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Iowa Blue Chicken Club Membership Meeting Meeting Minutes July 13, 2013 I. Call to order President Jim Heinz called to order the membership meeting of the o!a "lue #hic$en #lub at 11%&2 am, July 13, 2013 at the 'orth o!a (airgrounds in )ason #ity, *+ II. Roll call ,he follo!ing persons !ere present% Jim Heinz, -ari )c-ay-.iddel, #onnie Hurley, #urtis "urroughs, /ric "ilney, )andy )eierotto, and /mily )eierotto+ III. Approval of minutes from last meeting )eeting minutes from pre0ious !ere submitted to President Heinz+ IV. Open issues : 1+ 'one+

V. New Business: 1+ .ebsite *dd sho!ing tips to the "## !ebsite+ 1in$s, articles, diagrams *dd breeding tips to the "## !ebsite+ / locus information 2 in layterms, simple difference bet!een 0arieties Stressing not culling too soon, as the breed ta$es time to mature and you cannot determine adult appearance in the young chic$s *dd lin$s to other informati0e !ebsites 1eg coloration genetics "reeding Strategy articles 3"osi4 2 Jim !ill get the lin$s to #onnie for addition to our educational page on the !ebsite+ 2+ Standard 2 proposed amendments Head shape 2 #hange from 5)edium in size6 to 5)edium in size, some!hat rounded in shape6 for both hen and coc$+

IBCC Membership Meeting Saturday, 7ecember 08, 2013 -2 *ppro0ed by membership present #oc$ 2 sil0er penciled 0ariety 2 change the front of nec$ from 5blac$6 to the same notation as the birchen 0ariety, 5blac$ !ith !hite lacing+6 *ppro0ed by membership present "ac$ 2 change from 5le0el6 to 5slightly sloping6 resulting in the entry reading 5)edium length, strong, broad, and slightly sloping, blending !ell into the tail+6 *ppro0ed by membership present Head in the birchen standard 2 currently reads 5plumage, !hite+6 #oncern for this not being achie0able and currently not representati0e of the breed !ith all hens9pullets sho!ing a blac$ head+ 7iscussion ensued about !hite being desired, but !ill need to determine if this is possible+ 7iscussion tabled pending further breeding, selection, and obser0ation of results+ 7iscussed the name 5"irchen6 for our second 0ariety and discussed the possibility of 5:ray6 being more appropriate !ith our desire to ha0e lacing e;tending so far 0entrally, and due to concern for Judges <udging them to the )odern :ame standard of "irchen !ith the lacing cutting off <ust belo! the nec$+ *t this time, resol0ed to $eep the name 5"irchen6+ Plan to con0erse !ith other <udges and breeds regarding this issue, potentially re0isit in the future+ #ontact *P* for their opinion+ 3+ (und-raising and #osts for S=P Petitioning -ari relayed that !e !ill need to remit a payment of >2&0 !hen submitting the breed to the *P* along !ith the breeder affada0its+ .e !ill need to do some fund raising o0er the ne;t t!o years+ 7iscussed potential fundraisers% nstitute club dues >10 indi0idual membership annually, >1& for membership and breeder listing on the !ebsite Possibility of ha0ing a breeder sho!case 2 paid for 1-2 months being featured on the !ebsite

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?affles at the upcoming sho!s "rinsea often !ill donate to raffles "reeders could donate 1-2 dozen eggs *lso !ould increase potential for more breeders *0oids shipping @+ 7onation of birds

/;pectations for 201@ for the "## .e need to open a club chec$ing account 1oo$ into applying for ,a; /;ception &013c4334 for the club January 01 of each year !ill be the time for turno0er )embership dues good through 7ec+ 31st, rene!al Jan 1st+ 'e! =fficers ta$e office Jan 1+ ,imeline for elections% =ctober 2 'ominations made9accepted 'o0ember 2 Aoting online 7ecember 2 1st !ee$ 2 ne! officers announced January 1st, 'e! officers ta$e office

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o!a "lues in the *rts *mber =BHarro! 2 has had commission accepted to create a 10-13 foot tall o!a "lue hen in *luminum in #oral0ille, *+ /;pected creation is *ugust9September+ ,his !ill be one of a group of C10 sculptures erected in #oral0ille+ Airginia #arabelli 2 !ill be hosting a biodi0ersity e;hibit of 10 rare chic$en breeds in 'e! Dor$+ She has reEuested feathers, eggs, and photographs and is currently planning to create a portrait of an o!a "lue hen for her e;hibit+ Ha0e feathers collected to submit to Airginia .ill need eggs this fall .ill allo! us to sho!case her art!or$ on the !ebsite

IBCC Membership Meeting Saturday, 7ecember 08, 2013 -@ http%99!!!+0irginiacarabelli+com90irginiacarabelli+com9"iodi0ersity+htm l 2 lin$ to her pro<ect page Airginia has offered 10F of the proceedings from the e;hibit to the *1"# as a than$ you to the heritage breed chic$en community+ Her goal is to reach a !ider audience, mainly city people, and sho!case 10 rare breeds+ .e may also send her a brochure on the breed to ha0e a0ailable to the public during the e;hibit+ G+ "reed Promotion .e !ill need to $eep up the promotion to $eep the interest building for our breed+ 'o! is not the time to slac$ off and allo! the o!a "lue to slip bac$ into near e;tinction+ #urt has a layout that he !ill submit outlining strategy for breed promotion #urrent status for petitioning the *P* .e ha0e already submitted the current !or$ing standard to the *P* and ha0e been in contact !ith .alt about our desire to petition the *P*+ (rom the S=P% * petition for recognition must be submitted to the Secretary gi0ing History of the breedBs origin /ducational facts Proposed 'ame of the breed90ariety Standard for shape, color, and !eight in S=P format

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*ffada0its shall be submitted from not less than & breeders stating they ha0e bred the breed or 0ariety for not less than fi0e years and that it produces not less than &0F of all specimens reasonably true to type, color, size, and comb+ #urrent breeders and year beginning !ith o!a "lues% :lenn 7ro!ns 2 un$no!n year starting but HH& years #urt "urroughs 2 2001 7on Hellner 2 1& years

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.ill need to email to as$ if heBll sign an affida0it -ari )c-ay-.iddel 2 2010 #onnie Hurley 2 2010 Jim Heinz 2 2011

.ill need to find out !here to acEuire the affida0its to be signed+ #ertificates sho!ing t!o or more specimens ha0e been e;hibited in each class of coc$s, hens, coc$erels, and pullets in each of the preceding t!o years at a sho! officiated by a licensed *+P+*+ Judge+ ,he secretary shall contact the <udge for his or her confidential opinion of the Euality and uniformity+ ,he "## !ill plan to fulfill these reEuirements for the ne;t 2 years 3or longer if needed4 prior to submitting application to the *P*+ * deposit shall be included 3>2&0I4 !ith the petition Petition !ill then be referred to the #ommittee on Standards, !ho !ill name a Eualifying meet at a prominent sho! <udged by a licensed *P* <udge+ .ill reEuire not less than &0 specimens e;hibited by at least & e;hibitors in all classes 37J specimens do not count to!ards the &0 bird number4+ .hen all of the abo0e are satisfied, committee may recommend its acceptance, sub<ect to final appro0al by the "oard of 7irectors, upon it becomes a recognized breed or 0ariety+ K+ Plan to add the goals9itinerary to the !ebsite ' P* and / P* ha0e both offered to sho!case the o!a "lue at their respecti0e fall sho!s+ .ill need to discuss !ith them !hat is allo!ed for display .ill need to create an informational brochure for the o!a "lue to distribute at the sho!s and other public e0ents+ VI. Adjournment )eeting !as ad<orned at 13%38 #S,+ )inutes submitted by% Secretary Hurley

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Agenda from the ul! "#th IBCC $eeting Open to entire mem%ership
in conjunction with the NIPA Show in Mason City, IA (information below)

$ain &iscussion Items:

A. 'ut a ()howing *ips+ ta% on the we%site, 'lace a reminder that when showing one-s Iowa Blues. ma/e sure to enter them according to the %reed AN& variet!. 012ample )ilver 'enciled Iowa Blue. Birchen Iowa Blue3. Also. remind %u!ers of this information when the! go to show. 4e must do ever!thing we can to educate so as to dispel confusion. B. 5pdate )tandard, Re6open )tandard Committee meetings, a. 7ead shape on the hen is listed as medium in si8e. a.i. Curt: I would li/e to see the standard reflect the desired round head of the hen in its wording. a.ii. 'roposed change: $edium in si8e. round in shape. %. 9ront of nec/ on the )ilver 'enciled coc/. Currentl! (%lac/.+ %.i. Curt: )hould contain lacing as I %elieve a %lac/ nec/ with laced %reast would %e geneticall! difficult if not impossi%le. %.ii. 'roposed change: 7ave wording the same as front of nec/ on Birchen coc/,

c. Bac/ angle:levelness. c.i. I ver! much prefer 0and remem%er level %ac/s on m! old stoc/3 however a sloping %ac/ seems more prevalent toda! as Ideal-s line is the most common. c.ii. 'roposed change: Bac/: )lightl! sloping. with tendenc! toward levelness.

d. 7eads on the Birchen hens.

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d.i. )hould our )tandard reflect a dar/er head on the hens, I %elieve we can still have a nicel! laced %reast and hac/le while at the same time ma/ing allowances for a dar/er head on the hen. d.ii. 'roposed change: 9orehead %lac/. frosting permissi%le. slowl! transitioning to a heav! silver! white lacing at hac/les and. C. &iscuss the formal process of A'A )O' admittance. &ecide which shows will %e attended through the admittance process as well as where we-d li/e to have the ;ualif!ing meet. )uggestions for (local+ meets would %e the Avoca )how and the 1astern Iowa 'oultr! )how. An! shows located in N1 Iowa that would %e of interest, <ualif!ing meet at 1I'A,

5pdates:New Information I. &on 7ellner and his Birchen line of Iowa Blues. An! ta/ers on trading eggs with him, II. 5pdate on Bac/!ard 'oultr! Breed 9ocus. III. 5pdate on )''A Breed Brochure. IV. 5pdate on 9eathersite updating their Iowa Blue lin/. V. =auge potential interest in getting the Iowa Blue admitted into the )low 9ood-s 5)A > Ar/ of *aste and what is involved in getting them admitted. VI. ?@"A Breed Clu% Booth at the 1I'A, a. 7ave ma!%e ? pairs )'. one pair of Birchen Iowa Blues to auction off at the show. 'roceeds going to the clu%. %. 7ave print outs of our )tandard 0on cardstoc/,3 to give out to those individuals who are interested. c. 7ave print outs a%out %reed 7istor! and Characteristics to ma/e availa%le to interested parties. d. Clu% logo stic/ers of %oth the coc/ and hen to give to the children.

IBCC Membership Meeting Saturday, 7ecember 08, 2013 -Ke. &esignate individuals to head up a (Booth Committee+ to set the details. time. volunteer to man the %ooth. etc. VII. Curtis has lad! named Bar% &a! 0who wor/s in the =enealog! department of the &ecorah Bi%rar!3 currentl! investigating for an! Iowa Blue information. Areas that she is diving into include searching the local papers from "C?@6present. contacting the &ecorah 7istorical )ociet!. and connecting to &ecorah residents who are interested in &ecorah histor! via 9ace%oo/. 7opefull! she-ll turn something upD VIII. Breed 'romotion. )ee Iowa Blue Breed 'romotion document listed %elow. IE. Coralville Iowa Blue 7en )culpture. E. Connie is in communications with a NF Artist Virginia Cara%elli regarding her 'ortrait and 12hi%ition of the Iowa Blue artwor/ 0along with "@ other rare %reeds3. )he has re;uested feathers and %lown out eggs for displa! to the pu%lic along with her art e2hi%ition. )he welcomes pamplets and other promotion materials from the IBCC. if we wish to send them to her. After discussion. it sounds li/e she is going to paint %oth the coc/ and the hen 0instead of rooster onl!3 for the Iowa Blue portrait. given how distinctive the girls are and how important their appearance is in this %reed.

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Iowa Blue Breed 'romotion

* lot of times !hat !e see !ith ne!9rare breeds is some sort of catalyst that spar$s a strong public desire to raise9breed9possess a said breed+ f the breed is ne!, people !ill be dra!n to its uniEueness and limited a0ailability+ f the breed is old, but rare, most people !ill be dra!n to its rarity and desire to raise it because of ho! limited the stoc$ is+ *n interesting note about rare breeds in particular is that the breed may flounder and flirt !ith e;tinction for decades and only !hen someone becomes in0ol0ed !ith the breed do others then begin to feel dra!n to the breed themsel0es+ ,hese breeds 3!hether ne! or rare4 e;perience a period of up!ard momentum only to be faced !ith staggering support or near e;tinction 3sometimes yet again4 in but a fe! short years once the 5ne!ness6 has !orn off and the 5mar$et6 flooded+ .e are at the start of our up!ard momentum for the o!a "lue, and belie0e that if !e ma$e some smart and inno0ati0e choices no!, !e ha0e an opportunity to e;tend our breedMs gro!th !ithout e;periencing the 5death di0e6 that so many breeds e;perience+ )ost breed clubs, !ho !ere at the stage !e are currently in, focused all their energy on the Standard and S=P admittance !ithout a thought as to the future beyond the S=P+ Ho! many times do !e see a breed finally pass the Eualifying meet only to be tossed aside, nearly e;tinct, inbred, and desperate for 0igorous stoc$ but &-10 years laterI ,he club stopped their focus once the main goal !as met 3as they felt their 5!or$6 !as finally completed4, and the breed declined !ithout the dri0e and focus of the club+ So, in light of this, here are a fe! ideas of areas feel !e should focusN )toc/ <ualit!6 *his is an o%vious focus area and one that is usuall! achieved via an aggressive selection for the standard. But. here-s where we can set ourselves apart from other %reed clu%sG Aggressivel! encourage and educate %reeders 0%oth new and old3 to select hard in their %reeding pens 1m%race %reed diversit! via %reed varieties and most importantl! the esta%lishment of new lines. *he esta%lishment of new lines is of the utmost importance to %reed vitalit! and vigor. and should %e 0in m! opinion3 THE main focal point. at least for the near future. 1ducation6 *his is where most if not all %reed clu%s reall! fall short. *here is much to educate our %reeders and mem%ership on when it comes to the Iowa Blue. 'er a recent meeting with =len &rowns. the Iowa Blue has e2perienced

IBCC Membership Meeting Saturday, 7ecember 08, 2013 -10not onl! e2treme near e2tinction multiple times. %ut two distinct controversies have resulted in e2cessive misunderstanding of the %reed. Our education focus should %e a three pronged approachG &ispel $isconceptions. 4e need to (call out+ the misconceptions and provide the historical evidence to %ac/ up the truth needed to eliminate the confusion caused %! the misconceptions. 4e-ve alread! come along wa!s with our %reed 7istorical Archive. %ut we can do more. 0for e2ample. hand out fliers at shows which cover the high level %reed histor! facts3. *he /e! is to reach as man! people as possi%le a%out the %reed-s histor!. and the histor! itself will eliminate the misconceptions. Breed Identit!. $an! prospective %reeders contact me a%out stoc/. and the! have a ver! limited /nowledge a%out what ma/es the %reed identit!. 4hen !ou thin/ (4hite Roc/+ a ver! distinct image comes to mind. Not onl! a%out t!pe. %ut character as well. *hat is was we need to accomplish here. 4e need to throw our )tandard out there and flaunt the %est e2amples of our %reed. 4e need to plaster pictures of those fantastic e2amples ever!where we can so as to shape the pu%lic mind a%out what an Iowa Blue loo/s li/e. Roc/s and Orpingtons are so popular %ecause the! are easil! recogni8ed. and people tend to gravitate to the familiar. 7ow do we ma/e the Iowa Blue familiar in the minds of poultr! %reeders, *hrough Branding. 4e-ll get to that later. Breeding *echni;ues. 4e tal/ed earlier a%out the importance of esta%lishing new lines to optimi8e %reed vigor and stoc/ ;ualit!. 7ow we accomplish this is %! empowering the individual %reeder 0regardless of their previous chic/en %reeding e2perience3 with the /nowledge to esta%lish their own lines. I %elieve the %est wa! to do this is to put a (Breeding *echni;ues+ or (1sta%lishing Four Own Bine+ lin/ on the we%site and via that lin/. offer the guidance through a step %! step process on how to %reed !our own line. select for desira%le ;ualities 0e2ampleG an eas! to read gene dominance chart 0Birchen dominant to )ilver 'enciled. 4illow legs dominant to )late legs. etc.3. %reeding advice from %reeders e2perienced with the Iowa Blue. %reeding o%servations. etc. New %reeders often times have a lot of e2citement and energ! to pour into their %reed of choice. %ut can %ecome discouraged when information the! need is unavaila%le to them. B! providing that information in a wa! that-s eas! for the la!man to read. we can empower them to ta/e their %irds to a level %e!ond their own e2pectations 0and ultimatel! /eep them interested in the %reed3. *his would do our %reed the greatest %enefit as each %reeder will have the same s/illed /nowledge to develop their %irds 0and ultimatel! their new line of Iowa Blue3 in the same

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direction as the rest of the %reeders. B! encouraging line development 0assuming we-ve done our part to educate on %reed t!pe and character3 we can prevent the production of e2cessive poor to mediocre stoc/ that often times floods the %reed and adds to %reed identit! confusion. &on-t get me wrong. there are alwa!s those individuals who will tr! to ma/e a ;uic/ %uc/. %ut if we do our part to educate. even the newest %reeder should /now what to loo/ for and therefore avoid the undesira%le stoc/ and eliminate the (mar/et+ for poor ;ualit! %irds. Branding. Branding is the term used in mar/eting to mean giving !our (product+ an image. But not just an ordinar! image. It can %e an!thing from a picture. to a slogan. to a song. A perfect e2ample. $c&onald-s (=olden Arches+. Or. tr! thisHH whenever !ou hear that Australian accent from =ei/o-s gec/o. !ou instantl! thin/ (=ei/o+D *hat-s what %randing is. Fou ma! %e wondering how that can appl! to livestoc/. 4ell. how man! times have !ou wal/ed into a restaurant and saw a sign that said "@@I 'ure Angus Beef, Or ('or/. the other white meat.+ *o m! /nowledge. no other chic/en %reed has put forth a concerted effort to %rand their %reed to the pu%lic mind. In the middle J@-s. the Angus %reeders got together and %egan a focused effort to %rand their %reed in the pu%lic mind. *he! felt that if the! could connect their %reed 0in a positive wa!3 to the pu%lic. their %reed would surpass all other %eef %reeds. *he! identified the mar%ling in their herds. e2panded the mar%ling to %ecome a %reed trait and sold that (flavor+ to the pu%lic. *heir e2periment was so successful that cattle of a different color %egan to %ring less mone!. Other %reeds li/e )immental. Bimousine. *arentaise. $aine Anjou. and man! more %egan to %reed their cattle %lac/ instead of red. tan. or red K white to capitali8e on the added profits. And so %egan a huge shift of popularit! to the Angus %reed. 7olstein %reeders did something ver! similar in the earl! J@-s as well. *he! identified the (perfect+ mil/ cow and %egan to educate the %reeders on what that loo/ed li/e. *he! produced paintings and models of the perfect 7olstein 0%oth cow and %ull3 and distri%uted them li%erall!. *he result, *he 7olstein is the dair! %reed of America. 1ven though the! aren-t the most cost effective. due to the %randing on the part of the American 7olstein Association. the! were the first thing in the minds of the average %reeder. *he %reeder could identif! a good 7olstein through the education efforts and therefore was more confident in his purchasing choice if he went with a 7olstein. *his is was %randing loo/s li/e in the livestoc/ hus%andr! world.

IBCC Membership Meeting Saturday, 7ecember 08, 2013 -12 Connect the Iowa Blue to the general pu%lic. I %elieve that the Iowa Blue Chic/en Clu% should pla! an active part in %ridging the gap %etween the %reeder and the consumer. 4ith the rise in specialt! mar/ets and locall! raised foods. we have a ver! uni;ue opportunit! to connect an Iowa %reed. raised in Iowa. to local Iowa restaurants. 4e have the a%ilit! to mar/et (true+ Iowa eggs to the pu%lic and develop the pu%lic-s opinion 0and ultimatel! their preference3 for the Iowa Blue as a source for their dail! needs. 'ossi%l! the creation of a Consumer Connection Committee %! the clu% to focus on connecting the Iowa Blue to local restaurants ma! prove to %e ;uite valua%le. *he %iggest /e! would %e getting the producers lined up to produce the amount needed %! a restaurant. But this ma! prove not as difficult as man! specialt! restaurants offer seasonal dishes and this is where the Iowa Blue could ma/e a splashD As a restaurant offers the dish. getting pu%licit! 0such as the =a8ette3 to write up an article a%out the venture could do much for the %reed in getting a positive connection to the general pu%lic. If we can ma/e a mar/eta%le demand for the %reed. we can create a need for the %reed %e!ond the showroom. and this is where we can trul! find %reed securit!. A %reed can onl! %e secure if it serves a purpose. *he showroom is rarel! enough of a purpose to justif! /eeping a %reed. %ut food is. And this ties right %ac/ to developing new lines. If we want to grow the %reed to %e a producer of %oth eggs and meat. then we need multiple lines to add to our diversit! and %reed vigor. Another resource that could %e of interest and help would %e to get the Iowa Blue admitted into the )low 9ood-s Ar/ of *aste. *his organi8ation speciali8es in connecting heritage food sources with the pu%lic.