Janicki Buttercups
  • Home
  • Our Blog
  • About the Breed
  • Heritage Breeds
  • About Us
    • Our Breeding Program
    • Order Birds
    • Contact
    • Links

Blog

Stevenson Show!

10/27/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Last weekend we attended another show in Stevenson, WA. It was hosted by the Columbia River Poultry Exhibitors club. 

The American Buttercup Club held a "Special Meet", and lots of Buttercups were entered, both in large fowl and in bantam sizes. The club ordered custom ribbons for the occasion, complete with the club logo.

Of course, "lots" of Buttercups is a relative term. Since Buttercups are so rare, you generally won't see any at all at a poultry show, so having two exhibitors bring a total of 15 birds is quite unusual. With more prevalent breeds, you might see dozens of birds entered by many exhibitors.
Read below to hear about the birds we entered, the large fowl Buttercups exhibited, and our future show schedule. Entering poultry shows is a great way to meet old timers and judges and hear their great advice on breeding programs. 

Our birds

We entered all of the bantam Buttercups that were exhibited. 

Note the interesting differences between the two females pictured: the second bird has a clear hackle (neck feathering) that is pure gold and free of black spangles, and a more widely spread tail. However, the first bird has a more even ground color - a more consistent gold color over the entire body, which is less distracting to the eye. While the first bird has a great hackle color, the buff color varies elsewhere, and distracts from the black spangling, making it less eye-catching.  

As you can see, a breeding program is a long process, where the genetics of an entire flock are fine-tuned, with the hope of eliminating bad traits, while combining the good traits from different birds. 
Picture
One of the pullets we entered. Note the nearly uniform gold ground color, which accents the black spangling. Also note the undesirable black flecking in the hackle feathers.
Picture
Another one of our pullets. Note the rich gold hackle, free from black flecking. Also note the varying shades of buff elsewhere that make the ground color here less desirable.
Below you can see the entire lineup on our bantam Buttercups, as well as some of the turkeys we entered. 
Picture
The complete lineup of our bantam Buttercups.
Picture
Our bronze old tom took champion turkey yet again!
Picture
This is a young blue slate tom we entered.

Large Fowl Entered

Again, Bridget Riddle from California supplied the large fowl Buttercups exhibited at the show. Below are a few photos. 
Picture
A large fowl pullet. Note the clear gold hackle, and the cup-shaped comb.
Picture
A large fowl rooster. Note the deep body and well-spread tail.
Picture
This large fowl rooster displays an excellent Buttercup comb. Free from center spikes, and closed in the back.

Upcoming shows

Fall is the start of the poultry show season. This is for two good reasons:

Firstly, most folks hatch their birds throughout the spring. Breeders are usually too busy during the raising of young birds to go to shows. Besides, summer is a busy time anyway. These young birds will be ready to show when they are 6-8 months old, or in the fall and throughout the winter. 

Secondly, and more importantly, most adult birds molt sometime during the summer. Molting is where birds shed their feathers and grow new ones. It makes sense for birds to undergo this transformation during summer, because there is plenty of food to fuel the growth of new feathers, it is generally warm so they won't freeze from a feather shortage, and breeding season is over, so they don't have to impress anyone. During molting, birds look terrible and mangy. After molting, they look brand new and shiny. It makes sense to have poultry shows when birds have recently molted and look their best. 

Our next fall show will be November 21st in Chehalis, WA. It will be hosted by the Washington Feather Fanciers club.

​Meanwhile we will continue to watch our young birds finish growing, and select our breeding birds for next year. 
0 Comments

Buttercup Special Meet!

10/23/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
We will be attending another show tomorrow, Saturday, October 24th. It is the Stevenson Poultry Classic, in Stevenson, WA.

The American Buttercup Club is doing a "Special Meet" at this show. A special meet is where multiple members of a breed club get together and show their birds, and special awards are arranged. Similarly to last week, we will be entering our bantams, and Bridget Riddle from California will be entering her large fowl. 

Stay tuned for photo updates from the show! If you're in the area, consider stopping by! 

0 Comments

First Show of the Fall!

10/19/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
My younger brother Thomas and I at the PNPA fall show in Vancouver, WA. You can see some of our bantam Buttercups in the cages behind us.
This weekend we exhibited our birds at the Pacific Northwest Poultry Association (PNPA) show in Vancouver, WA. 

We entered seven of our Buttercup bantams, as well as three of our turkeys. Our Bronze turkey tom took champion turkey, which is a promising start for our turkey breeding program. 
Picture
Our Bronze took champion turkey!

Large Fowl Buttercups:

We were not the only exhibitors to bring Buttercups, though we had the only bantams. 

Bridget Riddle, another member of the American Buttercup Club, brought her large fowl Buttercups. 

As we mention in our "About the Breed" section, Buttercups originated as large fowl, or regular sized chickens. They were well known for excellent egg production. It was later that the Bantam version was established. 

We have included a few photos of the large fowl Buttercups that Bridget brought to the show.
Picture
A headshot of the large fowl Buttercup rooster at the show.
Picture
The large fowl Buttercup rooster exhibited by Bridget Riddle of CA.
Picture
The buttercup comb on the large fowl rooster at the show.
Bridget brought both males and females from her large fowl Buttercup stock. One of her pullets ended up on Champion Row, taking reserve in the Mediterranean class!

​Her birds sported great combs and coloring, as can be seen in the photos. Note the smooth center of the comb, and uniform points around the perimeter.
Picture
The comb on a large fowl hen.
Picture
This large fowl Buttercup pullet exhibited by Bridget Riddle took reserve Mediterranean.
Picture
Here's a headshot of a large fowl Buttercup hen.
We had a great time at the show, and got some great advice from some knowledgeable judges to help our breeding program move forward. There will be more blog posts in the future on our breeding goals and strategies. 
​

Upcoming Shows:

Next weekend we are going to another show in Stevenson, WA!

At this next show, there will be an official Buttercup Meet, officiated by the American Buttercup club. We will be bringing even more birds to that show, and will post updates with photos.

Stay tuned for blog posts on this upcoming show! 
0 Comments

    Benjamin Janicki

    Welcome to our blog! Here's where we will post new photos, fun facts and articles about Buttercups and poultry in general, and keep you up to date on our breeding operation and show schedule. Check back frequently for new posts! 

    Archives

    January 2016
    October 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Janicki Buttercups  
Proudly preserving and improving a rare poultry breed

About the Breed  
Learn more about Sicilian Buttercup chickens

Our Blog
Check out our blog to hear our latest news and fun facts about Buttercups and other poultry breeds

Contact Us
[email protected]
(360) 420-3355
Mount Vernon, WA


Our Breeding Program
Learn more about our bloodlines and breeding methods 

About Us  
Learn more about our farm and our mission

Heritage Breeds
Learn more about heritage poultry breeds and why they are important to save from extinction 

Order Birds
We ship chicks, eggs, and adult birds nationwide
Proudly powered by Weebly