My breeding goal is to help improve and promote the tolbunt variety of polish. I am working toward breeding the color, pattern, and type of this variety of the polish breed to it's proposed standard. This will not be a quick project, and will always be a learning process.  

 

     I am a co-chair of the PBC's tolbunt standard committee, and am looking forward to the day we have the proposed standard finalized and can submit it to the APA to begin that part of the making the color official for showing.         

 

    I do enter them at shows when my college schedule allows (my state Spring show lands around finals, and fall show lands around midterms). We have taken BV & RV with ours when shown- at the fall fowl fest there were 13 tolbunts all together and more than half were not mine (showing against yourself is still very common with this variety in all parts of the country)

 

   Currently we are between proposed color standards- the one on the Polish Club site: the old "out dated"one, and the current German standard- neither meet the APA's wording for a standard. We have a committee appointed by the club to update the German standard to an APA version (I am on that committee). The basic thing to remember with the tolbunt color is that is basically a mottled gold lace with a redder base than most gold lace seen in this country (both European countries that have official standards for tolbunt also word them like mottled gold lace) so remember to breed birds that have good type and pet out those that do not.

 

REMEMBER- TOLBUNT IS A COLOR PATTERN- NOT IT'S OWN BREED-

if the adult color is not basically a mottled gold lace (redder tone preferred)- it is not a tolbunt, it maybe SPLIT to tolbunt, but the color pattern is what makes it tolbunt. 

Tolbunts should NEVER have cuckoo barring- that is an incorrect pattern for them- do NOT use those in a tolbunt breeding program.

 

 

  With everything people have bred into the tolbunt variety (orloff, houdan, & every color polish it seems) there are some odd color chicks that pop up (and crest, leg color, and type issues).

 

  Due to personal beliefs, I am only using gold lace polish for outcrosses I will be doing (aside from Tolbunts brought in), however, I know some of the birds I bought did have another breed outcrossed in at a few generations ago. (And who knows what color polish added in any of them)

 

my 1st four hens from Jim (Parker) had Orloff crossed in (couple 1/4 orloff hens in pen)

 

Ali, my roo from Dave, is 3/4 tolbunt, and 1/8 each orloff & houdan

 

My Dancing Hen Farm hens- may/may not- 1 Parker hen in breeding pen

 

 

 

  Other than 1 pet bantam (Pip) I had as a child (sadly short lived thanks to my dog)- the tolbunts are the first chickens I've ever owned. I had ducks for a while as a teen, and raised rabbits (and rats) from the time I was in 6th grade. I just raised pet ones & a few pedigreed ones while I lived at home. Took a few years break when I first moved out before getting rabbits again in my mid 20's- when I started showing English Lops. The next 10 yrs kinda devoted my time to them (with a 2 year break in there) and running all over the country showing them and the last couple years I also raised and showed Rhinelanders. I managed to stay in the top 5 for breed sweepstakes in the country with both breeds for several years, had too many breed placings too count, plus multiple BIS- including at Nationals. My rabbitry was called Eeyore's Ears, and though I loved raising and showing rabbits, I got to a point I needed to step away from my hobby as I had gotten burned out in the end from overdoing it. Maybe someday I will want to have rabbits again, at this point- I still like them, but have no desire to put the time & engergy into them I did before. 

  

 My mom has had chickens for a long time, and I have enjoyed her birds when I visited her. However it is easy to hide rabbits in a neighborhood, and not chickens so I had never bothered getting any of my own.

 

  In 2011 we had to relocate due to Brent's job, we found a great house in the country!! With a barn!! Too bad I sold the bunnies..... but wait- OMG there are Tolbunt Polish eggs on Ebay!!! I've been drooling over those for years- they are so pricey though..... I'll just watch. Several high price auctions later there is one no one is bidding on.... hmmmm.... We'll have that barn I could put them in with no close neighbors- I'll Bid!! And I won..... and it began!! I bought an extra dozen at the auction price. And on Back Yard Chicken, I won an auction for gold lace split to tolbunt- yah, great start!! All the eggs are in the bator. Woo Hoo! Then.... the house failed the FHA inspection. OK, we have a few more weeks we'll just keep looking....... but we ran out of time and had to be in a house soon. We ended up with a house in town, and a 5 year plan. Luckily mom was willing to let me use a pen in her coop for my birds. I even get 2 in the spring for breeding groups- before she steals one back for babies she is growing out.

 

  My main pet focus at this point is my dog's training (My Dobe is training for SchH), and just enjoying the chickens while they are here, before they go to the farm. So the birds hatch out at my house and I raise and sort them til they are about 4 month old or so- then the keepers move to mom's for the next breeding season and we will keep this up til our 5 yr plan is complete and we live out in the sticks :)  I just have to finish college and get hired in my new career first!!