-Second oldest breed of poultry in America-
9th Quarter newsletter
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President- Roy Autrey Hey Folks Well now lets talk about our breeding plans for the season. If you have not done so already, it is time to get your breeding pens set up. I recommend putting your best male bird in a pen with your 3 best pullets or hens. Some people will place up to 6 females with a male bird but I have always used 3 for maximum fertility. A cock bird can handle up to 5 females where the younger male may be ma xed out at 3. Keep in mind that this is strictly my opinion so your individual situation might call for a different approach. Keep plenty of fresh water available and maintain artificial lighting if necessary to have 14 hours of available light in the breeding pens. If you keep constant feed out for your birds it may cause the hens to get too fat and then they won’t lay as well. So if you can, limit the feed to 5 ounces twice per day. It is also a good idea to let the birds have access to an exercise area where they can forge in the grass and weeds for insects if possible. I also feed oats soaked in water for 72 hours. Gather your eggs twice per day if possible and let them “rest” in a dry cool area for 12 hours before placing them in your incubator. In my operation, I use the Cock birds on pullets and the younger males on hens. It just seems to work well for my operation. If your birds are closely related, you can switch your male birds out every 3 days to give them “new territory” to work on. The male birds seem to work a little harder in this situation. But, if you need to keep closer control on your genetics as in for example-- you are using a new out cross bird to get some hybrid vigour, then switching males would not work. Enjoy your new chicks and keep working on getting young people and old alike interested in Poultry and Javas. Thanks Roy J. Autrey “The Chicken Doc”
Vice President- Monte Bowen Some Rambles from the Prairie Monte W. Bowen When I returned home from a day in town, doing errands and taxes, I had an email from the Secretary/Treasurer of the Nankin Club of America. It was the type of email we all hope to never have to deal with, but it seems there are still low down, dirty, lower than a snake’s belly, thieving sob’s in the world. Mary Ann said that while she and a friend were out to lunch, someone entered her poultry yard and stole most of her single combed Nankins. She is fairly certain who this slime ball may be, and is working to find the birds. This person, and I use the word loosely for him or her, also knew that there was nobody home, and that Mary Ann’s husband was away from home. WHY do people think they need to steal? I am not a “shove God down your throat and in your face” type person, and often resent those who do wear their religion on their sleeve, but I do think that this worthless person, who is a huge waste of oxygen, will get his or her punishment down the road a ways. In the meanwhile, keep your eye on who
comes and goes about your yard and hope this never happens to anyone. There are worthless people out there who will steal anything. They need to be taken out back and have the s (stuffing) kicked out of them. Nothing worse than a thief. I am finally getting a little bit into the mood to hatch this year. I have been so busy with getting Mother in and out of the hospital, then into a nursing home, running back and forth to there (16 miles one way) a few times a week, getting her settled, chores, a part time job, and all the other things that rear their ugly heads during the course of a week (YOU know what they are, you have them, too), that I have really not had the energy or the time to even consider setting eggs! That is bad, as I am one of those who thinks he needs to be hatching by January 1. Not this year. Perhaps the hens feel a bit the same way, as they are just now getting the idea to lay, and the cocks have been “froggy” for a couple of weeks. So . . . guess the hens and the old, fat keeper best get with the program. The Mottled Javas are normally a bit heavier on laying than the Blacks, but so far this year, it is the other way around. The Mottled hens are kicking out an egg every other day, but perhaps that is about to change, as I got TWO from that pen yesterday. Things will look up before long, as the days are getting longer and a tad warmer, so one must simply be patient. I don’t rush the hens. They lay when they are ready. No lights to force them, no special feed, no hocus-pocus concoctions of ration like some folks think they need to conjure to think they are doing great things for the birds. Around here, we eat the same 20% layer pellet yearround, with a little scratch grain in the winter as well as some green, leafy alfalfa tossed into the pens. Lots of vitamins and minerals in leafy alfalfa, and it gives the birds some exercise at the same time. A flake of hay doesn’t last long. Toss one in during the morning and by noon about all you find are some bare stems. The old timers used to hang the hay in a loosely woven bag, just a little higher than the backs of the birds. That way, they would have to jump a bit to get to the leaves, thus giving them exercise. In the spring and summer, the birds can roam the yard to help keep the weeds and grass down in the back. Birds that have room to range will find a great deal of their needed rations during the day. Bugs, worms, grass, weeds, stolen cat food from the pans; all provide good nutrition for the fowl. You needn’t worry too much about chickens eating something that will hurt them, as those weeds that may be toxic will usually be passed by and left to grow. A chicken will not usually eat a weed that is toxic to them, it is just one of those innate things that chickens know, so let your birds range, they will be healthier for it. Good hatching for 2013 and give those young birds room to grow and range; they, too, will be better for it.
Notes from the Secretary- Ruth Caron Well I can tell you that I have been very busy working on ads and stories for alot of poultry related stuff. I have my incubator full and have quite a few chicks already. There are 2 very well written articles in this issue the first being an article about Nathaniel Lattin written by Glenis Marsh and the second is by Jim Ward and its called “Speculations about Javas.” I am so grateful to have these great writers in our club. I have included an article about mites since I know they will be back to haunt me and my chickens here in Texas. We have the perfect weather for mites.. This article is written by Mike Stringham & Wes Watson-Department of Entomology, N. C. State University Raleigh, NC. See you all online soon at the Java Breeders Facebook page. Thanks Ruth
Great Contributors of the Java - Nathaniel T. Lattin
by Glenis Marsh
Nathaniel T. Lattin was a prominent Java breeder in Gaines, New York. He is noted to have been a direct relative of the coachman who “borrowed” 3 Java eggs from the infamous “Mr. D.” Missouri doctor’s exclusive Java stock and bred them in purity for many years. In case the reader is unfamiliar with the story, I’ll include the following letter... “I enjoyed a pleasant visit with Mr. and Mrs. Lattin and received from the latter, the following history of the origin of the fowls in question: About twenty-five years ago a relative of Mr. Lattin, living in Missouri came in possession of three eggs from the yard of a celebrated doctor, who delighted in the ownership of a few fine fowls called Javas. The doctor would neither sell the progeny nor allow it to grace the yards of another but his coachman “borrowed” the three eggs above named and from them the Javas of to-day have descended, all crossing having been made with different matings of the same family. They were first brought into Dutchess County (NY) some twentyfive years since, then into Orleans County (NY), where they have been bred by the Lattin family in purity for many years. From what I can learn of them, I judge they are very hardy, mature early and belong to the useful as well as ornamental class. Mr. Lattin presented me with one dressed for the table and although the shanks of the fowls are black, the fowl itself when served, presents that inviting rich yellow common to the Plymouth Rock and is in every way it’s equal”. -- J. Y. Bicknell N.Y. May 1881 After this dinner at the Lattin homestead in 1881, introducing Bicknell to the Java, the revered poultry judge Bicknell would later become officially recognized by the Pittsburgh Fanciers Association as “The Greatest Black Java Breeder in The World.” - January 24, 1918. (He was 83 years old and still judging poultry).
White Java Although the 1890’s Professor W. C. Tucker is recognized as the originator of White Java Sports... “Mr. Tucker is conceded the honor of originating and placing before the public this variety of the Java family, though sports have appeared in the yards of various breeders of the Blacks.” [1] Lattin’s poultry yard had already had White Javas previous to this since his name appeared in the local newspaper exhibiting White Javas in 1879. [2] There is also a record of Lattin motioning in the April 1879, American Poultry Association meeting to have “Spangled”(Mottled) and Black Javas entered into the Standard of Excellence. During this meeting, Lattin mentions that he has been breeding Javas more than 7 years prior and testified to the good qualities of the bird. A committee of three was then appointed to investigate and report. [3] Unlike many varieties offered for recognition, they appeared to be distinct from any and all others in their general characteristics, clearly showing that they are not indebted to any known breed for their existence. [4] Although they have been shown many years previously, this would be the beginning of the Java’s true introduction to the public.
Mottled Java Lattin is also documented as showing and creating the Mottled variety. 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. The earliest record states: We know who invented the Mottled Java and how he did it. Mr Lattin has added to his fame as a fancier of Black Javas the honor of originating the Mottled birds. He writes us as follows concerning their origin: “About 9 years ago (1872) I had some white hens known here at that time as “White Brahmas”, but without any feathers on their legs, which were smooth and a bright orange color; beaks yellow, combs single, size about the same as the Javas. To commence with, a pair of mottled black and white chicks were hatched from these hens’ eggs. As I had no other cocks on the premises but Black Javas, these mottled chicks must have been the result of a cross between a Black Java cock and the White hens. I kept the two mottled chicks and next year raised five more nicely mottled ones--the rest were white, about the same number in each brood. The next year I bred the cock from the first pair to the last year’s pullets, and succeeded in getting a fine lot of mottled chicks, a few white ones, and fewer black. From that time I worked faithfully to improve them in breeding true to color, till I got them so a very small percent of white chicks appeared. It will, of course, take some time yet to breed them all uniformly alike, as no breed will do this, but they run very true even, all things considered. The mottles are not always evenly distributed, and for some time the legs would be black or willow, though some prefer them mottled yellow and black, but I now have no trouble in breeding legs yellow. I have had these fowls before the A. P. A. for the last three years, first at Buffalo, then at Indianapolis, and last winter at Cleveland, where all had a chance to see just what they were. I think they were admitted to the standard on their merits alone, as I was at that time a stranger to the A. P. A. but now, I am happy to say a member of the association.” [5]
Black Java Mr. Lattin had the reputation of being a modest and reliable farmer, complying with the requirements of the A.P.A. and not being a man gifted with an abundance of words. He was a man of deeds who let his Javas speak for themselves. They were large in size had beautiful symmetry, long bodies, full breasts, a long expanded tail and clean smooth shanks. When the prominent poultry judge Bicknell was at the Lattin home and shown his stock in large numbers, he was amazed that no glaring faults could be found; all were good specimens, quite unlike what he had seen displayed at the shows. When asked where his poor birds were Lattin replied, “You see them here, I have no poorer ones.” Needless to say, Bicknell was fully satisfied with Lattin’s representation of the breed, acquired his stock immediately and the rest is Java history! [6] According to Mr Lattin: “They were first brought to Dutchess county (NY), then to Orleans county (NY), where they may still be seen in large numbers. In all this time, no fresh blood has been introduced, all crossing being obtained by different matings of the same family. We must remember that most fowls are made up of crosses, and when one type is decided upon, in order to retain that type we must keep clear of foreign blood and all crossings, whether by one or more breeders must be from the original stock. This is just what has been done with Javas and their activity and manifest vitality strike one very forcibly at first sight. They appear to possess every good point common to Plymouth Rocks and have the advantage over the latter in breeding a small percent of poor birds, instead of a small percent of good ones.” [7] Mr. Nathaniel T. Lattin died on March 13, 1899 and is buried at Mount Albion Cemetery in Orleans County, New York. He was 61 years old. From what I’ve been able to ascertain, he bred them pure for over 20 years and possessed the finest Java stock in the world. [8] The image below was approved by N. T. Lattin. Lattin, Bicknell and other historic Java breeders believed an authentic Java must posses a very specific and prominent feature. This feature and more will be discussed in my next article.
1st Poultry Show: Northhampton, Massachusetts is where the Java was said to have arrived in 1835. The First Poultry Show in America was held at the Public Gardens in Boston, Massachusetts on November 15-16, 1849 where there were 1,423 different breeds and 219 exhibitors. The number of people admitted to the show was not less than 10,000 spectators. The Java was categorized in the Large Asiatic or Great Malay Tribe and appears to have been entered by multiple participants. This is the oldest illustration I have found of them. As for the illustrator Perhaps, I’m not the first Marsh to become part of Java history. It appears in the records of “The First Poultry Show In America & The Poultry Book - 1850.” References: 1. Poultry Monthly, Albany, N.Y. November 1890; Vol. XII, No. 11, page 335 2. The Holley Standard, New York, Thursday, October 16, 1879 No. 4 3. Pet Stock Pigeon and Poultry Bulletin, Vol X, No. 1, New York, April 1879, Whole No. 109. 4. Pet-stock, Pigeon, and Poultry Bulletin, Vol., XI., No. 2, May 1880, Whole No. 122. 5. Poultry Bulletin, May 1881; Vol. XII No. 2, Whole No.134 6. Pet-stock, Pigeon, and Poultry Bulletin, Vol., XI., No. 2, May 1880, Whole No. 122 7. Poultry World Volume 10, May - 1881 8. American Poultry Journal, Volume 14, No. 12, Chicago, IL, December 1883
Fowl Mite Management In Breeders Mike Stringham & Wes Watson-Department of Entomology, N. C. State University Raleigh, NC Three species of fowl mite are recurring pests of commercial breeders and layers. The chicken mite or red poultry mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) is an ectoparasite that remains hidden in the cracks and crevices of a poultry house during the day and comes out to feed on birds at night. Owing to its ability to survive for long periods without feeding and it’s habit of remaining hidden off its host during the day, the chicken mite is often difficult to detect and even more difficult to control. It is fortunate that this mite is a rare pest of commercial poultry flocks. The more common northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) is an ectoparasite that is entirely dependent on its poultry host for survival. Northern fowl mites may be dislodged from the host, but otherwise spend their entire life cycle on or close to the bird’s skin where they are relatively easy to detect. Furthermore, once separated from its host, this ectoparasite is not nearly as hardy as the red poultry mite. The tropical fowl mite (Ornithonyssus bursa) is another species that may infest commercial flocks, and is often confused with the northern fowl mite. More common in the southern region of the United States, this mite behaves in much the same way as the northern fowl mite. The tropical fowl mite also spends its life on the host and does not survive long once removed from its source of food. The impact of fowl mite infestations may result in decreased egg production of 5% to 15% (northern fowl mite), weight loss, anemia, skin inflammation and general loss of thriftiness. Death losses in young birds have also been associated with extremely heavy red poultry mite infestations. In the case of northern fowl mites, it has been suggested that heavy infestations may lead to significantly thicker eggshells. A 1984 study in North Carolina placed a dollar value on potential losses attributed to northern fowl mite infestations at more than $3,200 per house in broiler breeders. Losses in 2003 dollars can be expected to be substantially higher. The risk of disease transmission associated with fowl mites is suggestive, but not proven. It has been shown that viruses responsible for Newcastle disease and fowl pox can be recovered from northern fowl mite after feeding on infected chickens. Similarly, the red poultry mite has been shown to harbor eastern equine encephalitis virus for up to 30 days after feeding on infected chickens. Limited viral transmission by the mite to uninfected chickens was demonstrated as well. Red poultry mites have also been implicated as potential vectors of erysipelas bacteria in poultry. It should be noted, however, that there is no good evidence that mites play any role in transmitting these pathogens in commercial poultry production. Finally, fowl mites have also been associated with dermatitis in humans. The red poultry mite in particular is know to feed on workers in infested houses. The northern fowl mite and tropical fowl mite have been known to feed on people as well, but documented cases involving these two mites are much less common than the former.
Mite Biology The red poultry mite can go from egg to adult in as little as 5 days. A complete life cycle from egg to a sexually mature adult ready to lay a new batch of eggs takes only 9 - 10 days. An adult female red poultry mite lays only 20 - 24 eggs in her lifetime, but the short life cycle means that mite numbers can build quickly. The red poultry mite’s host range includes a wide variety of domestic and wild birds, including chickens, turkeys, pigeons, house sparrows and starlings. These mites will also occasionally infest dogs, cats, horses, cattle and other mammals. This mite spends the day hiding in cracks and crevices, litter and nest boxes, coming out to feed at night. Red poultry mites feed anywhere on the bird’s body, and lesions or skin irritation often go unnoticed unless infestations are heavy. Adult red poultry mites are extremely hardy, able to survive without feeding for several months. Survival may be even longer under the right conditions. One laboratory study noted that red poultry mites survived up to 9 months without feeding at temperatures between 41° and 77° F. The northern fowl mite is less hardy. A well fed adult may survive as long as 2 - 3 weeks, but generally dies within 3 - 4 days without a host. However, its life cycle (typically 5 - 7 days) is somewhat shorter. Severe northern fowl mite infestations can develop and spread throughout a laying flock within 3 - 6 weeks. Mature female mites begin laying eggs in batches of 2 - 5 eggs about 2 days after feeding on the host’s blood. Eggs are deposited on the host, but are often dislodged. Northern fowl mite larvae,
nymphs and adults prefer to stay on the host, but frequently fall off and may be found in nest boxes, litter, on conveyor belts and elsewhere in the poultry house. As might be expected the number of mites and mite eggs present in the poultry house environment is directly proportional on the severity of infestation on the birds. Light infestations may be difficult to identify. Often, all that is visible are a few, nearly microscopic (and easily missed), mites moving quickly over the bird’s skin around the vent area. Moderate to heavy infestations are much easier to spot, producing a dark gray discoloration and matting of feathers around the vent. The discoloration is due to the mites, their feces and shed skins. Close examination of such discolored feathers will reveal large numbers of mites on the feathers and skin. This mite may be found anywhere on a bird when infestations are severe. Northern fowl mites commonly infest pigeons and other wild birds. There have also been reports of incidental infestations of rats, guinea pigs and people. Much less is known about the tropical fowl mite. Eggs hatch in 2 - 3 days after the female mite deposits them on the host or in nesting material. The length of time it takes to develop from egg to adult is believed to be 6 - 8 days for the tropical fowl mite. Like the northern fowl mite, this mite is typically found around the vent area and produces a similar discoloration of the feathers. The mite may also be found around the beak and eyes of young birds.
Fowl Mite Management Exclusion and Prevention: The first and most effective way to manage fowl mite infestations is prevention. Practices that exclude potential mite vectors (rodents and wild birds) and prevent the spread of mites from one farm to the other are critical. Exclusion of wild birds and rodents generally requires nothing more than identifying and closing entry points. Look for and close holes or gaps: 1) at end doors; 2) around electrical conduits, feed and water lines where they enter the building; 3) around fan housings; 4) along building eaves and at building corners; 5) along ridge vents and other air inlets; 6) along side wall screens and curtains; 7) around evaporative coolers; and, 8) in damaged siding and foundations. Be sure to include pump houses, storage areas and other structures where wild birds might nest around the poultry houses. Consider adding doors and walls or screening to shed style outbuildings within 50 to 100 feet of poultry houses to discourage wild birds from nesting. Fan openings, unless screened or louvered, should be covered when not in use for prolonged periods. A word about end doors is also in order. Remember that it serves little purpose to keep end doors in good repair if they are left open for prolonged periods between flocks. Keep them closed whenever possible during this period. Finally, think about sanitation as part of your exclusion program. Even small piles of feed beneath outside bins are powerful attractions to roaming birds and rodents. Clean up any such feed spills as quickly as possible. Rodent Control: In addition to exclusion, rodent management should include a continuous baiting program. No matter how thorough your exclusion efforts are, rodents generally find their way into the poultry house. Plan and maintain a rodent baiting program that includes bait stations along the building perimeter and along interior walls in egg handling and storage areas. Be sure to continue baiting (including less accessible areas inside breeder or pullet houses) when they are empty between flocks. Be alert for rodent activity around pump houses and other nearby buildings and bait accordingly. Monitoring: Taking action to control mite infestations and stop the spread of mites between farms implies that a mite problem has been identified. A good monitoring program begins with a decision about the level of mite infestation that can be tolerated. Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to be precise in this decision. Research based conclusions about actual or potential economic impact of fowl mite infestations are varied, and seldom present a clear numerical threshold of infestation. Mite indexing systems for northern fowl mites, where a one digit rating is assigned to levels of infestation from 0 to >10,000 mites per bird, have been the standard for many years, but are cumbersome, generally requiring the examination of a large number of birds. More recently a sequential sampling method requiring only a “present” or “absent” designation to describe infestation was shown to be a practical method of monitoring. The percentage of positive birds (mites present) in a weekly inspection group of between 7 and 30 birds per house is used as a threshold. A conservative threshold (for commercial layers, at least) calls for treatment when 25% of the birds are positive. The threshold can, of course, be lower or higher. The accuracy of the monitoring method is also better when 25, rather than 10 birds are examined each week. You may well decide that the best northern fowl mite threshold for your flocks is “zero”, but weekly inspection of the birds is still necessary. Plan on examining 10 or more
birds per house each week. Roosters are often the first to be infested in a production flock, which means that a higher percentage of those birds examined should be males. Examine the base of feathers and skin around the vent area. Look for crawling mites (they move quickly) and sooty gray discoloration of the feathers. Record the number of positive and negative birds, compute the percentage of positives and make your decision. Inspection of eggs and nest pads is another way to monitor for mites, but infestations are generally well developed once mites show up on eggs and pads. Such examinations are of particular use in detecting red poultry mites, since they are difficult to find on the birds. Additional inspections of litter and in cracks and crevices along slats are also advisable for detecting red poultry mites. Examine at least 10 randomly selected spots throughout each house. Alternatively, the birds themselves can be inspected at night (if lighting schedules permit) when red poultry mites are feeding. It is also helpful to ask growers, their employees, catchers, and clean out crews about being bitten by mites. Such incidents may occur with any fowl mite, but are more common with red poultry mites. Before leaving the subject of monitoring, remember that it is important to check both pullet and production flocks every week for mite infestations. Monitoring should also be more thorough in pullets since their mite infestations are often much lighter than those that develop in production flocks. A study published in 1984 showed that 52% of 20 week-old layer pullets randomly selected from 6 pullet farms were infested with northern fowl mites. Most notably, the severity of the infestations was very low, with group means ranging from 0.5 – 22 mites per bird. Such low level infestations may go undetected by casual examinations. It has also been noted that mite numbers often do not increase until young hens begin laying eggs. This may explain why production breeder flocks are apparently mite free when first housed, but develop severe infestations 7 to 10 weeks later. Isolate Mite Infestations: Although wild birds and rodents are potential vectors of fowl mite infestation, research has demonstrated that the more likely routes of introduction are to be found within the production system itself. In a study that simulated conditions in an egg collection truck, northern fowl mites were shown to move from carts holding infested eggs to clean empty carts within 1 – 2 hours. Observations in the fieldconfirmed that cross-contamination did occur as predicted. Mites on full carts from infested farms readily contaminated clean carts due to be off loaded at other locations. It also suggests that the truck drivers who handle the egg carts increases the likelihood of transferring mites to uninfested farms. The same study showed that all mites held in a simulated incubator (98.6° F, 55% RH) died within 96 hours. This finding clearly suggests that the hatchery is not a source of infestation for pullet farms unless sanitation and other biosecurity practices fail to prevent mite transfer to outgoing chicks via contaminated equipment and/or people. The lesson from this and other studies is clear: Any person, animal, vehicle or equipment moving between farms is a potential fowl mite vector. Certain minimal precautions will greatly reduce the likelihood of spreading a fowl mite infestation around. First, isolate infested farms. Readjust service and delivery schedules so that no traffic flows from infested to clean farms until the problem is under control. Advise the affected growerand his or her employees of the need to strictly limit contact with other poultry farms as well. Be sure that protective clothing worn on infested farms is handled carefully. Service personnel should consider using disposable plastic boots (6 mil) and overalls for visits to infested farms. Latex gloves are also a good choice when a visit will involve handling the infested birds. Disposable or not, protective clothing should be handled and bagged separately to minimize the possible transfer of mites or eggs to clean gear. Second, be certain that egg deliveries from infested farms are designated for “special handling” when they arrive at the hatchery. Emphasize the need to maintain strict separation of clean personnel and equipment from infested material to be sure that outgoing birds are not contaminated. Give infested carts, equipment and egg collection trucks extra attention during washing and sanitizing to eliminate mites and mite eggs. Note that strong sanitizing agents will generally kill mites on contact, as will steam or hot water pressure washes. An alternative to more intensive sanitation efforts might be to follow routine cleaning procedures followed by fumigation (fogging) of the loaded cargo space of outgoing trucks. Third, follow many of the same guidelines mentioned above for personnel and transport trucks moving infested pullets or replacement birds to production farms. The same applies to the transport of infested, spent birds to slaughter, as well as cleanout crews and equipment. Lastly, be creative in your thinking about other possibilities to interrupt the transmission cycle of fowl mites from farm to farm. There may be other practices unique to your company that can be modified as needed. Mite Treatment: There is not much good news out there about treating for mites. A relative handful of effective active ingredients are available for direct treatment of birds. These include carbaryl, permethrin, dichlorvos, malathion and tetrachlorvinphos. Insecticides that can be applied to premises include those already
mentioned plus lambdacyhalothrin, cyfluthrin, and esfenvalerate. The later mentioned premise insecticides cannot be used while birds are present. Pyriproxifen is an insectgrowth regulator labeled for use in poultry houses that may also prove useful in combination with insecticides as a premise treatment. Of all the insecticides mentioned above, carbaryl, permethrin, tetrachlorvinphos, and lambda-cyhalothrin were shown to have the highest toxicity for northern fowl mites collected in North Carolina. Dichlorvos, malathion and fenvalerate were somewhat less effective. The same study indicated that carbaryl, followed by the organophosphates (tetrachlorvinphos, malathion and dichlorvos) were the most toxic to red poultry mites. Pyrethroids (permethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin and fenvalerate) were somewhat less effective, but still useful. Unfortunately, carbaryl and malathion may not be available for use in poultry within a couple of years due to voluntary cancellations of livestock and poultry labels by the primary manufacturers. To add insult to injury, it appears that there are no promising substitutes for mite control on the horizon. Mineral sulfur is another miticide that has been used for northern fowl mite control. Originally recommended for the control of depluming mites many years ago, its effectiveness in controlling other fowl mites is not well documented. Applied as a dust, it appears to provide partial suppression of mite infestations, but does not eliminate the problem. It main benefit appears to be that it is cheap and easy to apply. Application and expense are certainly drawbacks in mite control. First generation insecticides are relatively inexpensive, but materials such as lambda-cyhalothrin, cyfluthrin and pyriproxifen are not. A number of the insecticides mentioned above are available in dust formulation that can be power dusted into a poultry house. Mites on treated surfaces will be killed, but this method of treatment may not place the active ingredient where it will do the most good – next to the bird’s skin. This is particularly true of northern fowl mites and tropical fowl mites that spend their life on the birds. Self-application as the birds dust themselves in treated litter provides some control, but seldom delivers sufficient material to the skin. Dusts must also be reapplied at regular intervals while birds are housed to maintain suppression. High pressure sprays (75 – 100 psi) applied directly to the birds is one sure way to deliver material to the skin, but may suppress production as much as the mite infestation itself, at least for several weeks after treatment. It is also labor intensive. Dipping is somewhat less traumatic to the birds, but even more labor intensive. Two treatments, at 7-10 day intervals, are also necessary to insure that newly hatched mites are killed before they begin reproducing. The litter and nest boxes should also be treated at this time to control mites that are in the environment. Although sprays or dips are very effective methods to suppress mite populations in breeder houses, it is still difficult to eliminate an infestation with a single round of treatment. Another method of mite treatment involves the use of plastic strips or bands impregnated with permethrin. These strips have been shown to be effective in caged layers, but there is little independent validation of this approach for use in breeder houses. The concept is a simple one. Much like cattle ear tags, the strips emit small quantities of permethrin for sustained periods. The strips are generally placed at feeders and or in nest box entries so that most birds will come into contact with them and self treat. The end result is that a northern fowl mite infestation can be eliminated over time. It is unlikely that they would be as effective against red poultry mites. Another advantage of this approach is that it is not stressful to the birds. There are several drawbacks to this approach however. First, the use of these slow release devices may accelerate the development of permethrinresistant mite populations. Secondly, placement and maintenance of the devices is somewhat labor intensive. Finally, this approach is one of the more costly application methods. Extra label use of ivermectin under supervision of the company veterinarian is another method of northern fowl mite control that can be effective for breeder flocks. Two treatments are generally made, with the material most often administered through the watering system without trauma to the birds. Ivermectin has been found to be less effective for control of the red poultry mite, presumably because this mite is in less intimate contact with the birds much of the time. A major drawback for the use of ivermectin is that of expense. But, it may prove to be more cost effective than expected considering labor and other expenses associated with multiple sprays or dips. Here’s one final point about treatments for mite control. Thorough premise treatments are necessary between flocks for effective mite control. High pressure sprays are also the most effective method of premise treatment, making it possible to push spray into cracks and crevices where mites are likely to hide. This is particularly true of red poultry mites, because they are extremely persistent and live off host when not feeding. Once birds are removed, break down is complete, and all equipment has been washed and disinfected, treat premises and equipment with one of the approved insecticides. Consider a second treatment once the house has been made ready to receive another flock. In the case of red poultry mites, it may be necessary to hold a house out of production for an extended period while additional treatments are made to be sure the infestation has been eliminated.
Speculations about Javas by Jim Ward White Javas and Black Plymouth Rocks Undoubtedly white sports of colored chickens have arisen regularly throughout history. However, except for a brief period in ancient Greece and Rome when white chickens were sacrificed to certain gods, for most of that time they were undesirable A brief personal anecdote helps to explain why. When I was a kid just starting in chickens, my brother and I obtained some White and Barred Rocks chicks from famed Rock breeder Ralph Sturgeon. Being kids we weren’t always careful about closing up the chickens at night. Well one night an owl punished us for our carelessness. He entered through the 12 inch x 12 inch chicken door and killed almost all of the White Rocks. Tellingly, he didn’t bother the Barred Rocks roosting with them in the same pen. It was a lesson learned about white chickens and about closing the chicken door at night. Even to this day, 30 years later, I have regrets that I was so careless with a master breeder’s birds which I wish I still had. Besides being prone to predators, white chickens show dirt. While a pristine white bird is beautiful especially against a dark background, a soiled dirty white bird speaks volumes about the conditions under which the bird is being kept and the skill of the keeper. White chickens also have nearly invisible pin feathers. For thousands of years housewives plucked their own chickens. Dark pin feathers were easier to see, and remove, which insured that the birds for the dinner table were properly cleaned. Something changed though towards the end of the 1800’s and suddenly white chickens became fashionable. I can only speculate as to the reasons. Poultry keeping was evolving from a purely practical endeavor practiced by farmers to one in which birds were raised by gentlemen for competition alone. Feeding and care of birds changed. It was becoming more common for chickens to be raised in confinement or indoors to keep them cleaner and in better condition. New soaps also likely made it possible to be able to clean white chickens more easily. In a totally different direction poultry keeping was evolving away from producing birds for one’s own use to producing birds on a large scale to supply the markets in local towns and cities. Increasingly birds were plucked at a processing plant and there was an advantage to the producer to having invisible pin feathers that made the birds appear cleaner and better plucked than they actually were. Finally there were two trends in society at large. First there was the wedding of Queen Victoria in 1840 which started the trend of white wedding dresses, and white dresses more generally, in the Victorian Era. Ostensibly worn just to promote the British lace industry, Queen Victoria’s white dress became a symbol of conspicuous consumption worn by woman who could afford to replace a dress that could so easily be ruined by a simple spill or a little dirt. Secondly there was a general movement in society to associate white with sanitation and public health. The end of 1800’s and early 1900’s was the era of Louis Pasteur and his germ theory for the origin of disease, Ellis Island and its hospital for immigrants, massive investments in public health, and the passing of many laws governing the conditions in slaughter houses, bakeries and food preparation place, and in milk parlors. “Sanitary” was added to many businesses to announce that they met and exceeded all of the new public health regulations. White washing promoted the appearance of cleanliness. Nurses and Doctors began wearing white clothes for similar reasons. On to this stage arrived the White Java. Thanks to the recent research efforts of Glenis Marsh we can piece together its brief history. The White Javas that eventually were accepted into the American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection descended from the Black Java flock of Professor W. C. Tucker of Erie County, New York. The story of their origin is recounted in the New
England Fancier (1887) volume II, number 6, and again with several added details in the American Agriculturalist (1889) page 431. In 1877 Professor Tucker hatched three white chicks, a cockerel and two pullets, from his Black Java flock. These Whites he kept strictly separated from his Blacks, eventually creating two separate carefully bred lines of Whites. Professor Tucker’s White Javas had yellow legs and white plumage, but in all other respects were comparable to the Black Javas of the day. In 1888, four white breeds of chickens were admitted to the Standard of Perfection: White Rocks, White Javas, White Wyandottes, and White Dirigos (The American Breeds of Poultry, Frank Platt, 1921). There was considerable debate about the admission of so many white breeds and how to distinguish them. (I remind the modern poultry enthusiast that the type differences between Plymouth Rocks and Javas were not as large as they are today. Certainly, the Plymouth Rock wasn’t as refined as it is today and it had only been perhaps 20 years since it had descended from the Java.) Ultimately it was decided that the White java would be admitted with a requirement for willow (greenish) legs at least in part to distinguish it from the White Rocks. For the Standard committee to require willow legs suggests that they were aware of White Javas that had them or at least leaned in that direction (See Glenis Marsh’s article: Nathaniel Lattin seemed to have had a different line in 1879). However, since the vast majority of White Javas descended from Professor Tucker’s which had yellow legs it was deaths knell for the variety because they couldn’t be shown without being disqualified. The breeders of the day had no choice but to fold the White Java into the White Rock. In 1898 the White Java was dropped from the Standard and the variety gradually went extinct (The Book of Poultry, Thomas Fletcher McGrew, 1921). (The Dirigos were also dropped. They were basically a line of White Rocks even from the beginning.) I am not aware of any published reports of the debate that led to the decision to drop the White Java from the Standard. For a long time, I suspected that it was purely a political decision to protect the White Rocks at the expensive of the White Javas because of the power exerted over the American Poultry Association by the early White Rock breeders. I thought it was blatantly unfair to require the White Javas to have willow legs. I thought the reason the White Rocks won out was because the hatcheries and breeders of the day made more money promoting new breeds riding on the coattails of the popular Barred Rock. Recently though I have changed my opinion. I now think that the decision wasn’t an ugly political decision made at the expense of the White Java but one that ultimately reflected a wise compromise that would save the Black Java from extinction. My change of heart came when I realized that standard Black Plymouth Rocks had never been admitted to the Standard of Perfection. It is documented that black sports were often thrown by the early Barred Rocks (The American Breeds of Poultry, Frank Platt, 1921). It is difficult for me to imagine that no one wanted to breed these sports to create a black variety of Plymouth Rock. After all Black Rocks were imported into England where they were used in the development the Black Orpington and they also must have been used to create the Blue Rocks that were accepted into the Standard in 1920. So why no standard Black Plymouth Rocks? I think the compromise was that the American Poultry Association would recognize White Rocks and Black Javas, but not White Javas and Black Rocks. This way each breed would have its space to grow and not compete with the other to attract breeders and enthusiasts. The White Rock was more popular than the White Java so it was given acceptance. The Black Java was old and important as a foundational breed so it was given acceptance over any recently created Black Rocks. The protection of the Black Java by the American Poultry Association extended well in to the 1920’s. At that time the first standard for the Jersey Giant had to be rewritten because it was judged to be too similar to the Java. Even still the popularity of the Jersey Giant almost proved to be the undoing of the Java. Imagine if a Black Rock had also detracted attention away from it. (**After World War II a push probably would have been successful to admit the Black Rock, but no one seems to have championed a Standard Black Rock after that time with the attention of the Fancy focused on the creation of bantams and new exotic breeds.)
One last thought: Each breed has a unique type or shape. Also each breed has certain unique traits. That the American Poultry Association recognized that one of the defining traits of Javas is a black or willow shank to me shows an amazing amount of wisdom. They were thinking not just what a breed or variety was exhibiting at the moment, but what an ideal specimen of that breed or variety should look like for all generations. They also did not require that the White Java have black legs with yellow soles identical to the Black Java. They must have understood that the white plumage of White Javas would translate into less pigment in the epidermis of the shank which would give the shanks an appearance of being willow. This is why I believe that the White Javas of today should have willow shanks in recognition of the difficult decisions and elegant solutions made by the APA’s founders. Not that this is an issue like it originally was. Most of the White Javas descended from the white sports isolated by the Garfield Farm in 1999 have willow legs.
Winter Laying and Javas Javas and other Asiatic chickens were valued when they were first imported into the US in the early 1800’s because they were good winter layers. They laid in the cold winter months without supplemental light and heat. Why then did the Leghorn, a European chicken triumph as the egglaying breed of choice for almost all commercial laying farms today? Javas and other Asiatic chickens evolved close to the equator. Two things are true near the equator. The weather is relatively warm all year round. Also day length is relatively constant at 12 hours. The warm weather means that chicks can be hatched and successfully brooded almost year round especially with a little human care. Genetically, this means that hens that lay in December and January have as good of a chance of passing on the genes that allow them to lay at that time of year as the hens that lay at any other time of the year. In fact there might be a slight advantage to hens hatching their chicks in the winter months in places like India and Indonesia because the winter months are relatively dry compared to the monsoonal summer months. The constant day length means that chickens if they are to lay at all, no matter what month of the year, must be capable of laying with only about 12 hours of sun light. Day length offers few clues to tell the hen that the season is optimal for hatching chicks so there is no penalty for hens that no-longer recognize or have defects in the perception of day length. The situation is radically different for European and American chickens living in climates with cold wet winters. Day length and temperature offer strong clues as to the best time of the year to hatch and brood chicks. Hens that lay in the winter expend energy that could impact their survival and competiveness with hens that only lay in the spring. Any chicks that they attempted to hatch and brood would likely die in the wet, cold winters of most of Europe and the US so the genes that permitted winter laying would be constantly removed from the flock. It was only with the advent of modern facilities with artificial light and heat that chicks could be successfully hatched and brooded in the winter time without severe mortality; in essence reversing the selection pressure to not lay in the winter that European chickens had faced for 5000 years. Ironically, Asiatic chickens since their arrival in the US, particularly in the 1800’s, have faced severe pressure to not lay in the winter, so arguably they are less great winter layers than they used to be in situations where man-made selection isn’t continually being applied, and they are being raised without artificial light and heat. Of course today with our understanding of genetic inheritance we know that we can identify winter layers under natural conditions and then hatch from them in the spring when it is most conducive to raising baby chicks, thus insuring that winter laying genes are retained in the flock. We can also raise our hens under natural winter conditions and then hatch any eggs that are laid with artificial incubators to retain winter laying genes. This at least partially explains why Javas were, at least originally, good winter layers. A second factor explains why Leghorns became the dominant layer for producing grocery store eggs. Perhaps surprising to some, the Java and its hybrids did not lose out to Leghorns because they
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didn’t lay as many eggs in a year. Rhode Island Reds used to beat all comers in numbers of eggs laid in a year when they competed in egg contests in the early Twentieth Century. Javas and their hybrids lost out because they ate more food per egg produced when raised under intensive production systems. (Java breeders should take from this that there is room to greatly increase their Java flock’s egg production if they apply a little selection pressure in that direction.) The size of Javas is often offered up to explain why they eat more. “Bigger chickens eat more than little chickens” seems obvious enough (raise a few bantams if you don’t believe it.). However, the truth is more complicated. Size is generally an advantage in cold climates because larger bodies retain heat better. Therefore bigger chickens would not need to eat as much as smaller chickens to maintain their body heat. In fact, initially its large size may have contributed to the Java’s excellent winter laying ability because they were able to retain more heat in winter without having to divert resources away from egg production. On the flip side Leghorns and other European chickens in cold barns may stop production earlier than Javas and Asiatic chickens because they have to divert resources away from egg production to stay warm, not just because of day length. (Egg laying in such cases may be able to be restored just by increasing the richness of their diet.) We arrive at a paradox, smaller chickens eat less, but bigger chickens need to eat less because they are better able to stay warm. The resolution is that while little chickens eat an absolutely smaller amount of food they actually eat more food per kilogram of their body weight. In other words, the advantage of size in terms of heat retention is not made up by the increase feed needs of the bigger chicken. Importantly, any advantage conferred by size in cold weather evaporates completely when chickens are moved into climate controlled buildings, then only the absolute amount of food that a chicken eats needs to be considered for the farmer’s bottom line. Leghorns win out. If cold drives animals to get bigger why then did European chickens remain relatively small and Javas and Asiatic chickens get big? I believe it is more than the hand of human selection acting against natural tendencies. First, big chickens need time to develop their size. In Europe, chicks born in the spring would have to mature quickly in order to survive the approaching adverse conditions of the fall and winter. Higher winter chick mortality (speculative, but likely) may have also favored hens that matured early and produced lots of chicks. Asiatic chickens on the other hand could take their time reaching their full size because conditions remained relatively constant year round. Lower seasonal chick mortality (again, speculative, but likely), may also have lessened the pressure on hens to mature too early and start producing chicks. Second, big chickens need high quality food to fuel their growth, which was likely not available to European chickens during the winter months prior to the modern era. In other words European chickens remained relatively small because their size was limited by the availability of winter food and this was a bigger factor than the advantages of growing large. Consider that historically most chickens were left to forage for most of their own food and that they only received supplemental grain during lean times. Besides eating less, Leghorns may have ended up in on the commercial egg farms instead of Javas and their hybrids because of European chickens’ tendency to be non-broody. Broodiness decreases egg production, because hens that are setting and raising chicks don’t lay. Why European chickens are less broody than their Asiatic counterparts is not clear. Non-broodiness must be somewhat of a recent addition to the genetics of European chickens. It is hard to imagine that prior to the introduction of modern incubators European chicken keepers maintained so many breeds of chickens in so many regions without them being self-propagating. Thousands of years of rearing certain breeds by the broody hens of another breed is difficult to fathom. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that European chickens are programmed to only go broody in the spring where as Asiatic chickens can go broody at any time of the year. The broody instinct of Asiatic hens may have been greatly strengthen over the centuries because they could hatch at any time of year which would make it harder to breed out of them. Or it may be that European hens could easily be kept from going broody by keeping them under constant non-spring conditions. Ultimately this could have lead to non-broodiness.
All of this said we should not discount that the right mutations for size or non-broodiness arose in the ancestral Asiatic and European populations of chickens respectively which the Asiatic and European keepers recognized and propagated.
Genetic Testing and Javas
Dr. Susan Lammont a poultry geneticist at Iowa State University tested the Garfield Farm Black Javas that had descended from those of Duane Urch in the early 1990’s. The following article about the testing written by Pete Malmberg of the Garfield Farm has been printed in several places, here from http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGD/Java/JavaHomestead.html. In the 1980s, Garfield Farm Museum started keeping a small flock of Black Java chickens. Garfield Farm is a former 1840s Illinois prairie farmstead and teamster inn being restored as an 1840s working farm museum. As the museum became aware of the dangerously low numbers of Black Javas in the world we decided to make a concerted effort to save the breed. In order to ensure that our Javas were a pure strain, and could be used to rebuild the breed, genetic testing was done with the help of the University of Iowa. The tests compared blood samples from Garfield’s Javas with samples from similar and related breeds, Barred Rocks, Black Jersey Giants, Australorps, and birds from the last commercial supplier of Black Javas, Duane Urch. Urch/ Turnland Poultry supplied the original birds for the Garfield Farm flock. Although the tests were not conclusive because they involved such a small number of birds they did, however, conclude that there is a strong possibility that all of our Black Javas are a purebred line. The study also concluded that there were several distinct lineages present within the Garfield flock and that these Javas are genetically different from the other breeds studied in the tests. These results make sense because the Urch flock has been a closed flock since the late 1950s or ‘60s. Recently, the genetic testing came up in a discussion on the Java thread of the Backyard Chicken forum about the purity of Garfield Farm’s Javas and the origin of the White and Auburn Javas. In short, some on the forum believed that the Garfield Farm flock of Javas must not be pure. Some Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire, etc must have been introduced into the flock in order for it to throw Auburns. They argued that Duane Urch had hatched as many java chicks (tens of thousands) as the Garfield Farm in the 50 some years he had been raising them and never reported having had any Auburns hatch. They also argued that there was no way that the Auburn genes could hang around in the Black Java flock for over 100 years without making themselves known. Finally they attacked the genetic testing. Firstly and most importantly, both Duane Urch and Garfield Farm state with certainty that there have never been any non-Java breeds of chickens introduced into their Black Java flocks. Further all new Java blood that has been introduced (in the case of Garfield Farm more Urch birds and some Jim Ward birds, both relatively recently) has come from known-sources, so there is no reason to believe that the new introductions introduced any non-Java blood. Secondly, chicken sports (novel color variants) are infrequent but not unknown. Hatching in great numbers, like Garfield Farm and Duane Urch have done, increases the odds of finding sports. However there is no rhyme or reason why they show up in one place and not another. Just because a flock throws a sport does not mean that it is less pure than a different flock that did not produce a sport. Remember also that the Garfield Farm made a concerted effort to preserve the sports and to breed them with other sports to develop self-sustaining White and Auburn Java lines. Duane Urch has stated that he has never had a sport thrown from his Black Javas. I do not doubt his statement. However, it is not difficult for me to imagine that a single sport might have been missed or forgotten among the hundreds of thousands of chicks he has hatched and shipped out over the years. Even if Duane might have recognized a sport, it isn’t clear if his help would have.
He does after all run a large hatchery with many breeds. I’ve ordered chicks from Duane and he always sticks an extra chick or two of a breed that I haven’t ordered into the box. I generally give the hatchery the choice to fill the box. I don’t mind trying a new breed of chicken. However because of this, if I received a sport, I likely wouldn’t have thought of it as being something special, but just as a breed I hadn’t specifically ordered. As a licensed APA judge, I suspect Duane would have gotten rid of any Black Javas with too much red or white trying to keep his birds true to the Standard, rather than viewing them as potential stock to resurrect extinct Java varieties. Keep in mind that many of the first Auburns hatched by the Garfield Farm had a significant amount of black. They could easily have been thought of as offcolor Blacks rather than as poorly colored Auburns. Thirdly, there are several lines of evidence to suggest that the Black Java has in fact had the genes that give rise to the auburn color pattern in its DNA probably from the beginning of the breed. Geneticists have determined that several genes, including one called Extended Black, are responsible for chickens being solid black. These genes are dominant and cover up the activity of all of the other genes in the chicken that govern its color and pattern. (Lyle Behl reviewed the genetics of the auburn pattern in the last Newsletter.) These “black” genes do not alter those other genes. They continue doing what they do, only unnoticed in the background, until something disturbs one of the “black” genes. As good as the “black” genes are covering the activity of the other genes, there is some leakage of the colors produced by the other genes. In Black Javas the common defect of having red/ auburn highlights in the hackle is probably evidence of the underlying auburn pattern. Many breeders believe that the red feathers in the hackle are linked with good beetle green sheen. By breeding from birds with red feathers and good beetle green sheen they may have insured that the auburn pattern hung around in the background of Black Javas. That there is leakage of red/ auburn speaks to the fact that there is red/ auburn chicken under the Black Java. This makes sense both from the standpoint that the Black Java was not developed from a colorless chicken, and from the standpoint that the Red Jungle Fowl the common ancestor of all chickens had a black-breast red color pattern. This black-breast red pattern is not incredibly different than the Auburn Java color pattern as I see it. Most chicken color patterns can in fact be described as alterations to genes that affect specific aspects of the color pattern of the Red Jungle Fowl. If all of this doesn’t convince one that the auburn pattern is laying underneath the black of the Black Java then perhaps a recent announcement will. Dennis Reynolds recently came forward on the Java Breeders of America Facebook page to announce that he had two lines of Black Javas that he and John Tunstil had been raising for perhaps 75 years isolated from every other Black Java line including the Urch/ Garfield Farm line. Recently Dennis’s Black lines threw, first a White Java sport, and then an Auburn Java sport which he has used to develop his own independent White and Auburn Javas. There is a caveat to the auburn pattern being underneath the black of the Java, why hasn’t an occasional colored chicken been thrown by other breeds of black chickens? Maybe they have, but in a casual internet search no one mentions an Auburn/ Red Giant or Australorp. It may be that auburn sports of the other black breeds have occurred but have been tossed for the simple reason that those breeds didn’t have a history of an auburn variety like the Java. No one can deny that there was excitement when the Auburn Java appeared in the Garfield Farm flock in 2003 because of the historic significance of the Auburn Java in the development of the Rhode Island Red. Lastly I wish to touch on the genetic testing done by Dr. Lammont. I do not know what tests she did, but I suspect she sequenced the mitochondrial DNA of the Garfield Farm Black Javas and of
the other breeds with which they were compared. All animals have two sources of DNA, the molecule in which the instructions to build the organism are encoded. The first source is the nuclear DNA, half of which is inherited from the mother and half of which is inherited from the father. The second source is the mitochondrial DNA, which is only inherited from the mother. The nuclear DNA has over 1 billion bases. The mitochondrial DNA has just 16 thousand or so. Both sources of DNA can be used to establish parentage, but in the early to mid Nineties the time period when the Javas were tested, it was much more difficult and time-consuming to work with the nuclear DNA than the mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial sequencing involves establishing the order of the 16000 or so A, T, C, G bases that make up the mitochondrial DNA molecule. Once the sequence of an individual is known it can be compared with the sequences from other individuals and breeds. Birds that share the same mitochondrial sequence have the same maternal ancestor. I emphasize that mitochondrial sequencing tells us something about the hens, but not the roosters. If the question is, “are Javas pure?” as in have they ever been crossed with any non-java breeds of chickens, then the answer is always inconclusive because it does not speak to the contributions of the rooster. In line with mitochondrial sequencing, I interpret Dr. Lammont’s results to mean that she and her team of researchers found several unique mitochondrial sequences in the Garfield Farm Black Java flock. This means that the Garfield Farm flock of Black Javas, and by extension the Black Java flock of Duane Urch, descends from several unique hen/ female lines. This is excellent because it speaks to the fact that at least these two populations of Black Javas rest on a strong, diverse genetic base. It also speaks to the fact that the breeding systems used by Duane Urch and Garfield Farms are naturally maintaining this diversity (obviously they are not testing each bird to see what sequence it has to insure that all of the unique sequences are maintained.) Dr. Lammont’s results also suggest that the sequences she identified for the Garfield Farm Black Javas are different than the sequences she obtained for the other breeds of chickens that she tested. This means that they are not descended from the same hen at least recently. There are several ways to interpret this. For example, we know that Jersey Giants were developed from Javas. It could be that the original Black Javas had a very diverse set of mitochondrial sequences some of which were inherited by the Jersey Giants and some of which were inherited by the Garfield Farm. Or it could mean that a Java hen was not used as the female parent of the Jersey Giant, the Jersey Giant being a composite of Brahma and Langshan, as well as, Java. Lastly it could mean that in the 100 years or so that Javas and Giants have been separate breeds there has been enough time/ generations for their mitochondrial DNAs to have mutated and diverged a bit. (The source material does not speak to how different the mitochondrial sequences were among the different breeds.) Assuming that the ancestral population of Java mitochondrial DNA sequences was diverse, several things could have happened. One is that simply the Java lineages that were used in the development of Jersey Giants have now been lost. We are all aware of the perilous state the Java was in and how it almost went extinct. Alternatively, it could mean that too few Java individuals were sequenced and that those that share maternal lineages with the Giants are waiting to be discovered. We now know of at least 4 other distinct Black Java lineages that are not descended from the Urch/Garfield Farm Black Javas. With this explanation I hope I have made it clear why the genetic testing wasn’t conclusive. If it had been the case that the Jersey Giant and other breeds had shared the same mitochondrial sequence, I don’t think it would have said anything about the purity of the remaining Java flocks, only that that they had shared a common maternal ancestor which would be in agreement with written history. That the sequences were different though does speak to the fact that at least the breeds aren’t regularly being mixed on the hen side which is enough to argue for at least some possibility of distinctness and purity of the Urch/ Garfield Farm Black Java flock.
Directors President Roy J. Autrey 903-278-1111 cowboygourmet@earthlink.net www.AFFPoultry.com Vice-President Monte Bowen Plevna, Kansas javacock@hotmail.com Secretary/ Treasurer Ruth Caron 195 Northglen Lane Martindale, Texas, 78655 phone- 619-301-4538 carondesign@yahoo.com www.farmerinthemartindale.com
We currently have 2 director positions open. “PLEASE VOLUNTEER IF YOU CAN” Thanks
District #1 – MA,ME, DE, NH, VT, RI, NJ, CT, NY, - OPEN District #2 – OH, PA, VA, MD, WV, Liesa Stiller 902 S Branch Muddy Creek Road Carmichaels, PA 15320 Phone: 724-317-8288 email: liesastiller@hotmail.com District #3 – KY, IL. IN, MI, WI, Airling (Butch)Gunderson N6465 Schwantz Road Pardeeville, WI 53954-9430 (608) 429-9960 amgund@frontier.com District #4 – TX,OK, AR,LA, CO, NM, KS David Moore 1614 Rebeccas Rd Waldron, AR 72958 Ph. # 479-462-7302 District #5 – FL, GA, SC, NC, TN, AL, MS, Chad McConnell 175 Morrison Church Road Franklin, North Carolina 28734 phone # 828-332-1466 chad042570@gmail.com District #6 – MN, IA, MO, NE, SD, ND, Duane Urch Urch/Turnland Poultry 2142 NW 47 Ave. Owatonna, MN 55060 dpurch@netzero.com 507-451-6782 District #7 – WA, OR, UT, ID, MT, WY, - OPEN District #8 – CA, AZ, NV, Glenis Marsh glenis@javahillfarm.com www.javahillfarm.com
What is a area director? 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.