Barred Hollands

fivehillsfarm@gmail.com writes: I'm looking for Barred Hollands this year, I have a few chicks and just getting started and need more to add to the diversity of the flock.

Duane Urch of Urch-Turnland Poultry in Minnesota, 507-451-6782, dpurch@netzero.com, has Barred Hollands, Five Hills Farm. He's one of the most respected judges in the country, well known for high quality birds.This picture is from www.feathersite.com.

Tracy Jenner in Florida, 352-489-4937, has Hollands, listed in the ALBC Directory. Also Robert Perdue at Waccamaw Poultry in North Carolina, 910-770-2408, crperdue@hotmail.com; Neil Perin of Arcadian Acres  in Ohio, 740-753-4333, ArcadianAcres@gmail.com; Lamar Knudsen of South Carolina, lamarknudsen@hotmail.com; and Terry and Linda Neal at Neal's Farm in Tennessee, 931-967-4202, tltsav83@gmail.com.

The ALBC Directory doesn't specify Barred Hollands, but since no one has seen any white ones since I don't know when, it's safe to assume theirs are barred. Barred Hollands were always more popular with farmers.

Hollands are a composite breed, based on stock originally brought from Holland. White Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshires and Lamonas were added to the original stock in the 1930s by Rutgers Breeding Farm. Barred Hollands were developed from White Leghorns, Barred Plymouth Rocks, Australorps and Brown or Black Leghorns. They were admitted to the Standard in 1949.

The Holland is a heavy breed, weighing 8 1/2 pounds for roosters and 6 1/2 pounds for hens. The type is not the same but they are essentially the same size as a Rock, yet they lay a white egg like a Leghorn.

Sebastopol geese

Dave Kozakiewicz of Hindsight Farms in Ann Arbor, Michigan sent these beautiful photos of his Sebastopol geese for use with the article in the April/May issue of Backyard Poultry. There wasn't space for all of his photos in the magazine, so I post some here for your enjoyment:

 Dave calls these Sunset on the Tundra:

 

Sebastopol geese look as if someone curled their feathers. Their soft, flowing ruffles give them the appearance of fantastic dream birds. Their feathers are as much as four times as long as normal feathers, with flexible shafts that spiral, draping down to the ground. Traditionally white, their fanciers are experimenting with breeding them in buff, blue, gray, and saddleback color varieties. Konecny calls them “the Silkies of the goose world.”

Despite their decorative appearance, they are an ancient utility breed, hardy and respectable egg layers of 25-35 eggs a year. The breed is associated with Eastern Europe, around the Danube River and the Black Sea.

Sebastopols’ unusual appearance attracts owners who are inclined to keep them as ornamental birds and as companion birds. Keep docile Sebastopols away from aggressive birds. They enjoy bathing those lovely feathers in clean water. They aren’t good flyers, with those long, soft feathers. Their loose feathers make them appreciate protection when it’s especially cold, wet and windy.

Those long feathers may interfere with successful breeding. Feathers around the vent can be clipped to improve nature’s chances.

Their popularity sometimes pressures breeders to misrepresent less desirable birds. Unscrupulous exhibitors may pull straight feathers, an exhibition defect, from their birds.

Locally Laid

Locally Laid is a family egg operation near Duluth, Minnesota. Jason and Lucie Amundsen decided 200 miles was too far for eggs to travel, which they discovered was the closest egg farm. They took up the challenge and started their own. They now have about 5,000 hens. It's been dark and cold in Minnesota, and laying is way down, but production is gradually resuming as the days grow longer.

They are supplying grocery stores and local eateries and institutions in their area. How refreshing that St. Luke's Hospital buys their eggs! They are paying attention to their patients' nutritional needs as well as tempting their faded appetites.

Lucie is a graduate student in writing, so she's articulate in describing the family's experiences. Check out her blog.

This kind of family-sized poultry operation is an important step toward sustainable local food systems. Every customer who buys eggs from Locally Laid is one less for the industrial battery cage system.

Coop tours

Spring brings -- chicken coop tours! Austin's is coming up March 30. The site isn't updated much since last year, but they have a Facebook page that's more current.

Coop tours are organized in lots of cities. Mother Nature Network put Austin's at the top of its list of the best six. They honor Alameda, California, Davis, California, Madison, Wisconsin, Denver, Colorado and Seattle, Washington. Last year, the New York Times singled out Davis' tour.

Raleigh, North Carolina's Tour d'Coop has enthusiastic organizers and great coops. It will kick off with a party April 21, building excitement until the actual tour, May 18. Check out some of their local coops on their web site. Dare I mention that the contact person is M'Liss Koopman?

These citites have coop tours:

Alameda, California, May

Albuquerque, New Mexico, July

Atlanta, Georgia, Urban Chicken Coop Tour, May

Austin, Texas, Funky Chicken Coop Tour, April

Bend, Oregon, May

Dallas, Texas, A Peep at the Coops, April,

Davis, California Tour de Cluck, May

Denver, Colorado, October

Jackson County, southern Illinois, Coops du Jour, June

Milton, Massachusetts Tour de Coops, October

Phoenix, Arizona Tour de Coops

Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts, April

Portland, Oregon, July

Raleigh, North Carolina, May

Salt Lake City, Utah, Tour de Coops, June

Seattle, Washington, July

Spokane, Washington, June

If your city isn't on this list, you can organize one. Be the change you want to see.

SARE Pastured Poultry advice

SARE has a new brochure on raising poultry for profit. This is a such an important subject, because people need to earn a living and can only do it if there is money involved. The new brochure, Profitable Poultry: Raising Birds on Pasture, is available free. It includes sections on Determining the Right System, evaluates the Potential for Profit, the Environmental Benefits, discusses Quality of Life issues and Marketing options.

"Most producers find alternative poultry systems make economic sense because the cost of establishing them is low while the potential for significant and steady income is high. However, much of the growing interest is because these new systems also promote values such as family and community cohesion, environmental stewardship, working outdoors and independence for farmers," it introduces the Quality of Life section.

It's definitely an excellent brochure, and another example of how the USDA is more willing to work with alternatives to the industrial system.

My only concern with it is that it fails to make the case for standard breeds. It addresses the issue in a section on Breeds, but then confuses the subject: "Many producers are finding a compromise between
the accelerated growth of the Cornish Cross and the lower feed conversion and dress-out weights of the older heritage breeds. Several varieties of broilers with names like Freedom Rangers, Red Rangers and Rosambros have been selected for high growth rates and hardiness for living outdoors on range."

Freedom Rangers, Red Rangers and Roseambros are industrial hybrids that producers will have to purchase every year from the commercial hatcheries. They may do better on pasture than Cornish Rock crosses, but they are not standard breeds. The brochure quotes Harvey Ussery on the subject: "Ussery, writing in Grit!, the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA) newsletter, details the problems he encountered with the Cornish Cross. Cornish Cross chicks from nearly all hatcheries in the country come from the same stock. The variety, he argues, is ill-suited for raising outdoors because it has been bred for confinement. Properties that make for good and efficient foragers, he said, have been 'selected out' because they are not needed in confinement production models."

Ironically, the page is illustrated with a photo of Frank Reese, a tireless campaigner against raising Cornish Rock crosses on pasture, because of their genetic inability to manage outside. He campaigns for standard breeds for their many advantages, including the fact that they can reproduce naturally, something that commercial hybrids can't offer.

The other advice in the brochure is excellent, though. I'm encouraged by it. If you're thinking of adding a poultry operation to your farm, it's a good place to start.

More hatchery catalogs

Purely Poultry http://www.purelypoultry.com/  in Wisconsin is the enterprise of Tyler Danke, a young man enthusiastically leaping into the standard breed poultry business. Purely Poultry offers hybrids as well to serve his customers, but he’s committed to providing high quality birds that meet the APA Standard. He hatches his own and works with other breeders to offer over 300 kinds of chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and other rare and unusual birds, such as ornamental pheasants. He offers wild and exotic adult ducks, as well as ducklings of 13 standard breeds. If you are searching for something unusual, check in with Tyler.

The rare oddity is always fascinating, but the main business is in the popular well-known breeds: Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, Bronze turkeys. Purely Poultry makes a point of having knowledgeable people answering the phones who can discuss your questions with you. They are experienced in shipping and can connect with you around the country.

Tyler is young and getting his business off the ground. These Birchen Marans are among the new offerings he has, available in the Assorted Rare Marans, which also include Black Copper, Blue Copper and Blue Wheaten varieties.  At a time when young people are funneled into industrial production, he’s following a different path. Check out his online listings for birds.

At the other end of the timeline is Duane Urch in Minnesota. His Urch-Turnland Poultry doesn’t have a web site, but Duane is one of the country’s most experienced poultry men and a revered poultry judge.  He and his partner raise their own birds and his sharp eye, trained over his many years of experience looking at all kinds of birds, makes his breeding selections the best. Buyers boast about having Urch lines of poultry.

He has large fowl and bantam chickens some turkeys, some geese and Muscovy ducks. Duane has been a leader in the APA for many years, so his commitment and knowledge are unparalleled. He has excellent stock of birds that are difficult to find elsewhere, such as RC Mottled Anconas, Black Breasted Red Catalanas, Rhode Island Whites and Sultans.

You’ll have to contact him by phone (507-451-6782), no later than 7 pm Central time, or by mail (2142 NW 47th Ave., Owatonna, MN 55060-1071. There’s often a waiting list for his birds.