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A pleasant read:

http://www.aviculture-europe.nl/indexUK.html

Patrick, Bob, Evy –

I hope the changes can happen (I wish you the very best, Bob – a worthwhile endeavour). I think the popularity of BYC is not so much the quality, but the ease with which it...

The fancy in this country is almost nothing apart from the shows and a few large-scale projects. I think breed clubs and local chapters are where the living heart of the fancy needs to be. In my old...

I have a two year-old Spaniel bitch that is an excellent gun dog, but she will occasionally have a go at running against the chicken runs. Make sure that the enclosure is strong; chicken wire will...

Hardly. I recall the Great Serama Debate of several years ago was a proper fight – this is nothing, and it is not intended as a fight. I am tired of ‘let’s not be like BYC’, etc. every time there is...

I should add two red tailed hawks – I am a licensed falconer. They are not pets – magnificent companions – can’t wait for the hunting season.

Evy, my Tosakin are picky breeders, and I am still...

Well, I have a Ph. D. and am a teacher, so I am fully qualified and experienced with stroppy complainers and whining; and I know a real word from one made up: not to cast too many ‘dispurgances’ upon...

Tosakin goldfish! More work than the chickens, but beautiful creatures.

I made a point of mentioning his language, as did Evy. If people can keep a civil tongue in their heads -- and this has nothing to do with argument -- then these problems do not often occur.

To...

You can still make selection along the lines of line breeding in a flock (rather than a breeding pen) situation.

Your selection criterion of egg colour makes your project much simpler and easier...

Are these brothers full brothers to your pullet? I would try to avoid full sibling mating if you can. If you were to breed the pullet to a Marans cock and hatch a lot of eggs, I would select cocks...

Evy, I just spent the last two weeks at Saratoga Springs and Lake George. What a beautiful place, and the people so friendly. The fishing was excellent.

Ah, back to Texas and a heat wave...
...

Breeds are not equal in difficulty of breeding for improvement and maintenance in regard to what their standards call for. It takes a while to train the eye to see the subtleties in a breed that...

I would rather see somewhat better manners and certainly language ‘recruited’. If one wishes good conversation, there must be something to draw it. This does not mean treading lightly round issues or...

Unless in a game breed (which will be dubbed), side sprigs are a swift cull. I would be very loath to breed such a bird, as the concentration in a breeding programme will mean those sprigs will have...

I’m curious about the bit about mites not crossing metal. I know about and understand why copper and slugs don’t mix, but can’t imagine why a mite would have an aversion to metal.

First kerosene and now creosote – it is a trip down my great grandparents’ medicine chest.

Real creosote (not the kind from coal) comes from a bush – the smell is memorable, if you ever so...

Evy, it is so much worse than you think. The little brutes will sit beside each other and send text to one another rather than hold a conversation!

I do try to show them another way. A few weeks...

Yes, true throughout most of Europe. Laws against animal cruelty are growing there – and dubbing has been at least talked about as a possible target for legislation.

These laws have moved beyond...

I do not have any poultry books in English; I did not realize they were so uneven. I have only oever looked at articles about the ‘urban chicken movement’ or a chapter here and there in those back to...