Polish Breeders Club

The "buff to white" thread has stuck in my mind, along with the observation that Polish simply are not shown much in the SE, at least standard sized.  Yesterday at show my daughter and I each only had 1 other bird in Open and jr show for competition and truly these birds were both something I feel the vast majority in this group would have culled out long ago.  It was rather sad really and if I had some decent birds to get rid of I would have given them to this family so they could  promote the breed with better quality birds in an area where that is not happening.  This is something that I have been indirectly involved in--the giving of good birds, particularly to juniors to keep their interest up--from Old English game breeders (show quality).  The numbers of jrs showing OE has dropped in the past couple of years and the old timers are really working to keep the good lines out there and refresh interest.  My daughter was given a black OE trio and yesterday we met a fellow who is known in this region for his work and dedication to black OE's who talked to my daughter extensively about working on this variety (code for giving her some additional pullets to go w/the cockeral we have now for future line breeding and crossing his lines w/the other great line we have in hand). 

Not that I'm encouraging people to give away show birds but just wondering how y'all are promoting the breed in your areas, working to keep the bloodlines going in outside the club circles/drawing folks into it.  Now I do realize some of you live in areas where the polish are  popular so maybe some ideas as to what can be done down here do push the breed, get quality out there, etc.

morganschicks at October 9, 2011 at 9:07 AM

The "buff to white" thread has stuck in my mind, along with the observation that Polish simply are not shown much in the SE, at least standard sized.  Yesterday at show my daughter and I each only had 1 other bird in Open and jr show for competition and truly these birds were both something I feel the vast majority in this group would have culled out long ago.  It was rather sad really and if I had some decent birds to get rid of I would have given them to this family so they could  promote the breed with better quality birds in an area where that is not happening.  This is something that I have been indirectly involved in--the giving of good birds, particularly to juniors to keep their interest up--from Old English game breeders (show quality).  The numbers of jrs showing OE has dropped in the past couple of years and the old timers are really working to keep the good lines out there and refresh interest.  My daughter was given a black OE trio and yesterday we met a fellow who is known in this region for his work and dedication to black OE's who talked to my daughter extensively about working on this variety (code for giving her some additional pullets to go w/the cockeral we have now for future line breeding and crossing his lines w/the other great line we have in hand). 

Not that I'm encouraging people to give away show birds but just wondering how y'all are promoting the breed in your areas, working to keep the bloodlines going in outside the club circles/drawing folks into it.  Now I do realize some of you live in areas where the polish are  popular so maybe some ideas as to what can be done down here do push the breed, get quality out there, etc.

I'm a leader of a 4H club myself and am a big believer in getting good birds to the youth.  I've given quite a few nice pairs and trios away but, honestly, I don't do that much anymore.  The next year they were nowhere to be seen and it was,  "Oh, a raccoon got them" or "They got too cold this winter," or "They were too hard to keep clean so we gave them away."  Now I offer a 50% discount for 4Hers but, unless I know the kids personally, I don't give birds away.  It's a fact that many people do not value what they don't pay for.  On a side note, I also HATE hagglers.  After I've known another chicken person for a while, I'll often give them birds or swap birds with them, but I hate it if they argue with me about price.  I'm the same way if I'm buying birds:  either I can afford what they're asking or I can't, but I won't haggle.  Like most of you, I spend so much on this hobby- acquiring the best birds and then feeding, housing, and caring for them- that I can't even dream of recouping a tiny percentage.  That said, I figure my little bantam eggs cost me about $50 a dozen and I'd rather give them away to neighbors for their good will (when the rooster crows at 5) then sell them for a pittance.  Kathy Troxell told me she'd rather cut off the heads on her extra birds then let them go to anyone who wouldn't pay $50 for them and I'm beginning to see where she's coming from.  That said, I'll freely admit that I DON"T feel this way about my non-crested breeds.  The Polish are so high maintenance that it takes a committed individual to care for them.

On the other hand, my araucanas are very easy care birds and, since I have to hatch about 80 chicks to get ONE I can show, I give the cull chicks away left and right to anyone who wants them.  They still lay nice blue eggs even if they only have 1 tuft.  My seramas I often give away too, especially the little tame roosters who come when you call and are too small to eat anyway and I often give a nice female away just to get a favored boy a good home.

I think most of us believe the kids are the future and will bend over backwards to get good birds in their hands, especially if their leader recommends them as conscientious.  I've taken great pleasure in the 4Hers who have won with my birds, and many a kid has gotten a bird that adults who would pay more have lusted over...

Since I'm still typing, I may as well add that if kids are to succeed in Polish, they also have to know how to groom them.  I've given lessons on plucking crests in parking lots on several occasions to 4Hers and their parents.

I suppose my running the local club for a lot of years and mentoring many new members and people who find my name at the feed store constitutes contributing back to the Fancy.

I very rarely give away a bird anymore.Way too many horror stories in the past. Mostly kids parents have money to pay for the birds and there is no value given to things gotten too easily. At least if the parents shell out the cash then they may watch that things are taken care of better.

That said I sold a breeding group(5) of show quality btm cochins to an adorable little girl and her horse rancher dad for $5 each (she was paying out of her egg money) I then gave the money back to her Dad to give back to her when it was appropriate. Couldn't resist her sincerity.

I am exceedingly careful about who I sell Polish to. They just require special care and few people want to bother. I do take them out to display events and they always get people interested. 

When I sell a bird to a junior I like to include a Jr membership to the local club as part of the price. I also give them a little handbook on basic care. 

That's a great idea Blackstar about the jr club offer when selling!  Awesome!

When I have sold/given away the non-show birds I think I drive the buyers nuts w/my litany of how to care for a polish rules and suggestions.  It has driven some who were intested away but in the end, like Cindy said, that's probably a good thing for the sake of the bird.  And I do my best to "vet" the potential new owners.  I also have a sweet little girl story: gave her a nice buff trio, showable birds and not 2 weeks later I was told by her dad that the dog killed them and he wanted to know if I had another pair.  I explained again the vision blocking issues of polish, their sweet and trusting nature and asked what his plans were to protect another pair.  He said "Well, we can't put the dog on a chain or in a pen.  He likes to run too much and I don't have the room to build a better pen."  That's when I stuck a hefty price on the second pair.  Needless to say they didn't get bought. 

Thankk you so much for the ideas and thoughts...got my wheels turning now:)

I've often offered birds to kids for little or no money but like some of you I end up hearing later that they were eaten or discarded quickly. One of the things I like to do is its in my local hometown (small town where everyone knows each other) I'll invite the kids and their parents out to the farm for a day and let them help out with the chores. If they seem to be really into it and do a good job I offer them a bird or two. Basically making them earn it a little and show me how much or how little they already know. Its a hard sell sometimes though because in my area egg layers and meat birds are dominant. Dubbing OEGB's is "too much work" for a lot of folks who show in the county fairs here. Had one girl who showed Polish quite often and I offered her some show birds but every year she turned me down just to show up with more McMurray birds the following year, which she'd then sell at the auctions in the fall so she didn't have to winter them.