Breeding for Disease Resistance?

centrarchid said:

@mirandalola

Check out these guys. They are taking heritage breed restoration / selection very seriously and have similar objectives to what you have.


Current projects - Black Java
https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/what/internal/current-projects


Past projects - Ohio Buckeye
https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/what/internal/past-projects

You will have to fish around site and their publications to find accounts concerning their approach. They actually do what you are contemplating and take you way past the "I have read stage" of information gathering.

Click to expand...

@centrarchid Thanks! On the Livestock Conservancy website I found this:
https://livestockconservancy.org/images/uploads/docs/ALBCchicken_assessment-3.pdf which is EXACTLY what I wanted to know! And is pretty much exactly what I've been doing. They say to expect a 90% loss, and sometimes higher. I feel quite a bit more confident now. Thanks again!

Now my only other question is this: if genetic diversity is important (which it is), then wouldn't it be better to have a mixed flock instead of all one breed?

Read those links, and yes, I did need to take coffee breaks. If you get that deep into breeding such high numbers, you will be culling a whole lot of these chickens. That means chicken for breakfast, then chicken for lunch, now for dinner trying to get creative with a tasty chicken recipe. After wards a late night chicken snack. Have a large freezer on hand.
I.m just wondering if it can be successful on a smaller scale..

cavemanrich said:

Read those links, and yes, I did need to take coffee breaks.    If you get that deep into breeding such high numbers, you will be culling a whole lot of these chickens.   That means chicken for breakfast,  then chicken for lunch,  now for dinner trying to get creative with a tasty chicken recipe.   After wards a late night chicken snack.   Have a large freezer on hand.
I.m just wondering if it can be successful on a smaller scale..

Click to expand...

Making it successful on a smaller scale enabled by having neighbors with similar interest and swapping birds. That is how it all used to be done before the advent of hatcheries and that is how the older breeds and land races were developed.

mirandalola said:

@centrarchid
 Thanks!  On the Livestock Conservancy website I found this:
https://livestockconservancy.org/images/uploads/docs/ALBCchicken_assessment-3.pdf  which is EXACTLY what I wanted to know!  And is pretty much exactly what I've been doing.  They say to expect a 90% loss, and sometimes higher.  I feel quite a bit more confident now. Thanks again!

Now my only other question is this: if genetic diversity is important (which it is), then wouldn't it be better to have a mixed flock instead of all one breed?  

Click to expand...

You can do it with a mixed breed flock as your starting point but when you finish you will have a hard time finding parties interested in continuing your effort. That means the the line you develop dies out. You can work with a single breed. What I did is acquire American Dominiques from what ended up being seven different sources to serve as my starting point. That is when I began to appreciate how different they birds where as a function of line. Found the hard way some lines did very poorly when challenged with worms while the locally sourced birds even when in same flock were not effected.

I would pick a breed, good some good and varied stock, then begin and make certain selection also involves considering the SOP. Take some of the birds to shows so you can start swapping process as needed to counter inbreeding issues.

centrarchid said:

You can do it with a mixed breed flock as your starting point but when you finish you will have a hard time finding parties interested in continuing your effort. That means the the line you develop dies out. You can work with a single breed. What I did is acquire American Dominiques from what ended up being seven different sources to serve as my starting point. That is when I began to appreciate how different they birds where as a function of line. Found the hard way some lines did very poorly when challenged with worms while the locally sourced birds even when in same flock were not effected.

I would pick a breed, good some good and varied stock, then begin and make certain selection also involves considering the SOP. Take some of the birds to shows so you can start swapping process as needed to counter inbreeding issues.

Click to expand...

Usually I'm loving your advice/posts, but here.......

the OP has a flock that has had MS, MG, fowl pox and lice. Please don't be advising her to take birds off the property, especially to a show.

Advice relates to long-term, not immediate. The immediate disease outbreak must be resolved first. The longer term advice will be much more demanding.

Thanks for clarifying. Just didn't want it to be taken the wrong way......