Surviving Minnesota!

[ejb3810]

Ralphie, if you go to the Greenfire Farem web site you can read all about the Leg bars. I could be wrong, as I frequently am, but I believe that Greenfire originally imported them from Great Britain.
The Greenfire site claims that the breed is a prolific layer of blue or pastel green eggs? I don't believe that the breed is accepted in the American Poultry Association as of this time, but that a proposal for acceptance has been made? Jerryse could clarify I think.
Greenfire is a poultry merchant that has imported several breeds to the U.S. in recent years. Their motivation seems to be largely financial? At one time my friend Dan Powell had an arrangement with them to market some unique color varieties of more than one breed of chicken, which Dan had developed. Dan was very knowledgeable regarding poultry and genetics and a fanatical poultryman. He had moved to New Zeeland when we last communicated.
Greenfire markets unique and seemingly beautiful poultry breeds, but I am not a promoter of them. I suspect what you get may not be exactly what they represent it to be, and their prices do not seem at all reasonable to me.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Ralphie, if you go to the Greenfire Farem web site you can read all about the Leg bars. I could be wrong, as I frequently am, but I believe that Greenfire originally imported them from Great Britain.
The Greenfire site claims that the breed is a prolific layer of blue or pastel green eggs? I don't believe that the breed is accepted in the American Poultry Association as of this time, but that a proposal for acceptance has been made? Jerryse could clarify I think.
Greenfire is a poultry merchant that has imported several breeds to the U.S. in recent years. Their motivation seems to be largely financial? At one time my friend Dan Powell had an arrangement with them to market some unique color varieties of more than one breed of chicken, which Dan had developed. Dan was very knowledgeable regarding poultry and genetics and a fanatical poultryman. He had moved to New Zeeland when we last communicated.
Greenfire markets unique and seemingly beautiful poultry breeds, but I am not a promoter of them. I suspect what you get may not be exactly what they represent it to be, and their prices do not seem at all reasonable to me.

EJB I think you have hit the nail on the head with GF. They have a pretty fancy website and it's a fine inducement for Flavor of the Month Chickens. I myself would expect a Magic Carpet Ride from North Carolina for the shipping cost alone on their birds.

Anyways...I'm finding myself leaning towards the heritage tried and true breeds after my CLB experience. I do not think they have an APA recognition--not that those things really matter for what I do poultry for. But I can see how a person gets swept up in it as a hobby and such, and if you're competing. And sometimes I look at the BLRW or the Buckeye I have from Minnie and I get pretty proud having those nice birds in my flock. So I talk out of both sides of my mouth when it comes to chickens.

I do like that breeder birds are bred for things other than production and have less repro problems and some longevity in laying.
I do like the boxy shape and the larger size. Finer feather markings.
I don't know...I hear that even the heritage birds are changing in looks from what they looked like 50 years ago....Interesting.

 

[duluthralphie]

From what I read on the CLB threads there are no SOP's yet.

Heck they can not even decide on the name of the bird. Crested, not crested, Sex link, sex linked, Blue eggs, not blue eggs.


Creamettes, Creamers... All up in the air.

I like the look of my birds BUT they are not all that special. I like a lot of my mutts better than them. I was just wondering and especially without a SOP what a judge looks for?


There must be some kind of general standards I would think, this is a good bird, this is a crap bird, etc..

 

[duluthralphie]

Oh and BTW Greenfire birds are not in my future.

I am seriously thinking of getting rid of all my CLB's, They would make a small Sunday meal for us.

I want some Dominiques. I am going to breed some of my BA's this year, but I dislike their combs.so not too many.

I do like my EE's. I like Ed and his New GF are nice. The speckled Sussex seem nice even if the rooster is a horses rear.

Maybe I will let the CLB's free range and deteriorate into expensive EE's. If they chicks are not too flighty and they learn to lay eggs.

 

[jerryse]

JerrySe... Could you show us a picture of a good bird of a breed and tell us why it is good, without going so far off in the weeds I fall asleep? I try to read those threads and I have no idea what they are talking about 99% of the time..

What would be a good CLB? Would interest me. I want to know if I have good or bad ones.

Sorry for the slow response . I been out rabbit hunting most of the day . Two guys 3 beagles got 8 . Limit is 4 each . I am probably a poor coach on legbar type . To me it only makes sense to stay with Leghorn type . It is one of the breeds used to create them . Reasons are easy to cross out to leghorn to improve egg production , improves ear lobe color and removes green tint . That is why I made the cross . Too many purists running the show right now . Poor laying and hatching problem from inbreeding depression . The British still have green tint eggs . A few breeders will quietly do what must be done . The rest will argue about everything . My vision is production light brown leghorn type . Rose comb for cold weather ( cushion would be better but I think nobody will go for it ). Legbar were intended to be production layers . Now they want show birds . Exhibition Leghorn type is different than production bred . No need to complicate things . I keep biting my tongue on the Legbar thread . They are not ready for practical ideas yet . When they are ready the standard will already be in place .

 

[jerryse]

here is something you might like . My auto sexing EE project is a work in progress . Comb will evolve into cushion or Breda type for cold weather . My goal is Leghorn type , yellow legs , white lobes . Easy to infuse production Leghorn . Breda comb is 2 copies each of pea , rose and V like in Polish .

 

[duluthralphie]

I know very little (read nothing) about chicken genetics. I do follow turkey genetics more and have an idea what I am doing there, thanks to Kevin Porter. I can kind of predict my outcomes. Chickens not so much.


If I cross a Creamette with Ed the Partridge Chanticler will I get colored eggs and cushioned combs?






BTW EJB I just opened the incubator for the first time (ten minutes ago) WOW WOW WOW!! I am so impressed and ecstatic.


Coffee calls me and enabler! You have taken over top spot EJB!! I have figured by using my old incubator as hatchers, and I remanufacture the turners that came with them, so they slide into the hatcher tray area, I can have 286 turkey eggs at once and 340 chicken eggs or a combo therefor of...



Judy is going to not like this one little bit. I can not wait to fill the incubator!


Coffee you need a bigger coop!

 

[duluthralphie]

Sorry for the slow response . I been out rabbit hunting most of the day . Two guys 3 beagles got 8 . Limit is 4 each . I am probably a poor coach on legbar type . To me it only makes sense to stay with Leghorn type . It is one of the breeds used to create them . Reasons are easy to cross out to leghorn to improve egg production , improves ear lobe color and removes green tint . That is why I made the cross . Too many purists running the show right now . Poor laying and hatching problem from inbreeding depression . The British still have green tint eggs . A few breeders will quietly do what must be done . The rest will argue about everything . My vision is production light brown leghorn type . Rose comb for cold weather ( cushion would be better but I think nobody will go for it ). Legbar were intended to be production layers . Now they want show birds . Exhibition Leghorn type is different than production bred . No need to complicate things . I keep biting my tongue on the Legbar thread . They are not ready for practical ideas yet . When they are ready the standard will already be in place .

Would you still have blue eggs?

I know it is a frilly reason but I like colored eggs, as do my customers.

 

[Cebarmlds]

I went out to feed and water the birds. I had my phone so I took some pictures of MY New birds EJB's old ones.

They are NOT friendly, The pictures are through the door and wire. They wanted to escape when I opened the door more than a crack. The lighting is terrible so I did have to lighten the pictures. So, the colors will be off a tad.





Look at the beautiful cushion comb! Impervious to our weather! She was not really holding still for the pictures.












Do not worry about their confinement it is only temporary. I made the ICU for one sick bird. I thought about putting them in separate rooms but thought that would be harder on them. I hate crowding them but it seemed best choice for a week or so while they get use to me and this place.



Also last night I found something that looks really good on eggs and tastes good too.. (Holm turn your head)





BTW my wife wanted to know why I would put this on eggs. Then she said " oh to show those chicken people!".

I love the marking of these feathers!!! will you be getting a rooster

That egg topping looks delish also.

 

[duluthralphie]

I love the marking of these feathers!!! will you be getting a rooster

That egg topping looks delish also.

This is the rooster.

Ed. I have had him about a year now, I did not have any hens for him.








None of these pictures do him justice but he is a great rooster. He is not really into my taking pictures of him.