I've heard that there are breeders who do things this way. I imagine the arguments go like this: why waste feed and time on a bird I won't keep/breed or sell versus why kill a chick that will still give eggs and meat even if I don't use it for breeding? Then there is the argument that some chickens will surprise you as they develop their color in ways that hadn't been predicted which opens the can of worms of how to read a chicks potential and no one is going to learn how to do that if people who do know don't share, which was really all I wanted to point out. Mr Shaffer is a 'name' and a 'breeder' but he shared some great info with me personally and here with a newbie without a lot of cloak and dagger. Phew. Having people who do know SHARE their experience/ information is helpful to everyone, including the breed and in pointing out when someone does a good job of it I hope to encourage more people to do the same.
Chickenadventure: Cull early, late or not at all but if you don't know what you are culling for or against you are jumping ahead of yourself. Breeding for temperment makes it all the more difficult as you certainly can't vet a chick's temperment. The roo I had as a great example; Lavender Am from Shaffer. Supposedly Ams, especially the Lavs, are known to be pretty friendly/laidback. This guy was not, not, not. Bruises to prove it. He was a great roo to the girls and so as far as chickens go he was exactly right, but for his breed and reputation he was not... and for what I wanted he was not. So, I now have a metrosexual roo who I can handle instead of the macho roo. Breeding is subjective. Each breeder has an idea of what is best or what they want to try. That's why I used Dobes as an example. I've met tall and lean, medium and stalky, different colors and temperments, docked, clipped and natural. Taking breeding seriously will mean you have to find some metal in yourself to decide what you want and try sticking to it. So maybe decide what you want and why. I applaud anyone who is willing to share their experience and information. I applaud those who are willing to learn... and I even applaud all those folks who just have to try something to know, despite the evidence, as long as they face the music at the end. As I said, this particular group has been great. Keep asking all those 'dumb' questions so I don't have to.
