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Sorry but this survey is no longer active !!!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

Keepin' them Javas Warm

I do not recommend heat lights for full grown and  fully feathered chickens in the winter. Back in the good ole' days chickens did not have heat lights like they do now. I know for a fact that a lot of you are in areas where the temps are lower than ours here in central Texas and your chickens are handling the weather just fine. Chickens don't mind the cold but they do mind drafts and the rain at night so these are a top winter priority for them. The chicken coop, or house, needs be tight enough to keep the cold wind from blowing through the walls. I recommend that all four walls are to be made of wood or some tin and wood. Ventilation should be above head height and there should be no drafts coming through the coop. The waterproofing needs to be checked and any areas that are dripping water into the housing need to be sealed quickly. Wood should be used for roosts and they are never made of metal poles or plastic. Wood roosts will help to keep your hens feet warm whereas metal or plastic will stay cold all the time and cause their feet to become too cold. Imagine stepping on a sheet of tin with your bare feet in the winter and then having to remain there for hours. Some sort of litter such as straw should be used inside the coop and around the coop. This will help by keeping the hens feet off the frozen ground while they scratch around during the day. The entrance to the coop will become muddy and frozen if no bedding is put down. This can make the hens reluctant to come out during the day. Keeping the straw clean is important. Rake out and replace what becomes soiled or wet. I also add hay, leaves, and other types of clean mulch's deeply layered (a foot deep or deeper) into the bottom of my hen houses. When I feed them on cold mornings their coops are very warm. The deep mulch heats up the coop. Try it it really works I swear by it. I have never had bugs or mites because of it either. There will be crickets or rolypoly bugs but the chickens love the deep mulch and scratch around in it for the bugs. I learned this from a college professor with yard birds who lives in Bastrop, Texas. She did leave a radio on for her chickens which was cute. I guess they lay better with country music playing.  I try not to let my hens get wet before a freeze due to rain if I can help it, and I keep them out of chilly winds, again if I can. A day like yesterday which had a wind chill factor I did not let them out of their houses. I imagine there may be extreme cases for heat lamps but then you will always have to use it. I did the light thing before and it backfired when those same birds had a very cold night without their heat lamp. I did not keep track of the weather and they were all looking pretty miserable the next morning. I guess I learned the hard way. I have a web site that has articles about mulching, gardening and the other benefits of poultry. Its all good stuff that I learned from people like yourselves with birds.

Java Club Bookstore is up and running

Hello Java friends, we have our very own bookstore where all purchases that are made benefit our club. Please consider buying any books that you may consider buying in the future at the Java Bookstore. Almost any book or DVD that you can think of is there. They have millions of books and DVD's. Don't feel like buying a book than make a donation at the donate button on the home page. Donations can be as small as five dollars or larger. Also I would like to thank Christine Cole for volunteering to take care of the District 7 area director. What does an area director do? The Area Director is responsible for helping people in the area with questions about raising Javas, representing the Java club at poultry shows in the area and if possible, organizing a district specialty show for Javas at a poultry show in the area. You are not expected to attend each and every show but if you could attend one or more and have a table to sign up new members that would be ideal. We will have a brochure soon that can be downloaded and printed and passed out at booths. We still need someone for District #1 which covers Massachusetts, Maine, Delaware, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York and for District #2 which covers Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia.