Resources for Breeding Beginners

Hello! I have quite a few chickens and a lot of dreams about breeding them! I have done tons of reading on this forum and there is so much good information, but it would be so helpful to have all of it in one place, like a book!

Does anyone have a recommendation for a beginners guide to breeding birds? Something that covers some basic genetics, how traits get inherited, and the practicalities of doing it? I've got chickens, the will, and time, but am lacking in the know-how!
Thank you, and happy new year!

Buff Coloration in Poultry 2008
http://www.aviculture-europe.nl/Buff-Coloration.pdf

Hi and welcome!
Here ya go:

I was breeding Light Sussex at the time I wrote this so that is why the Sussex lit is in there.
If I could have only 10 books in my Library they would be :

1. Genetics of Chicken Colours-The Basics
Just an exceptional hugh qualityhardback. The front 1/2 of the book is an esyto understand course on poultry color. The back 1/2 is a color atlas of chicken colors captioned with their geentic formulas. Simply indispensible if you are doing any color breediing. More than worth every penny! I won one.
http://chickencolours.com/

2. Genetics of Chicken Extremities
This compaion volume is a it more scientifc covering genetics of everything else but color. I don't own a copy yet and really want one!
http://chickencolours.com/

3. APA 2010 Standard of Perfection
Absolute must have! Contains all the offical Standards. The 1st 40 pages extremely educational, Illustrations, articles, defintions, etc.
http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/store.htm

4. The Sussex Fowl
By Sharpe 1920 .
Sharpe was one of the 3 great secrateries of the Sussex Poultry Club
in England. The other 2 were Leo Outram and Judge Clem Watson.
Sharpe was a legendary Sussex breeder and originated the
Light Sussex. This book is a classic. ( read online free)
http://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/6721632

5. 21st Century Poultry Breeding
by Grant Brereton
Excellent on bredign and esp. color breeding.
http://poultrykeeper.com/book-reviews/21st-century-poultry-breeding-book-review
http://www.amazon.com/Century-Poultry-Breeding-Grant-Brereton/dp/0947870571

6. Laws governing the breeding of standard fowls. c.1
by Card, Wetherell Henry. Published 1912
This is a small 55 page book. A treasure of distilled knowledge.
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.087299559;view=1up;seq=5
Note these are Laws, not opinions or theories. Judge Card was known
for his ability to take a complicated genetics topic and make it simple.
(read online free). One of my absolute fav poultry books.

7. The Light Sussex
by Broomhead, William White, 1875-
Published 1921
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924003137332;view=2up;seq=4
W.W. Broomhead was one of the three Broomhead brothers who were noted poultry men in England. He was a Sussex expert and Judge for the Sussex Poultry Club. He later went on to become President of the Poultry Club of Britain. This little 8 page gem is a classic because of the author's distinguished reputation and his insightful knowledge of the breed. W.W. Broomhead also edited one of the editions of the Poultry Club Standards as well as the Sussex Standard itself.
It matters not which variety one has, this brochure's study of breed type applies to all. Type is the breed. Blood tells. ( read free online )

8.
American Poultry Advocate - Volume 26 - Feb. 1918 - Page 202
The Proper Color of Speckled Sussex
An article written by Mr. A. J. Falkenstein,
the leading English breeder of Speckled Sussex,
A speech given in 1917 ( read free online)
books.google.com/books?id=jCtJAAAAYAAJ
During this period, many Speckled Sussex had a more ginger colored
ground color rather than the desired dark color. Mr. Falkenstein
popularized the darker color and, following his lead, the Sussex fancy
moved the Speckled Sussex to the lovely mahogany bay ground color
we see today. You can see the change in the tobacco cards issued:
1911 : http://tinyurl.com/ppo2ske
1930's : http://tinyurl.com/mo6aaw2
One of the interesting parts of this speech are the instructions on
selecting for proper color while the chick is in chick down.

And for deeper study

9. the 3 DVD set
by Danne Honour
which includes much rare lit on the "Art of Breeding".
This is over 1,000 pages as I remember, of collected articles on the "art" of breeding poultry.
Wid Card was Danne's uncle's uncle. Danne is considered the Dean of the Buff color.
Renowned for his Buff Leghorns. Danne also has a huge collection of articles in a PDF online (free) called
"Buff Coloration in Poultry 2008" .
(see URL at the top of this post) It is 100's of pages of articles on breeding the color Buff. There is one called,
" The True Gospel Of the Color Buff", written by Card which Danne says is the best article on the subject he has ever read.

10. Art and Science in Breeding : Creating Better Chickens
by Margaret E. Derry.
A fantastic book on the development of poultry breeding by a
talented author who writes on the various histories of animal breeding.
Ms. Derry has a wonderful turn of the pen when writing about
the history of animal breeding. She has had published a total
of 6 books. These 3 books are listed in order of year published:

Bred for Perfection: Shorthorn Cattle, Collies and Arabian Horses since 1800 (2003)
By Margaret E. Derry
http://www.poplarlane.net/books/ani...e-collies-and-arabian-horses-since-1800-2003/

Art and Science in Breeding: Creating Better Chickens
By Margaret E. Derry
http://www.utppublishing.com/Art-and-Science-in-Breeding-Creating-Better-Chickens.html

and coming in Nov. 2014:
Masterminding Nature: The Breeding of Animals, 1750-2010
By Margaret E. Derry
http://www.utppublishing.com/Masterminding-Nature-The-Breeding-of-Animals-1750-2010.html

Bookfinder is a massive mega booksearch database. Been around a long time.
http://www.bookfinder.com/
Some of these books may be available as used editions for a good price. Beware if you find SOP's tho. The APA never relinquished their copyright on the SOP. Some fly-by-night reprinters have taken the old pre-1926 editions and reprinted them illegally. Nabu Press is one of them. Often they are cheap OCR copies with many typos because of the cheap scanning.
For me, the first 3 books are simply essential.
Best Success,
Karen ( awaiting my White Chantecler chickens next Aug.)
in western PA, USA

Wow, thank you SO MUCH for such a thorough reply! Lots of resources to get started with!

nineyardsfarm said:

Wow, thank you SO MUCH for such a thorough reply! Lots of resources to get started with!

Click to expand...

More than welcome. If you give me a list of your breeds, I can send you some breed-specific info,
Happy New Year,
Karen

I have silver laced Wyandottes, Barred rocks and Buff Orpingtons. I don't especially want to show them but want to breed them for production and just to be nice, beautiful birds. (I know this is the SOP thread but I figured you guys would know a lot!) I'm also interested in starting an olive egger project. So many chicken breeding dreams!

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