Best Aseel Or Shamo Shamo Spangle Cockerel Anthony Rowe
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Club Contacts: President: Richard Poke Phone: 03 6428 4177 Mobile: 0427 879 818 Secretary: Deanne Lance Phone: 03 6239 9996 Email: [email protected] Club Website: www.tasrarepoultry.webnode.com NOTICES: New Club Website: We would like to notify you that we now have a new website, as of the 2nd of October. This new website can be found at: www.tasrarepoultry.webnode.com. Sponsors: The Tasmanian Rare Breeds Poultry Club would like to thank the following organizations and individuals for their sponsorship and support of the 2011 Annual Tasmanian Rare Breeds Show and Auction weekend • The Sebright Club of Australia for donating sashes for Champion Gold Sebright and Champion Silver Sebright. • The Pekin Club of Australia for donating an award for Best Pekin Bantam. • The Japanese Bantam Club of Australia for donating a rosette for Best Japanese Ban- tam. • Trevor Hunt for donating $50 for Champion Waterfowl. • Isaac Walker for donating $20 for Best True Bantam. • VIEW Real Estate, Tasmania for running auction and providing auctioneer. • Coffee Bean Frenzy for running and providing the coffee van. • The Gypsy Chook for running and providing the food van. • The Sandfly Art Group for painting club sign for pavilion entrance. • Chris Wisbey, Sally Dakis and ABC Radio for their coverage of the show. Annual General Meeting: The Tasmanian Rare Breeds Poultry Club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) is to be held on the 27th of November, 2011. It will be held at the Poultry Pavilion, Royal Hobart Show- grounds, Glenorchy. Commencing at 10:00am, a short general meeting with be run, and then the AGM - The committee members for 2012 will be nominated, voted upon and then elected during the meeting, and the schedule of rare breeds in Tasmania for 2012 will be tabled, among other important matters to take place. We hope you can make it! E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions. Rare breeds at the Huon Show The Clubs exhibit at the Huon Agricultural Show. The Rare Breeds Club was invited to promote rare poultry at the Huon Agricultural Show this year on the 12th of No- vember. A rare breeds feature was set up with several breeds rarely seen in public provided for the public display. These in- cluded a Houdan, a Frizzle bantam, a Malay game, Bantam Malay and Brahma. The number of rare breeds in the show was fabulous, with nearly 20 different rare breeds represented, and many peo- ple stopped by during the day to ask questions about rare poultry. The clubs Information Booklet raised much interest. Nearly two dozen people inquired as to how they could get set up with the rare breeds, and overall it was a great day with lots of interest in rare breeds on the day. Much thanks to the Huon Agricultural Show Poultry Section organizer Corinna Sloane for inviting the club to be there on the day. ~ Isaac Walker The Naked Neck The history of the naked neck is not well known, although they are documented to have existed in Europe since the beginning of the 18th century, having been men- tioned in an Austrian poultry book dated from 1701.Winkler and Bakoss presume that the ancestors were brought into the Carpanthian basin from Asia by the conquering Hun at the end of the ninth century. Other poultry historians cite the fact that the Malagache, one of the fighting breeds from the Malay Peninsula also have no feathers around their neck. This is a quote from Dean Shuck. “From what I have read the naked neck was origi- nally derived from the Madagascar and the Ga Noi game birds when crossed to com- mon chickens. They supposedly originated in Malasia and S.E. Asia and radiated out from there. The naked necks as a type have been around for several thousand years”. The name Transylvanian Naked Neck was given to this breed as it was claimed that the modern breed originated in the part of Hungary known as Transylvania. The breed received the name Turken or Churkey as it was also believed that it came about by crossing a chicken with a turkey. (This has long since been disproven. It is chicken through and through). A farmyard fowl known for its fast growth and good foraging abilities, its popularity spread quickly. They became birds of preference, not only for their relatively good year round laying but also their excellent meat quality; this said to be the result of their “seeking habit” scratching for food regardless of hot or cold weather. Also add- ing to their popularity was the fact they were very hardy, resistant to diseases and the costs of keeping them were very low. German fanciers are credited to have perfected the modern exhibition naked neck by taking the common farmyard variety and breeding it into a more consistent form de- void of any feathers on the neck. The first chicken seen at a show was in Vienna in 1875. The birds created quite a stir and the two women were recipients of awards of highest distinction. In 1911 post cards were commissioned illustrating Black, Cuckoo and White Naked Neck varieties. Naked Necks are documented to have been in Britain from the early 1870’s. They never became popular in Britain as fanciers considered it too much a common farm- yard fowl. Lewis Wright wrote in his book from 1890, “By this name is known a curi- ous variety imported from Austria, and in which the feathers are entirely absent from the neck, the head being feathered as usual. The effect is peculiar, but most un- pleasant. There is nothing fixed about the birds otherwise, the last pair we saw hav- ing the cock feather-legged and the hen bare-legged, and the plumage the common- est barnyard mongrel type.” Naked Neck cont. Naked Necks appeared in North America in the late 1800’s but never became popular, in part due to the myth they were an inter-species cross. The Depart- ment of Ag. declared it a breed and patented the name “Bare-Neck” and assigned it thus. The gene that causes the neck to be naked and a general reduction of the feather tracts had been iso lated by Poultry Geneticist F.B. Hutt in 1949. This gene was designated “Na” as it is a dominant gene; a single dose will cause the offspring to display the bare neck and a re- duction in feathers. Many poultry breeders have since made great use of the dominant nature of the Na gene to achieve quick improvements in type or colour crossed to other dual purpose breeds. The Na gene has also been shown to increase breast size and to reduce heat stress. In tropical climates, lower body temperatures, better food conver- sion rates and increased weight gain are associated with the Na gene. The gene also effects egg size and has been used in Europe to increase egg size in industrial flocks. Transylvanian chickens are not the only birds to have naked necks. Various vultures have featherless necks, presumably to stop blood and gore getting on their plumage. Ostriches and emus, too, are bare-necked to radiate heat away from their necks when they run. The naked neck chicken’s distinctive feature is caused by a mutation in its DNA. It is ex- pressed in the chicken’s neck because the embryonic neck-skin of birds produces more retinoic acid (a derivative of vitamin A) which enhances a substance called BMP12. The obvious chief visual characteristic of the naked neck is an absence of feathers around the neck and the vent. The bare skin on the neck continues to the crop while on top of the head there is a small cap, of feathers. Naked necks have between 20% and 60% fewer feathers than breeds of a similar size, making them easier to pluck. They are similar to many other dual-purpose breeds in general shape. They are generally wide shouldered with wings being carried fairly high. The comb is single, of medium size with five well defined points; it is a rich red colour as is its wattles and ear lobes. Eye colour is a reddish brown with beak, shanks and toes being yellow in the lighter colours and slate blue in the darker colour varieties. Naked Neck hens are good layers of medium to large, light brown eggs. They have a reputation of laying throughout the coldest winter months. Not really known for their broodiness, those that do go broody make excellent mothers. Baby chicks are born with naked necks and are thus easy to recognise in mixed batches. As a breed they are con- sidered docile and very friendly and one of the easiest chickens to tame. They are well suited to hot weather and are surprisingly cold hardy. They have a reputation for ac- tively foraging. If kept outside under good sun exposure their skin will turn bright red. In confinement, the skin colour is usually yellowy-orange to light pink. Bantam Naked Necks The first bantam naked necks were created by Herr Karl Huth in Germany. This oc- curred in the early 1800”s. In 1898 Karl exhibited his bantam naked necks at the Ger- man National Poultry show in Frankfurt. Karl and Mr. Marhold spent over ten years breeding naked neck bantams in black, white, and partridge varieties. The creation of more colour varieties and the formation of breed clubs helped promote the bantam throughout Germany. Unfortunately W.W. 1 put an end to this and breeders and birds were lost .Mr. Marhold did manage to secure a few birds which became the foundation of the next generation of Bantam Naked Necks.