this breed and never heard of it. I am into old breeds from the 1950s and earler so I try to find homes for breeds that are in need of being built up. However, these are nice chickens and people would be happy with them. I am know helping find homes for Black Jersey Giants, Mottle Javas and Rose Comb Rhode Isladn Reds. Found homes for a old strain of White Plymouth Rocks , Rhode Island Reds, and Silver Laced Wyandottes.

The most disappointing breed I have tried to help these past two years is Rhode Island Whites. All the people who got them got rid of them. Just not there anymore as they are crossed up White Rocks and White Wyandottes and just don't perform for the beginners who want them.. bob

Catalanas were first exhibited in Madrid in 1902. They were accepted into the APA in 1949. They are considered to be a landrace breed coming from Catalana, Spain.

 

[Bentley]

Do you think it would be hard to get the size back?

Yes it would but obviously it could be done. In theory, and in this case the theory will be hard to overcome, when you breed small to big you get somewhere in between. Then when you breed those back to the big birds you will get 'somewhere in between' and so on. With every generation variation exists and while it is always possible to get offspring right away that approach the size of the Larger parent (LF) they would still carry genetic for the small birds. Even when using a dwarfing gene in commercial birds, genetically it would be 'eliminated' in the designated F1 cross but it never was completely, always remnants of that dwarfing gene even multiple generations away. Therefore they discontinued that cross. But, yes you can get back to that size, but it would take a very long time to get the size back, especially if the LF are slightly undersized anyway.