ALBC Java Recovery Project

Mottled Java Chick

From Steve Moize  of the ALBC:  

Just wanted to share an update on the ALBC Java Recovery Project, it has been a great 2011 season and we are ready for an even better 2012...

Happy New Year folks,

Java Winners from The Crossroads Show

Black Java Bantam male at Crossroads (photos by Jim Ward)

I am posting the pictures of the Java winners at the Crossroads of America Poultry Show held in Indianapolis this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There were an amazing 10,276 entries at the Crossroads show this year. There were four exhibitors that showed 25 Black Javas, 7 Mottled Javas, and 14 Bantam Black Javas. That's right! Longtime Java breeder Monte Bowen has been developing a strain of bantam Black Javas for the past ten years and he chose the Crossroads show to reveal his creations. He started by crossing a standard black java cockerel and a black rock bantam pullet. His bantams are still about a pound too heavy but they have good type and are improving year by year. Monte Bowen also had the best and reserve variety standard mottled Javas. Moore Farms of Arkansas had best and reserve of breed with their black java pullets.  Jim Ward donated a pair of his Black Javas and also a pair of Dominiques to the APA/ABA Youth club raffle which was also a success--Jim also took the time to take these pictures and to get this story. Thanks to all the exhibitors and to Jim Ward for his donation. Donating birds to our youth and getting them interested in poultry is what keeps this hobby alive. A big huge thank you to Monte Bowen for his endeavor in creating the Java bantams. I wonder if he has a secret Mottled Java Project?

Black Java Bantam pullet (photos by Jim Ward)

Best of Breed LF Black Java pullet owned by Moore Farms

Reserve of Breed LF Black Java pullet owned by Moore Farms

Best of Variety Mottled Java pullet owned by Monte Bowen

Animal Disease Traceability

On August 9, 2011, USDA issued a proposed rule to establish general regulations for improving the traceability of U.S. livestock moving interstate when animal disease events take place.

Washington County Fair

courtesy of Dawn

 August is fair time, and small county fairs are a great place to show poultry.  We live in an increasingly suburban county just east of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, but the Washington County Fair is a popular event and celebration of agriculture every summer.  We bought day-old Black Javas from Duane Urch over a year and a half ago, so now have a small flock of various ages.  Along with his 4H events, our 15 year-old son entered his Javas in open division – an old breeding trio, a young breeding trio and hen with chicks. The chicks were a big hit and so cute at only four days old.   Many people asked about backyard coops as more communities permit chickens in the city.  It gave us a chance to promote the Java as a friendly, hardworking breed who can dependably provide breakfast year round.  

Black Javas at Diamond T Poultry

4 month old Black Java Cockeral

    Five years after the Civil War, the Diamond T brand was registered in the State of Texas. In that time there have been different  species and breeds produced by my family, including horses, mules, cattle and poultry.
   For many years Old English game large fowl were produced and exported to Puerto Rico, Hawaii, The Philippines and Central America. While gamefowl were the predominate breed of poultry produced for many years, there was also always chickens of many many breeds produced and sold for meat, eggs and exhibition, both bantam and large fowl as well as turkeys and guineas for the commercial market.

APA-ABA JOINT NATIONAL CONTEST & AWARDS

October 28, 29, 30, 2011
Indianapolis, IN

The APA-ABA Youth Poultry Club will be holding the following contests and will be giving awards to members in good standing at the APA-ABA Joint National.  You do not have to be present to enter the photography & essay contest.  These are  for all members of the club. The rules and awards for each of the contest are as follows:

ESSAY CONTESTS:  Members only (Dues must be current) Members do not have to attend the show to enter.
Age Divisions are:  8-10 year olds, 11-13 year olds, 14-16 year olds and 17-18 year olds

There are two different topics you may choose from.

Starting chicks at Diamond T Poultry

4 month old Black Javas from diamond T Poultry

4 month old Black Java cockeral courtesy of Diamond T Poultry

When I take chicks from hatcher and move them to the brooder I begin feeding a 22% protein starter / grower, I use Purina Honor Show Chow. Since the chick feed is medicated with an antibiotic to prevent coccidiosis, it can eventually kill too many of the "good bacteria" in their digestive system causing digestive stress.

Mottled Java Chicks

The Javas (black and white) decide to look for some bugs

Uniontown Poultry Association's Spring Show has Java Meet

Black Java Roo owned by Liesa Stiller

The Uniontown Poultry and Farm Products Association had their spring show April 17th at the Fayette County Fairgrounds in Dunbar, PA. which included some very special chickens, Black and Mottled Javas. Our very own district #2 director Liesa Stiller was on the show committee and saw to it to have a Java Meet. A meet is when 3 or more people show 10 or more birds of the same breed. The show consisted of pigeons, rabbits, livestock and poultry. Also note they are an APA/ABA sanctioned show  The Uniontown website states that they are a diverse group including people from all ages and backgrounds and that their fundamental objectives are to encourage the breeding and exhibiting of all varieties of poultry, to foster friendliness and good fellowship among its members,and to supply helpful and authentic information to all seeking advice. Attached is a photo of Liesa's rooster that won best of breed and best variety for both of the shows. He went up against one other rooster (same variety) - Liesa hopes to make that a larger number for the fall show. Also pictured is Krista Martin's Mottled Java pullet - best variety, unfortunately for Krista her Mottled Java was the only Mottled shown, for both shows. Also pictured is Angela Hamman's Black Java pullet  that was reserve breed and reserve variety in the first show and Lisa's pullet won reserve breed and reserve variety for the second show. Liesa also had a booth and signed up two new members Krista Martin and Angela Hammon. There will be another in the fall. The show information and catalog will be posted when it becomes available.

Black Java Pullet owned by Liesa Stiller

Angela Hammonds Black Java Pullet

Mottled Java Pullet shown by Krista Martin

Here is a link to the article about the show posted by the Herald Standard written by Barbara Starn

ILLINOIS’ ONLY RARE BREEDS LIVESTOCK & POULTRY SHOW

CAMPTON HILLS, IL: Garfield Farm Museum will hold its 25th Annual Rare Breeds Livestock & Poultry Show and Sale on Sunday May 22 from 11am – 4pm. The only show of its type held in Illinois, looks at the loss of genetic diversity amongst domestic animals that humans have depended upon for food, fiber, and work for hundreds of years. For many visitors to the show it is the first and perhaps last time in their lives they might ever see some of these highly endangered breeds.

In today’s market, very few breeds are used in modern farms. Those that are tend to have very small gene pools as artificial insemination makes it possible for one prized male animal to father thousands of offspring. This leads to a lack of genetic diversity. Genetic resistance or hardiness to disease might be absent in such a line. A disease could strike that could eliminate such a breed. Breed diversity is not only a novelty, it is a necessity.

In times of economic uncertainty like the one we are in, any threat to our food sources could be disastrous. Should a disease or other factor make the breeds currently use not viable, food would become harder and more expensive to come by. What genetic diversity does is provide the option of a different genetic strain that may not be affected by the same things as the modern commonplace strain. Should the currently used breed be effected the heritage breed may not.

There is also the matter of taste. Many of the currently used animals are used because they can grow to a desired size in a relatively short amount of time. Some older breeds may take longer to reach maturity, but they have a flavor to their meat or eggs that is missing in the genetically narrow market.

Practicality aside, these animals should be saved for the same reason as any other rare animal. These barn yard critters may not be as glamorous as a panda or eagle, but are very much part of our environment and heritage. Many of these animals were on a farm when our forefathers were. If one were to save objects from the past to preserve a glimpse of the past, then heritage livestock should be saved to help complete the picture.

Breeders are invited to exhibit their animals at the museum with a chance to meet other breeders and prospective buyers. Pens, water, and bedding are provided by the museum just bring feed and any information, displays, products, demonstrations, or lectures related to the breeds being shown. There are no registration fees for exhibitors. Exhibitors must have appropriate health paperwork on their animals.

In addition to seeing the animals, visitors and exhibitors can tour the 1846 Teamster Inn and Tavern, watch demonstrations of sheep shearing, wool spinning, or enjoy refreshments from Inglenook Pantry. There is a $6 donation for adults and $3 for children 12 years and younger.

Garfield Farm Museum is five miles west of Geneva, IL off ILL Route 38 on Garfield Road. The 370 acre museum is supported by donations and is the only surviving historically intact former 1840s Illinois prairie farmstead and teamster inn being restored as an 1840s working farm museum. For information call 630-584-8485 or email info@garfieldfarm.org.

Java Breeding 101 part 2

Well, You made it, it is here, the 2nd class of our Java Breeding 101- the basics! This class is all about BREEDING to Standard Of Perfection. It will cover breeding pens, breeding method  and how to exactly start breeding your birds to see the results you want in your bird conformation. And our wonderful teacher, Mr. Robert Blosl has some great tips! So lets get to it, let's learn about breeding our Javas.

Tacey Perkins - Vice President of Java Breeders of America


Getting Started With Black Javas
by Robert Blosl

BREEDING PENS

Setting up breeding pens is the first step towards breeding for success. There are a number of styles you can use for your breeding pens. They can be a simple wire mesh cage, or complex like a chicken tractor. It all comes down to what you would like. The style is up to you, but there are a couple of things that it must have. 

1. It must be large enough to allow the rooster to have no interference while doing his thing.  Javas are large and need their space, height and width.  

2.Feed and water and nesting box.  

3. It has to accommodate enough birds. So, to figure out how many birds will be in each pen, lets say you start with 6 hens. And you will have to make 3 pens, you will have 2 hens per breeding pen. Remember, you don't need them to be fancy. They just need to be able to keep the hens apart and separated till you get enough eggs from each mating. Here's some ideas I liked!

Breeding pen #1

 

Breeding pen #2

Breeding pen #3

A simple Breeding Method-
Here is a simple method I started over twenty years ago with Rhode Island Reds and White Plymouth Rocks that can be used on any breed of large fowl and today we are going to focus on getting started with Black Javas. A great old breed that was used by early poultry farmers and used to make many of our American Breeds we have today. You don’t have to have a lot of breeding pens, 2-4 will do fine. This method is so simple to use, it would be easy to adapt it to use with a breeding partner. (more on that later) Let's start by setting up your pens, You have a pen of two to four females in which we will call pen 1 it is painted red. All eggs from pen #1 have a number written on it and the date. You can use pencil to write on the egg. Then you have breeding pen #2 it’s painted white. All eggs from this pen are written #2 and the date. This is exactly the same thing for pens 3 and 4.  All eggs are hatched in separate incubators or you can have a wire egg separators called a pedigree wire baskets, with one of the sets of eggs in each of the separated sections in your incubator. You can easily make some that fit your incubator from hardware cloth or chicken wire. Or you can use plastic baskets. Here's an example of one, and an example of a chick toe punch.3. It has to accommodate enough birds.
So, to figure out how many birds will be in each pen, lets say you start with 6 hens. And you will have  to make 3 pens, you will have 2 hens per breeding pen. Remember, you don't need them to be fancy. They just need to be able to keep the hens apart and separated till you get enough eggs from each mating. Here's some ideas I liked!

chick pedigree basket

Toe Punch

Once you remove the chicks from the incubator you will need a way to tell them apart. I suggest to punch a hole in their toe to ID them to the breeding pen they came from. You will need to make up your own toe punch code.  For example, see the toe punch chart we have on our website.  You raise your chicks up, let’s say, thirty chicks per breeding pen. Then, you keep the best females for shape and color and vigor. Always check your birds against a copy of the APA Standard of Perfection. You want to  have your birds conformation perfected first and foremost. Then, you keep the best of these females to see who starts laying first. For example, If you have say eight pullets per pen and you get two or three that start laying two to three weeks before the rest. You keep them and breed from them. You may have two or three or four you like. Put them back into the same colored breeding coop that the original egg came out of. Example- if the egg came out of the #1 red pen, then that is the pen the chick goes back to. Now, you can order large fowl leg bands from a poultry supply house and you need red, white, blue and green. Slip these leg bands on your best birds as soon as their legs get big enough to keep them on without falling off. Now that you have a second generation that is grown and selected for your breeding program, you can now revisit your original hens. Since most of the Java stock today looks nothing like it did back in it's hay day, the majority of you will want to replace your original hens with these newer better conformation pullets. But, that is not always 100% set in stone. If you have a fantastic female in every way, don't ever just get rid of her because you have used her for a year. Keep her till she breeds something better, or she stops reproducing. So, now you have all the appropriate pullets in their appropriate pens, You are ready to go for the following year of breeding.

 Now for the males. Last month I told you that I use a separate grow up pen for the cockerels and pullets. You have four males in this separate pen that are mature and each have a leg band on them for the breeding pen they came out of.  Look over all the cockerels that came out of pen #1 with the red leg bands. Pick the best cockerel and put him in pen #2. Remember you are looking for largest growing, vigor and basically the best in the bunch. Next, pick the best cockerel from pen #2 and put him in pen #3. And  you pick the best cockerel from pen #3 and he goes in pen #4. And finally your favorite pick from pen #4 goes into the #1 breeding pen. Each year they rotate just like this.

 If you have an extra back up rooster he can be kept in your conditioning coop to use later as a spare and to share half the mating season with the other male. Just make sure to give the females a rest of about ten days after you pull out the first male to make sure his semen is free. Remember they are mating a clutch of eggs and once the clutch of eggs are mated the other males semen cannot cross in to mess things up. It’s not a big deal in this method you are not going to hurt yourself as this is a family mating. Do you know hatcheries will flock mate with twenty females and two to three males in a pen. So don’t get head strong over this issue.

Now you repeat this over again, every year, as I stated in the beginning of the article. Put the pen number on the egg, hatch those in separate incubators or in pedigree wire baskets. Toe punch your chicks and ID them as soon as they hatch and watch the chicks in the brooder box for the first two to three weeks and ID these chicks for fast feathering and early development. Watch your roosters for when they start to crow. Jot down on a 5x7 card their band number and the day they start to crow. Cull out all slow growing and maturing birds as you want vigor as your number one trait, then breed type or shape then egg production then color. \

Summary: This is a very easy system for the beginner. I use it with my bantams and I only have pair or trio matings hatch about 20 chicks per female and only keep the best chicks that are better than their parents. This way you are breeding them up each season and improving them as if you where scoring them under the old point scoring system used in the 1920. You need to get an APA standard of perfection book and read the good points and bad points for your breed. You need to take the pictures of the standard and make copies of them and put them in a frame and put them in your chicken house so you can look at the pictures in contrast to your birds. One day your mind’s eye will quickly be able to spot a bird with a trait or a type you are looking for. This is the way to become a master breeder of your favorite breed. You go slowly at first don’t hatch too many chicks that you can’t afford to raise. You must cull hard as you are only keeping two to four females per mating and you are only keeping two males per mating. Go small stay with pairs or trios if you want. Large fowl cost a lot of money to raise and maintain per year. Stay down the middle of the road. Don’t get caught up in fads like leg color or points on a comb. Don’t get caught up in color as your first three to five years you are breeding genes for breed type and high egg production. Also, in doing this you will see improved feather quality and your birds will have tight webbing in their back feathers. The skirts on some of the breeds will not drop down to the floor but will be carried high as the picture in the standard of perfection shows you. You can share your surplus birds with others and maybe if you can trust them you can get birds from them later to cross into your closed flock again if need be. But don’t count on it as most people you share your birds with will sin and out cross other strains onto your strain thinking they will hit the jackpot and get a good bird to win with. This is Russian Roullete breeding and it won’t work and before you know it these folks are out of the breed or out of chickens in no time. You alone or a good partner can take a flock of say Black Java large fowl and in three to five years have these birds improved using this method. If you wish to learn how to even speed up this method of super typed Java’s you can use a method called the Hogan Method of breeding which a book was written in the 1920s on the subject. It works as the Buck Eye movement ten years ago was based on this and they took near hatchery typed birds and turned them into wonderful fowl true to the Heritage Breed. And they did it without crossing and trying to reinvent the breed.

I hope you will take this old method of Rotational Line Breeding which I have used for over twenty years. I learned it from a commercial Turkey farmer in Wisconsin. They use it in their farming methods and they can go on forever without crossing new germ plasma into their strain. May the gods in poultry heaven watch over you and keep you from straying away from the successes that they passed onto us in this wonderful hobby~ Heritage Poultry Farming.

Just don't get caught up in one phase like eggs or meat. These chickens you want are dual purpose chickens just like a Short Horn Cow. You have to breed them for meat, eggs and looks. Nobody wants to get a breed that you say you have worked on for ten years and they look like mutts. They want something that looks like the breed did thirty to fifty years ago.


-Robert Blosl

WORKING WITH A PARTNER-
This method of breeding can be done quite easily with another person. Just split everything in half. Share your stock with them and he shares his with you. You can have 2 breeding pens and he can have 2. He will do everything that you do the same way. Breed, collect eggs, incubate, hatch, cull and raise the exact same way. And in a couple years time, you both will have some great looking birds and each of you will have the ability to share birds with each other if you need to breed in new blood. Support the old breeds that made our hobby popular and always breed them to a standard of perfection to preserve their original traits so others may have them in the future.

Yellow House Farm wrote:
Thank you, Bob!  This is exactly what I intended by working four pens.  A couple of questions:

1.  Do you remember the title of the book that contained the Hogan Method?

2.  Do you propose replacing all the females every year with new pullets?

3.  What do you think is the minimum stock required to begin this plan?  If one's plan is to maintain 4 pens, how does one build up to four pens if one does begin with four separate breeding groups?

Thank you for all of your input.
 I read the book a couple of times (The Call of the Hen by Walter Hogan ) for what I wanted out of it. It was written to help teach the new farmers in the Heritage days how to breed up white leghorns to lay 300 eggs per year. They did not do that out of a hundred females but it sold books.

HERE IS THE LINK TO "THE CALL OF THE HEN" By Walter Hogan- http://www.archive.org/stream/callhenscience00hogarich#page/n3/mode/2up <http://www.archive.org/stream/callhenscience00hogarich#page/n3/mode/2up>

BOB -Do you replace the females? Not if you got a killer strain. But you take the breeds that many of you want, they are mutts today. They have to be breed up! They have lost all their genetic base from when they once where a good breed of chicken. I don't think the average person understands the state of Poultry that you all wish to own. Its in the toilet. No good breeds left anymore and no buddy will stick with them long enough to learn how to breed them. So we can share with others who want them. You cant count on the hatcheries to do it. They want to make eggs and hatch chicks. They don't breed by a standard, they know the average person who buys their chicks are going to get ride of them or they will die from varmints or poor treatment. But all of us have to start some where.

I have a breeding pen of a white rock pullet which is the best type female I have seen in years. I have her and her mother in a breeding pen. That's two females. I have her mated to a young cockeral. When it warms up I am putting in the cockerals father, a cock bird, and he has type that wont quite. So I plan to hatch about 25 to 30 chicks from this pair. I have two other females that are o.k but nothing like these two queens.  I will then put together a family of two from this matting. I will only have two trios per year and breed them and raise about 50 chicks cull very hard and only keep the females and males that have the type that I am looking for. My goal more pullets like the little girl I hatched and raised this year. I hope in two to three years all my females will have the low top line and lift like she has.

I have kept my best hens for up to 7 years. If they are a franchise type female why get rid of them. I am talking about a 95 point female  and if you mate her in three years to her grandson or great grandson you may hit the jackpot. In large white rocks I had a hen 7 years old we mated her to her son who was three years old. We got two killer cockerals and three pullets from this mating. She died from the extreme heat this past summer. But her germ plasma lives on.

When I wrote this article its like getting started with so so chickens like black Javas or buff rocks that score about 92 points. You must breed them up to get better birds remember most of these mutts can't hardly lay many eggs. They are loose feathered and just not good chickens.

Now if you get some Light Brahmas from Charlie Voda from Minn. You might breed them differently. There are other methods to line breeding. If I get a killer pullet like I got this year and I get a cockeral that is a knock out I will mate this cockeral back to this pullet next year. Then I will hatch another cockeral from that matting and cross that cockeral back to his mother again. This is inbreeding but I don't worry about lack of egg production or hatchability a I breed first for vigor. I do this for say three to four years then I find me another killer bird from a different family and do it all over again. Always breeding them up.

MORE INFORMATION ON BREEDING-
Some cull and weigh their birds at age 16 weeks and measure the girth, the skull etc.
Once you start raising your birds and learning how they look as young chicks you will be surprised how you will be able to see the super stars.  I had a friend who raised dark Cornish and he could spot the leader of a pack of say 11 chicks. He would keep this chick and sell the other ten for $100 as started chicks he told me once a chick gets out in front most of the time the others can never catch up and this will be the super chick of the year. You will learn how to check for fast feathering and early development as time goes on. I have come to the conclusion every time I start a new breed it takes me about three years to get it down pat. I am now on my third year with white leghorns. I can spot them right away and I can spot the birds with that old fashion Schilling leghorn top line I have done the same with the call ducks. I have not been able to learn when they hatch by looking at their skulls but at about two months of age I can spot the ones I want with the bull necks. I am always trying each year to build the neck another quarter of a inch to where I can get the necks on the drakes to be about 4 inches. It is a slow process but it can be done. It took me three years of inbreeding my red bantams to get the females to have the top line like my old large fowl use to have. Remember it took me 20 years to shrink down a large fowl Rhode Island Red to a bantam. It took me three years to get my male line to turn into a female line. I just breed my best male back to his daughters for three years. I have a chart on this method and will post it if I have it in this lap top. It is the easiest way to fix a trait you are trying to improve. Again the secret is vigor. If you are skirmish about inbreeding and worried you are going to get poor this and poor that don’t do it. Go with something simpler. But if you have a outcross like I do you have vigor as you crossed bantam blood onto large fowl blood and when you have such a drastic cross you can do things that other breeds can’t do. Hope this helps the person who sent me a personal message. Now hatch what you have raised and then raise them up and worry about what you will keep this fall. You will learn a lot in this time period if you read these breeding techniques, as we are really getting down to brass tacks on what it takes to be a good Heritage Breeder.

My point to you Home Steaders who want to take a grand old breed is to use thier methods. If you want a dual purpose breed such as a Java or a Dominique or barred plymouth rock breed is to do what your suppose to be doing and not what you want it to be. Your role is no different than a judge who says I like a big big Rhode Island Red. He likes big Rhode Island Reds and will place these big mutts first and the birds that are standard weight or a pound over that lay 190 eggs per year loose under his eye. If you judge you judge by the law or the words of the standard of perfection.  If you are a Heritage Breeder you breed by the Standard and die by the Standard if you dont you will never be able to obtain the breed that you are trying to improve. I hope I make this clear if you dont many will not want your birds as they are not what they want and if they ask me where they can get a start I have to send them to the folks that I feel are breeding them the way they should be. We have a long way to go to get these old breeds half way to what they once where but we have to start where we are with what we have.

Buff Brahma Bantam

White Leghorn Bantams

White Rock Bantams

Intense Inbreeding Chart

This is the chart and method I used to inbreed or line breed my Rhode Island Red Bantam females to get the top line I wanted.
This year I am going to breed the best two typed females with the sire of the male I have pictured above. He is five years old and I hope to inbreed him to the best female for two or three years if he lives that long.

Here are some of the breeders I have pictures of for this years breeding pens that I will put together using my method of line breeding. All of them will be used in just two families per breed.
 -Bob

RareBreedFancier wrote:
Thank you Bob!

That breeding pen info is brilliant! So simple too. I have read about similar systems but none I liked as much as that. The small numbers of females I think is good. Many things I've read talk about around a dozen females in a pen and it would really make sense to cull down to just the best. I had hoped to keep breeder numbers down to 20 - 30 birds and that would be easily achievable with that system even counting the bachelor pen of spare roos.

Smaller numbers also makes planning my pens so much easier. I want pens I can move around the paddock so smaller pens are much easier to deal with.

Now back to the problem of finding starter birds... Don't suppose you have a way to breed up from a pair or trio? I may have to wait for spring to buy hatching eggs.

Bob-Yes there is a way and I just got done reading Walter Hogans book on line and he talked about I K Feltch a old timer like him who started a method of line breeding with a pair or a trio.
In a way that is what I will do with the trio of White Rock Bantams I have. I have the mother and the super daughter. You will have say the mother in pen one and the daughter in pen two.
Then you have a male the ckl and the cock bird.

The next year you mate the best male to the hen and the best pullet to her sire.
Then in year three you have to use his chart. It is somewhat confusing and gives me vertigo when I read it.

I am lucky I am not starting with so so birds. All my white rocks score very high and I just got to try to keep getting them to that level I was reading Hogans book and I think one of the key words is pre-potency can the parents pass on the good traits to the offspring. I have done it with the Rhode Island Red bantams. I have in breed them to the point that this year in three shows the females of this line beat the males. Three years ago these females had top lines like the current red bantams have today like a Plymouth rock or a new Hampshire bantam. I have got the pre-potency of the females to have flat top lines. My job is to fix these traits and try to keep them going down the middle of the road with not wondering to high or to low.

I enjoyed reading Hogans book again its been about 15 years since I read it. The computer is a wonderful thing and so many of the books I read at Vet Library's or on library loan are now on the computer to read.

 You all are becoming such good students of the craft of breeding poultry. -Bob


PURCHASING SUPPLIES-
You can find all the supplies you need from today's article at Randall Burkey. Including chick toe punches and leg bands size #11 for Adult Javas. Also, SAVE A SPECIAL 10% JUST FOR OUR CLUB MEMBERS! Click on here and check out their website. Be sure to use the special code JAVA at check out!

South Central Regional Classic In El Dorado, Arkansas

Best of Breed Black Java Cockeral

 Black Javas are such gorgeous birds, you will absolutely love them when you see them. Its love at first sight and your chicken addictions feathers' will be ruffled. Just look at this beautiful Black Java Cockeral shown by Roy Autrey's 14 year old granddaughter, Kalee Gafford. For those of you who don't know Roy, he is the president of the Java Breeders of America Poultry Club and also the Vice President of the Rhode Island Red Club. He is totally involved with the preservation of Heritage breed chickens, attending shows, showing birds and passing along his poultry knowledge to his granddaughter. Remember that children are the future and we must pass this along, because we can't keep it unless we give it away, as the saying goes. The 35th Annual Spring Classic Poultry Show presented by The South Arkansas Poultry Club drew approxiamately 700 birds in the open class and the junior class on Saturday April 2, at the Union County fairgrounds in El Dorado, Arkansas. The show was judged by Anthony Ashley from South Carolina and Rev. Roland Romig from Pennsylvania. Roy told me that Kalee did very well at this show placing 4th in showmanship, and winning Junior Grand Champion with a Black Orpington Cock bird. This was a real tough show he said, in that there were lots of great birds, making the competition very tough but everyone had lots of fun. 

Fancy Feathers Poultry Show

Amy K. with Java chick and Chick Filet cow

Ruth C. and Amy K. at booth with Java chicks

Jeff T. and Mr. Wiley

The Fancy Feathers Poultry Show in New Braunfels, Texas was today and it was  alot of fun. This was an APA/ABA sanctioned show which also included a Backyard Show, Cluck-Off, Raffle, Silent Auction and Good Food. It also featured a Jr. Show, Youth Showmanship Class, Marans Meet, Araucana Meet, and a Marans Egg Show.APA/ABA/Junior Judge: Steve Jones did a great as Judge. He works well with the 4-H kids. The 4-H kids did a great job of showing their birds and also of helping anyone that needed a hand unloading their birds or with just about anything.There was a great silent auction and raffle with the 2 biggest prizes being an I-Pad and a Kindle. There were tables of raffle items, which included live birds and chicks. We had several Java Club members on hand with a Mottled Java chick display and many interested folks asking questions about Javas. I had a booth for the Java Breeders of America and The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy which has an interest in Javas as a rare heritage breed bird. They do a great job of promoting the rarer breeds and educating the public on heritage livestock of all types. We had a lot of their brochures, books and other literature on the table and it went fast. I had many younger persons and children at our booth with an interest in our Javas and asking a lot of questions.  I met Amy K. who is a member of our club who was a great help and very helpful. She helped with the show donating a lot of her time. Another Java Club member Jeff T. donated chicks to the raffle for the 4-H club. I think that we have started a Java thing in the Texas Hill Country. Any members with similar show experiences can send their pictures and show info to Ruth at javabreeder@gmail.com or carondesign@yahoo.com. to be posted here. We have many upcoming shows listed under the 2011 Poultry Shows tabs if you want to show your birds or just go visit and see the birds and meet some very nice poultry lovers/breeders. This is a great hobby for adults and young kids. We need to keep the kids interested because they are the future.

We've got mugs by renown artist Diane Jacky and a Director for area 2

I have 2 great announcements......

UPDATE: I GOT MY JAVA MUG IN THE MAIL AND ITS BEAUTIFUL....WORTH EVERY PENNY.

Announcement No. 1 - We finally have coffee mugs, caps, tees, i-phone cases and more designed by artist Diane Jacky. Each cup has her signature on it. Who is Diane Jacky you may ask? Diane is an artist that is well known in the poultry world. Her major projects are many of the oil paintings published in the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection, as well as many pigeon standards. Diane’s work can also be seen on the covers and pages of many hatchery catalogs and websites such as Murray McMurray Hatchery, Ideal Poultry and Welp Hatchery. For more on Diane Jacky feel free to visit her on the web at www.dianejacky.com. You can order club merchandise here.

Announcement No. 2 -  I would like to welcome Liesa Stiller who has stepped up to the plate and offered to fill the position of District 2 director. Liesa has alot of great ideas and will be an asset to the Java Breeders Club. She is the  web designer for the Uniontown Poultry and Farm Products Association. That club is hosting a 2011 Spring Show. Liesa will be promoting Javas at the show and has asked for a Java Meet. Anyone who lives in that area can visit the website and download the entry form to show their birds. Hope to see lots of Javas. She will be raffling off our new Java designer mugs. Lets show her our club support.

Java Central

We will be in the April newsletter

Looking for some Javas? We have them right here at Java central. Chick season is here in full swing. Javas are the new must have hot item in the chicken world. How do I know?? Because of all the emails that I get from buyers looking for a start-up breeding pen and for all the others interested in eggs and chicks. Make sure to look at our breeders list. We have some of the best Java breeders right here as members in our club. We have Mottled Javas, Black Javas, a few White Javas and theres even rarer Auburn Javas. If you are interested in a chicken that looks good, lays good, tastes good, has a good personality and also is a great forager than you must be needing Javas. Javas are making a comeback and it will take a renewed interest of breeders looking for something different to keep the Java from the brinks of extinction. Make sure to join the Java Breeders of America Poultry club and you will be entered into a drawing for a dozen really fine Mottled Java hatching eggs to be donated by Tacey Perkins the Vice President of the Java Club. Also don't miss all the fine articles in our quarterly newsletter which is due out April first. Make sure Ruth has your contact info so that she can email you the next newsletter. You can contact Ruth at carondesign@yahoo.com or javabreeder@gmail.com.

Black Java Cockeral owned by Amanda Allen

Join today and have a chance to win a dozen Java eggs

Taceys birds

Join the Java Breeders Club of America and get a chance to win a dozen Mottled Java eggs from Tacey Perkins' flock. Tacey has graciously donated a dozen eggs. All new paying members will be entered into a drawing by Tacey and a winner will be drawn on the 4th of July. Tacey will also pay postage, you can't beat that.  Its just another good reason to join the Java Club. Once a very common fowl the Java breed had recently been thrown unto the brink of extinction, but with the hard work of a few long term dedicated breeders ( a few who have been breeding for 50 plus years), The Garfield Farm, and other small scattered backyard flocks of Javas it is making a comeback. Let us not forget the dedication of the the ALBC, and the SPPA for putting the information out there. Joining is easy just send a check or money order for $10.00 to Ruth Caron c/o The Java Club, 195 Northglen Lane, Martindale, Texas 78655 along with your name, address, phone number and email address plus flock info. You can also pay on-line at the paypal link to the right and email carondesign@hotmail.com your info. Winners name will be posted on July 5, 201. GOOD LUCK. You can also email Ruth at carondesign@yahoo.com

We are here to stay

Javas in the Poultry Press....If you haven't already subscribed to The Poultry Press Newspaper I would encourage you do so as soon as possible. The Poultry Press has been around since 1914. My dad used to get it in the mail when I was a kid. It is a must have for the serious poultry breeder or for the person who just wants to learn more about standard bred birds. The Java breed club has an ad out for a year plus every month our president, vice president and secretary write a two page or so article about the Java Breeders of America poultry club. I would suggest that you don't miss what they have to say. You can only read it in the poultry press. Here's what the poultry press has to say about its newspaper. "The Poultry Press is a family-owned and run monthly publication in a newspaper format which is mailed all over the world. Poultry Press is the essential guide for anyone who raises, shows or has an interest in poultry. Within each issue are numerous articles designed to better your breeding, hatching, raising and showing of poultry. They have listings in the form of advertisements which will let you know where the shows are in your area. In addition there are many advertisements where you can purchase Bantam Chickens, Large Fowl (Standard) Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Turkeys, etc. In the back of the newspaper they have a Classified section where you can sell or find all types of poultry or poultry supplies or books or any other poultry related items. In addition a listing of the specific breed clubs and national organizations devoted to poultry can be found throughout the newspaper. They also have a section devoted to poultry judges that are available for hire from all over the country and Canada. There are plenty of pictures throughout the newspaper which show you the Champions and their owners throughout North America. You can subscribe today so that you do not miss out on a hobby that has brought such joy to countless numbers of individuals all over the world."

Javas in the News

Wow, take a look at us.

Read about Javas in this months issue of Exhibition Poultry magazine. It is a free publication that may be downloaded off the Exhibition Poultry Magazine website. The article was written by Christine Heinrichs who is a professional journalist who began writing about heritage poultry after her daughter and her acquired their first chickens in the 1980s. She has written regularly for publications such as the Poultry Press, Backyard Poultry Magazine, Exhibition Poultry Magazine and has written her own books, "How to Raise Chickens" and "How to Raise Poultry."  She is also a regular guest on Andy Schneider's Chicken Whisperer radio program. Visit Christine on the web at The Official Poultry Bookstore.com blog.

Java Chicken Recovery Project - complete this survey

Sorry but this survey is no longer active !!!

In 2005, ALBC began the Buckeye Conservation Project to see if a rare breed of chicken could be brought back to historic levels of productivity using time-honored selection methods that had largely been lost.

Over the course of several years, Buckeye chicks were hatched and continuously selected, breeders were engaged, clubs were formed, and awareness of the breed spread. The Buckeye project helped to create a “better Buckeye” that was able to meet historic Standards, making the breed potentially profitable and marketable.

In 2009, ALBC began a similar project with the Java chicken. Again, the goal is to increase the productivity of the Java breed through selective breeding that still meets APA Standards. To help execute this project, ALBC is searching for Java breeders around the country. They are collecting census information and looking for farmers to be involved in the project. If you have questions about the ALBC Java Recovery Project or if you currently raise Javas, please contact Steve Moize at smoize@albc-usa.org. to help us learn more about your flock(s). Please complete the survey. PLEASE READ this survey is longer active but we are leaving this up to show all efforts to save Javas. 

Steven Moize

Research & Technical Programs Manager

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy

PO Box 477

Pittsboro, NC 27312

(919) 542-5704 , Fax (919) 545-0022

smoize@albc-usa.org

www.albc-usa.org 

10% discount on Randall Burkey Poultry Supplies

All Java Club members get a 10% discount from the Randall Burkey Poultry Products store. Be sure to use the key code "java"  when placing your order. This code can be used online at randallburkey.com or it can be provided to their operators when placing an order by phone at 800-531-1097. They have a great line of healthcare products.

Poultry Show listings for 2011

photo courtesy of Dawn

My fellow Java peeps, lets get our show on this year. Yes show your Javas. If you have a Java that you think looks pretty good, than by all means SHOW IT. I have listed quite a few poultry shows for 2011. Its actually pretty simple. Once you have decided that you want to show and have selected the show you want to enter your Javas in, filled in the entry show and sent it off - now comes the fun part of getting your birds ready for the show!!! Get ready to wash your bird, yes its all about washing your chicken. Here is a list of items you will need.

• baby shampoo
• blueing for white birds
• plastic jug
• baby oil
• clippers
• orange sticks
• cotton pads
• towels
• hair dryer,
• newspaper
• old towels

Place your bird into warm water, either in the bath (I'm a nut I wash mine in my bathtub LOL) and spray it with Lysol afterwords, or the kitchen sink, or outside in a bucket that is up on a table and free from drafts. Using your plastic jug, fill with warm water and pour gently over the bird, making sure that the bird is held fairly firmly with the other hand, otherwise the bird will take off, soaking everywhere!  Do this a couple of times to get the chicken wet, then put the shampoo into the palms of your hands and rub gently onto the bird, so as not to damage the feathers.  Make sure the bird is fully covered in shampoo. The head being done last, avoiding the eyes. Next, empty all the water, then squeeze excessive water from the underneath of the bird.  Pick up, place on newspaper and add fresh warm water into your sink, bath or pail.

Place the bird into fresh water and rinse the bird thoroughly. You may have to do this a couple of times. (For white birds only) you will need to mix up a bucket with blueing in it and let them set for a while. After this, squeeze out the water from the feathers of the bird and place bird on clean  newspaper. Cover and wrap the towel around the bird.  You can leave the bird wrapped while you look at the beak and toe nails to see if they need clipping.  Clip them if they need it being careful not to clip the quick (the blood supply).  Pat the bird with the towel to take excessive dampness away. This may take some time.  Next remove the towel and proceed to dry the bird, paying attention to under the wings and between the legs. Dry your bird well so that it does not get chilled.

Once your bird is dry, you can use the baby oil by putting a bit on a cotton pad and rubbing onto the comb and wattles, this makes them gleam.  Also you can use the oil on the legs.  Any dirt left on the toe nails, you can scrap away  with the orange sticks.  If you are clever you can use the orange sticks to get dirt out of the scales of your chickens legs, but do not do this if you are not confident enough as you do not want upset your bird by hurting it.

When you get ready to take your bird to the show you will need a box or animal carrier that has shavings on the bottom and plenty of air vents. Make sure to bring a jug of water and feed for your bird. Some shows provide feed. The feed they provide is usually scratch.

Best of luck with showing and you will eventually pick up plenty of tips on how to show your birds from other people. Watch out, you may get the show bird fever. Also does anyone else out there wash their birds in the sink or bathtub?? Do leave your comment and let us know.

List of 2011 Poultry Shows click here