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Rare Feathers January 2019

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PATRON

TBA

PRESIDENT

Not as yet

VICE PRESIDENT

Mathew Paine

SECRETARY

Jill Weaver

TREASURER

Jill Weaver

PROMOTIONS OFFICER

Lorna Dick

Show manager/s

Brady Robins and Ellis Dick

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HOW IT IS

For those that read the minutes of our last meeting and our AGM meeting minutes you would

be aware that we do not have, as yet ,a president. Our AGM was attended by six members and

there were six apologies. No-one at the meeting wanted to be president. Lorna Dick stayed on

as promotion’s officer, Ellis Dick and Brady Robins were elected as show managers. Other

positions remained unchanged.

Merv Hutt said he would fill the void if no-one else could be found. At our next meeting Merv

will need to be nominated and seconded for the position and the nomination carried.

Our next meeting will be sometime in April, I will let everyone know exactly when and where.

With that in mind those of you who do not receive emails please make sure I have your phone

numbers so I can give out that information to everyone. At this stage the meeting will be at

Oatlands, I will confirm with Jenny closer to the time.

Due to the uncertainty to how much help the club would get if the next show was held at the

Hobart end of the state we decided to again have our show at Devonport. Hopefully the one

after that will be back in Hobart.

So far I have only organised one judge. Andy Vardy has confirmed that he would be happy to

judge at our show. If anyone has someone else in mind let me know straight away and I will see

if that person is interested. One other suggestion I already have is David Holden.

OUR FUTURE

I feel that our club may have reached a stage where it is fast succeeding in what it was originally

intended to do and that is to get people interested in keeping, breeding and showing the rarer

breeds and varieties of poultry.

There are few shows that I now attend where there is not a good sprinkling of rare breeds and

varieties. We see nearly all the true bantams at most of the shows, Brahmas and Cochins were

shown at Ulverstone and Devonport last year. Phoenix were shown at Longford by four different

breeders. Rob Wilson is working on some very rare Wyandotte colours, both single and rose

comb Rhode Island birds are now seen at most shows. The ‘Avgen’ breeds are starting to get

about and some of them are going to be popular.

When I stop and think about our club the whole idea of it was to make people aware of those

other breeds that were not being shown anymore and were slowly dying out. I think the club

has successfully done that, the proof being in the number of different breeds being shown

around the state, (even the TPFA acknowledge it is time for a ‘show guide’ overhaul). Geese,

turkeys and even some guinea fowl are being seen at shows other than the ‘rare breed’ show.

With so many rare breeds and varieties being shown around the state maybe the club need not

provide an avenue for these birds to be shown, but simply become a promotional club offering

up incentives at other venues to encourage people to keep bringing their rare breeds to the

shows and more importantly to keep breeding them.

Your thoughts are very important to the club so come along to the meetings and have your say

on what you would like to see happen in the future!

Written by Jill Weaver

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I copied this from an electronic chook magazine and thought it would be of interest to most people.

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From the Devonport Poultry Club

2018 was our best year yet with entries up from previous years.

At our annual show for the very first time, we did photos of the person’s winning bird on their award cards. Kevin Gaffney commented on how good the photos were on the cards and how lovely the cards looked and went on to say he would not be throwing these award cards away.

Our annual general meeting was well attended the new office bearers being, president Peter Batt, secretary/treasurer Lorna Dick and vice-president Jill Weaver.

The club’s Christmas party was held at Lorna & Ellis’s residence with thirty two members and friends attending. The club provided the meat with members excelling with their salads and sweets. A great evening was had by all.

2019, we feel confident that we will have our shows this year, but after that who knows?! Our club has to pay $1000 for an electrical up-grade in the pavilion before any show can be held.

Our shows and dates this year are: June 29th Testimonial Show for Maurice Young.

July 27th Annual Show, all judges to be announced in the near future.

Submitted for inclusion to our newsletter by Lorna Dick, thank you.

Burnie Poultry Society

The Burnie club received a letter in the mail requesting that all pens and other materials be

removed from the pavilion, deadline given was February 10th. Joe is currently seeking an

extension to give the club time to sell off what pens they can, the rest will be broken up and

taken to the tip.

The Ulverstone Poultry club purchased some larger bantam pens and a 2-pen set of large pens

plus a few others to add to what the club already has. UPC would have bought more but there

is very little floor space to set them up.

The PCT also has spoken to Joe about purchasing some pens. They are hoping to purchase the

extra large pens to use for large ducks, other waterfowl and maybe turkeys.

There is an advert on Gumtree for the sale of the pens. Bantam pens, set of eight are $15. Large

pens set of four $10. Just talk to Joe ph 64282395.

The Burnie club will still be holding both of its shows, either at Wynyard or Ulverstone.

Other News

Robbie Walsh is selling off most of his poultry. A flyer was sent to several people. He will be

holding an auction on February 10th at 10 am. See copy of flyer in newsletter.

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ALPHAMITES DW

While browsing a friend’s FB page I came across this product. I do not know if other readers

are familiar with it but I was not, so I have put some info about it in our newsletter.

I spoke on the phone to Brodie Roberts who is the

marketing manager for ‘Think Livestock’ and he

believes that this product works on both the red

mite and the northern fowl mite.

Also he will sponsor our show in August with a

complimentary bottle of Alphamites DW.

The following extracts can be found in this product:

Origanum Vulgare (oregano), Echinacea Purpurea

(purple coneflower), Ginseng, Cynorrhodon (rose

hip). Also there are small quantities of Vitamin C

and Magnesium.

I copied these two statements from a FB page which gives the rate of water usage. This rate

can then be used to work out how much product to add to how much water.

This is the current suggested usage program for Alphamites DW. It features an example

based on a breeding of 10,000 birds, but the usage figures can easily be customised based on

the number of birds you have. I'm not 100% up-to-date on the water consumption of more

traditional breeds of birds, but for the breeds used in most big commercial layer operations

these days, the water usage is variously estimated at 200 - 240 mL per day per Hen.

An entire ‘treatment period’ for Alphamites DW consists of 8 days of use. This is further

broken down into a longer period of 4 consecutive days at the start. Then, after a break of 3

weeks, 2 more consecutive days. Then after another gap of 4 weeks, 2 more consecutive

days. After this, the manufacturer suggests a break of about 15 weeks before restarting the

process again if necessary.

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New Guide Lines

The Central Coast council has introduced a new by-law which came into effect the first week in

November 2018.

Graeme Singleton was commissioned by the council to

put together a booklet to assist poultry owners to

better understand the new by-law and the legal

requirements, to be a responsible poultry keeper

within the town boundaries. If a property is zoned

residential (in other words inside the 50/60 speed

zone) then a permit is required to keep a rooster or

more than 10 hens. This by-law also applies to pigeons,

cage birds, bees and other ‘farm’ animals.

Graeme approached the Ulverstone Poultry Club as

part of his fact finding mission to put together a simple

booklet which he titled ‘Happy Hens Happy Humans’.

The booklet covers all the requirements for keeping

hens in the town boundary. The booklet was

specifically asked for in the submission put forward by

the UPC.

Anyone applying for a permit will receive a booklet.

You may think this does not concern you but think again. There is some chance that this idea might

take off around the councils in Tasmania and if it does the different clubs need to be one step ahead

of their relevant council. It was only by chance that the UPC found out about the proposed by-law

and approached the council asking for more information and a public meeting to discuss their

proposal. The TRBPC also did a submission to the council. There were only a couple of things in the

submissions that the council would not do, everything else was taken on board.

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Some pics that Lorna had on her phone from our annual show at Devonport last year.

We have our then president Ellis Dick, Damien Cooper the rare variety judge, Peter

Ubrihien with his damaged hand all gloved up and Robbie Walsh who assisted Peter with

the handling of the larger birds.

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Photo of our one handed judge Peter, checking out a bird removed from the pen

by Robbie Walsh. Mark Robertson was the assistant steward.

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SEEDHOUSE Proudly supporting rare breeds

of poultry in Tasmania

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Scaly Face

Photo of a hen with scaly face. It is the same type of mite that causes scaly leg, the only

difference being it prefers the face. This hen is growing new feathers creating an abundance

of keratin which mite just love.

Allfarm have a wonderful product for this condition called ‘barrier butter’. It comes in a 10 ml

syringe and looks a bit like butter when administered at the right temperature.

Another article I copied from an electronic poultry article.

Red Hackle in blacks There are many myths in poultry and one I find perplexing is: “Black males with red in the hackle, produce excellent Blacks with beetle-green sheen”. This may appear to be the case but it’s not good advice for breeders. Black birds invariably are built on the ‘Extended Black’ platform, and stripped down would look like a Brown-Red (Gold-Birchen). When any red pigment appears in the neck hackle of a male from a line of Blacks, all it means is that one of the genes to make the bird ‘all-Black’ is missing. You often hear: “Yes, but it doesn’t affect the offspring – they all come self-Black with no sign of red hackle.” This can be attributed to the female in the breeding pen possessing the full unit of genes for self colour and passing it on to her sons. Ultimately, by breeding red hackles into your line of Blacks, all you are doing is perpetuating the ‘incompleteness’ of self-colour genes which will no doubt come back to haunt you in future.

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Ancona Duck

Anconas are often disregarded by waterfowl breeders because there is little background

information for the origins of this wonderful breed. It is believed that they are descended from

Huttegem duck, (also the predecessor of the Magpie duck,) with some Runner duck in the genetic

makeup of these birds as well.

Anconas can be found in seven distinct varieties. The patch-work in their feathers is similar to the

markings of paint horses and Holstein cattle, the more random and broken the pattern, the better

marked the specimen is considered to be.

Although these birds have been in the US for at least a couple decades they are not yet accepted

by the APA. Several breeders are working on popularizing Anconas in hopes that they may one day

soon be added to the Standard.

We find the Ancona to be an excellent dual-purpose bird, they make great farm ducks as well as

provide a generous number of eggs for the table. Unlike lighter breeds, the Ancona is a larger duck

that provides more meat if you are looking for a bird that can be enjoyed as dinner as well..

Classification: AOV Duck - Medium

Origin: UK

Colours: Black & White, Blue & White, Lavender & White, Silver & White, Chocolate & White

and Tri-Colour & White* (*Any bird with white plus two or more colours in the plumage.)

Eggs: They are excellent layers of large eggs ranging in colour from pure white, pale green, grey

or buff coloured shells.

Comments:

* In Anconas, more spotting and less patches are preferred. Spots on the bill and feet are also

sought after.

Selecting birds:

Ancona Duck Standard

(Medium Weight Breed)

DISQUALIFICATIONS

A bird of any variety not listed as a variety listed for the breed

(See also General and Cutting for Defects.)

Not sure where I found this article and standard on the Ancona Duck but it is not in either the Australian or the

British Standards.

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STANDARD WEIGHTS

Old Drake ---------- 5 - 6 lbs

Young Drake ---------- 4 - 5 lbs

Old Duck ---------- 5 - 6 lbs

Young Ducks --------- 4 - 6 lbs

SHAPE - DRAKE AND DUCK

Bill: Long, broad, with specks of colour desirable.

Eyes: Large well set. Plumage colour under the eye also desirable.

Head: Long, straight.

Neck: Long, Strong, and slightly arched.

Back: Quite long, somewhat flat along the top line, and broad, plumage colour covering at least

Above are some day old Derbyshire Recap chickens, then again at approximately five to six weeks.

I was very lucky to be able to trade some Dutch eggs for a few Redcap eggs. Hopefully I will rear

them successfully and be able to show them later in the year. Another breed here in Tassie to hit

the show bench.

This really is what our club is about, to introduce people to the rare breeds and varieties. I am so

pleased I learned to love this hobby and my thanks goes to my daughter Jodi and Brent Lance who

introduced me to this passion when the club first came into existence.

Written by Jill Weaver.

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