JAVA BREEDERS OF AMERICA$
SEPTEMBER 2013
NEWSLETTER The Mottled Java
The Mottled Java
Exciting new project ahead... This quarter we will be focusing on the Mottled Java. It’s always exciting when a line has been located and preserved for a number of years and without the introduction of outside blood. The most important aspect to any breed’s existence are dedicated individuals willing to work diligently to maintain and improve it’s productive characteristics. Learning how to select your best breeders and set up breeding pens is key. After you learn that, consider passing this knowledge on to others. The Mottled Java is not as some suppose, a white and black Java mix but instead, smooth, orange shanked, “White Brahma” hens were bred to a Black Java cock. “We know who invented
the Mottled Java and how he did it.” Nathaniel T. Lattin has added to his fame as a fancier of Black Javas the honor of originating the Mottled birds in 1872.
-Glenis Marsh
JAVAS IN KANSAS - MONTE W. BOWEN
- VICE PRESIDENT
What a year! Late hatches due to infertility in some breeds, chicks growing well and it is now time to cull. When it was time to commence, the weather was so hot that it would have killed the birds and the keeper to be out catching, cooping and
culling, so it was decided to await some cooler weather. One cannot get much culling done in the early morning hours, just after sunrise, until it begins to get too hot. Take three mornings a week out of the seven when I have to be at the city clerk’s office
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JAVA BREEDERS OF AMERICA$
SEPTEMBER 2013
doing that work, and time is a premium. Once the cooler weather came, along with it came rain. Well, you sure can’t cull chickens in the rain with droopy, wet, soggy feathers, so we are still in a “holding pattern” when it comes to getting the cull started. One day. . .
have in the yard. They are great at foraging. They lay a good-sized egg, keeping me and several neighbors in eggs year-round. The pullets and hens are fantastic brood fowl; they tend the young well, being very protective of the young. The females are not fractious while on the hatching nest, but that changes rapidly once the chicks arrive! They become In between rains I did manage to go through ferocious in the protection of their young (a good the Java pen and pull out all the cockerels and give attribute). The cocks and hens are both docile and them a looking over. In the brooder, those chicks not flighty. They are a calm breed that shows no looked mighty good, all with yellow feet and good color, but as we say, that ain’t gonna tell ya which way aggression toward the keeper. They don’t become nervous from daily routines of people and animals, the pickle will squirt! Out of all those chicks that had good yellow feet when small, I managed to find 4 but do keep a wary eye out for hawks and other varmints. With these attributes it is easy to see why that showed any trace of yellow now. The vast one would tolerate the headaches and faults one has majority of males show white, pink, white with a to endure to find a few good birds. The Java is an alllittle yellow, pink with even less yellow, and none with real great yellow feet. Another thing those four around good bird to have in the yard. “keepers” possess is a good dark eye. All the others show an eye that belongs to a Mottled Java; dark center, yellow ring. Makes one wonder why one keeps this breed that gives these headaches. Every year, before breeding, I go through the pens and keep only the birds with black eyes and yellow feet. Every year, the pale feet and eyes manifest themselves to the majority. I am beginning to understand exactly why this breed almost became extinct! Nobody wanted to bother with all the sidelines one must endure to keep the breed pure and up to the Standard. Gotta be some breed out there that breeds like it is supposed to, so let’s find it and keep the easy stuff. Lot less headaches, I’m sure. Well. . . maybe I’m just stupid. Maybe I’m too dumb to figure out where the trouble lies and how to fix it. Maybe I’m a masochist and enjoy the pain of the 4 out of 50 that are good enough to keep. Maybe I really enjoy buying feed for culls. Maybe, maybe, maybe. . . At least the Mottled Javas are showing more promise this year than last, so that is one thing on the plus side. Not many of them hatched this year, as the hens were not overly productive (they usually outlay the Blacks, but not this year). Perhaps there will be enough of them to show in November at the SPPA meet in New Ulm, Minnesota.
Photo courtesy of Tacey Perkins
So, why does someone with no extra money to spend on feed keep a breed that gives so many headaches? More than likely it IS stupidity, but the real reason is that the Black Java is a great bird to
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JAVA BREEDERS OF AMERICA$
SEPTEMBER 2013
PERSONAL NOTES FROM THE LATE DR. ALBERT MCGRAW Provided by Jim Ward Having purchased as many as 100 Mottled Java eggs from the late Albert Reynolds of Bethany, MO during the spring of 1959, I had the good fortune of raising close to 60 gorgeous chicks from that group of eggs. The first pictures I saw of this gorgeous breed, I knew right away that I would not rest until I owned a large flock of them. Though it has been quite a hassle through the years that I have been raising Mottle Javas, I refused to let the problems that arose from time to time fray my nerves. That, no doubt, was because I like the breed so very much. Thus, I persevered, even when the problems were bleak indeed. From the first group of chicks that I raised, I did some culling. Perhaps not quite as close as I should have, fearing that if I did away with too many of my birds of some 25 females, some devastating event might intervene and leave me with such a few breeding birds, I would be compelled to go back to “square one”. Good fortune was with me in 1961. I was able to raise more than 200 gorgeous chicks. I considered that number as being quite a feat inasmuch as I found the females to lay no more than 10-12 eggs before going broody. Never shall I forget having more hens in broody coops that year than I had in my mating pens.
for those birds that are not good specimens, for that is an ongoing thing. I am glad to report today, my females lay much, much better that they did in the earlier years; thus egg production improved greatly. Some females lay as many as 150 eggs a year. Throughout the later part of the Sixties, all of the Seventies and part of the Eighties, I shipped a great host of eggs and chicks from my flocks. They were shipped both to individuals and to Stromberg’s. Today, I still ship a great number of eggs, chicks, and stock. Also, during that time frame, I purchased numerous chicks from Duane Urch as a means of obtaining new blood. Presently, I have a flock of some fifty yearling females, and have four matings. I know of no one who is more proud to own Mottled Javas than I am! They are my pride and joy and I shudder to think of not having a large number of them in chicken barn! I can supply eggs, chicks, and adults at reasonable prices. I can supply adults the year round and eggs and chicks from January through July.
In any case, since I had succeed in having 75 good breeding females by the end of that season, I not only began to do some individual trapnesting as a means to sort out the “little girls” that were laying the most eggs prior to going broody, but also not to cull heavily. Not only did I dispose of the ones that laid poorly, but also I culled for the specific traits that did not jibe closely to the Standards. I followed those two programs until I was quite pleased with the improvement in their egg laying ability, as well as to the Standard of Perfection qualifications. That is not to say, however, that I have discontinued culling
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JAVA BREEDERS OF AMERICA$
SEPTEMBER 2013
DR MCGRAW'S LINE OF MOTTLED JAVA'S - ALIVE AND WELL IN SOUTH ALABAMA by Robert Blosl on Dr. McGraw reveals he kept these birds pure up to his death about 7 or more years ago. My friend said he got them from his son who kept a few of these old Mottled Java's in his home yard. I thought that this was a historic find as I always talk about maybe finding a flock of rare large fowl in Arkansas that someone has had from a super breeder 40 or so years ago but was gone as the breeder may have died in the 1970’s. So it can happen and has in About last fall, I got a email from this case on these old Mottled a fellow who lives above BirmingJavas. ham Alabama who is working in My goal is to hatch along with a Afghanistan as a private contracfriend in Florida, Anthony who tor and told me he had two Mothas the three hens and two males tled Java males and three females with the ten chicks we have and he needed to find a home for them as his father is having a hard hatched from them this spring and time taking care of them. He felt I summer 40 chicks to be shipped in lots of ten to interested Mottle may be his only hope because he Java specialists next spring. did not want to lose this old line I have an order for ten commitand not many people in Alabama are interested in old time Standard ted to a person who will not only help keep this rare line going, but Breed Large fowl or what some also advise us on how to breed this people call Heritage chickens old line for type and color. anymore. I have a partner in Texas, Timothy I needed these birds like another Nichols who has ten chicks that I whole in my head so I said sure I sent him, one male who I think is will keep them till you get back home and will try to share some of going to be a killer that has a very nice head on him. I think he has a these rare chicks with interested five point comb and a nice blade Java breeders in the Java Club. which we need to stamp on to this I had no idea how old this line is line over the next three years to at and found out in a article that will least give us a total package of a be published in this newsletter good true to breed Mottle Java they go back to 1959. My research with nice looking heads which I
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find paramount in any large fowl project for improvement of breeding an old Heritage style flock of birds. If we ever hope to show these birds and one day have a shot of getting on Champion Row, you’ve got to have good heads to get there in the first place. Timothy may be able to help a few folks with some chicks also. I hope he can. We plan to get some single nest boxes from Horizon Box Company and put the ten checks in the box at say age ten days and ship them overnight express and they will make it to their new home just fine. If you are interested in getting some of these rare old Java's that Dr. McGraw once owned let me know, I only need or want serious Preservationists who will put their heart and soul into keeping this rare line going. If you cross these birds with your Mottled Java's or your blacks that is your business. But for Dr. McGraw's legacy, we owe him the courtesy for his years of work to keep this line pure and share this line with others. It only takes two or three good honest Java breeders to keep his line going. I hope you are one of the chosen few I am looking for as partners like my good friend in Texas, Timothy Nichols. Look forward to hear from you and keep pushing this old grand breed of fowl.
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JAVA BREEDERS OF AMERICA$
SEPTEMBER 2013
HATCHERY VS BREEDER Through the ages, poultry has been handed down from generation to generation. When I moved to the country and purchased chickens, I found myself needing questions answered but my grandfather, a Heritage Rhode Island Red fancier, was now gone. I was forced to seek out new mentors and the older, the wiser.
impossible task to be undertaken by any large hatchery. Though few hatcheries purchase from outside breeders, the majority consists of single pens full of X breed and hatch out masses of chicks. Below: *Garfeild Farm - Bi" Wolcott, Jim Ward & MSI Tim Christakos (continued on page 6... )
Keeping chickens to provide for ones family takes ongoing selective breeding for optimal productivity. As much as I would like to save multiple endangered American heritage dual-purpose breeds, I cannot or I run the risk of becoming a hatchery. Focus
Why is focusing on one or two breeds so important? Improving upon a heritage dual-purpose breed is to bring it back to its original purpose‌ utility. This is an attentive job that no large hatchery has the time nor inclination for. Why do good utility fowl produce more eggs and meat? Hands on selection, trap nesting, banding/toe punching , careful record keeping and culling. This is an
DR. MCGRAW MOTTLED JAVA PROJECT For those of you interested in taking part in the Dr. McGraw, Mottled Java Breeding project, Mr. Blosl has asked that you contact me at: glenis@javahillfarm.com and I will forward the complete list to him. Chicks will be shipped between January through April of 2014.
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JAVA BREEDERS OF AMERICA$ HATCHERY VS BREEDER
continued from page 5
What’s the significance of heritage poultry aside from each breed’s unique history? They spend less time at the feed trays, they are vigorous and have a strong desire to forage for their own food. Crosses
It requires great care and skill to keep a breed up to standard. If a breed has had any crosses in it’s past especially in today’s day and age, more than likely this has occurred either intentionally or unintentionally. American heritage and other domestic strains were the results of multiple crosses and there is a constant tendency for them to revert back to the breeds that are in their make up. They are atavistic. As an example, I work with white Java that were the result of black Java mating’s occasionally, I will find a black feather in its plumage. Even though this trait will be culled for, it will continue to reappear and if left, there will be a higher percentage of culls that display a tendency to revert. Some breeds have had rose to single comb mating’s, some yellow skin to white skin, others have had Game blood introduced etc. Breeders & Selective Breeding
When deciding on a dual purpose breed, it’s difficult to
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choose as there are so many in need of dedicated breeders. How then should we decide? 99.9% of all poultry breed images will be of the bird wearing all it’s feathers. In addition to the Standard of Perfection, what it looks like on a plate after processing is going to tell you how much work it’s truly going to be to attain that productive quality it once had. One person’s line is going to look quite different than another’s depending on their focus, skill and technique. If one is not hatching out multitudes of chicks for their own replenishment and selecting the best few breeders, improvement will be prolonged. This becomes a key point in why keeping too many breeds is counter productive and here’s why... In order to improve a breed, one must hatch out high numbers and cull heavily. If person “A” hatches out 15 and culls down to 7 and person “B” hatches out 215 and culls down to 7 who do you think will have the better stock? As an example, I recently wrote an article focused on EB Thompson and how he was considered to produce the very best stock in the world. He hatched 4,000 Plymouth Rock chicks per year and without the use of a single incubator! Great breeders in our past have much to teach us if we are open to learn. Structure
Most importantly, a focused breeder is a better choice to purchase from because of the way they have their breeding pens set up. Do they keep 1 pen full of various cocks and hens similar to most hatcheries (flock breeding) or do they keep records of each
SEPTEMBER 2013
Calendar September 10, 11 & 12, 2013 3rd Annual National Heirloom Exposition http://www.theheirloomexpo.com/ poultry/ September 20 & 21, 2013 North Iowa Poultry Association Annual Fall Expo 2013 http://www.northiowapoultry.com/ events/fallexpo2012/ September 29, 2013 50th Annual Eastern New York State Poultry Association, Fall Show http://enyspassc.com/index.php
Contributors MONTE W. BOWEN VP of Java Breeders, 1st VP of SPPA, Pres. Nankin Club, Editor of Nankin Quarterly & The SPPA Bulletin. Has been breeding Black Javas for ~14 years and Mottled Javas 11 years. ROBERT BLOSL Robert Blosl is an experienced poultry breeder residing in Alabama. As a dedicated educator of Heritage Large Fowl on Backyard Chickens he can also be found in other informative threads.
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JAVA BREEDERS OF AMERICA$ mating, have a trio in pen A, a quad in pen B or stud mate only 2 together in addition to precise record keeping details? A hatchery could never afford to do this nor will they be able to cull for unacceptable, inherited behavior. Why? Because hatcheries don’t have large amounts of time to observe all of their flocks independently compared to a dedicated breeder. This is why we so often hear, I had a specific breed and it was viciously mean. Ask. “where did you make your purchase?” The answer will usually be, “hatchery” or “feed store.” I realize some hatchery birds are not this way but the point I’m emphasizing is that an experienced, “hands on” breeder will be the best place to purchase a breed you want to work with for utility purposes and beginning with the best stock available will set you off on the right track. Garfield Farm Museum
Our Inheritance
I will forever remember the stories my grandfather told me about how his small urban farm in the middle of the city not only got them through the great depression but they always had a cornucopia of food to barter and share with the rest of the neighborhood. You can bet that meat and eggs were at the top of the list. I plan to pass on my selective breeding skills to my children; otherwise all of my accumulated knowledge and work will have been in vain. One fact continues to ring true...never stop learning and seeking knowledge.
"Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwi"ing to learn." -Benjamin Franklin The Java not only is a good producer of both eggs and meat, they are excellent foragers that don’t sit around the feeders.
I would like to take a moment to speak a bit about Garfield Farm and all that they are doing for the As the old saying goes, “Eggs Java as it dovetails into the point and meat are hard to beat!” I’m making. I do not consider Garfield Farm a hatchery. They are a focused and dedicated Java breeder hatching out high numbers of chicks. This is how they were able to find white sports and gold (Auburn) genetics hidden within the blacks. I don’t know anyone who has the ability or infrastructure to be able to pull this off but we can each do the very best we can with what we have to work with.
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SEPTEMBER 2013
Contributors GLENIS MARSH Java Breeders of America Newsletter Editor in Chief and Western Regional Director. Residing in Southern California. RUTH CARON Secretary/ Treasurer and web designer and all around woman of many hats. Thank you Ruth for all you do. JIM WARD Dedicated Java Breeder residing in Ohio. GARFIELD FARM MUSEUM PO Box 403, LaFox IL 60147 630.584.8485 info@garfieldfarm.org www.garfieldfarm.org *Thanks to Chris Frost for sharing the Black Java evaluation photo.
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