Quote:
Originally Posted by
immyjay54 
I just came from another forum and I am getting more disgusted with BYC everyday. I know before I even post this that I am going to be a no go so and so but I really don't care.
I've been on forums of the heritage pure bred birds and OH MY DON'T DARE CROSS TWO DIFFERENT LINES BECAUSE IT IS A MORTAL SIN. Then I go onto another forum of imported pure bred birds that costs us hundreds of dollars to get a pair and then find out that these birds are being crossed with totally different breeds. Oh my, hatcheries are talked about so badly for what they are doing and oh my, don't dare get your birds from a hatchery and if folks knew what they were mixing no one would buy them. Well I don't see to much difference. I drive myself crazy if one of my hens gets out and gets in with another bunch and run my legs off trying to catch her and make sure I wouldn't use one of those eggs as being pure then I read where you folks are crossing breed A with breed B and OH MY, LOOK HOW PRETTY HE/SHE IS. To my understanding, If you cross a poodle with a chihuahua you get a mutt. What is the difference with chickens. Oh, I guess it is okay if you have a known name. What is going on on here. Thank God that I have already gotten my lines that I'm wanting to work with and try my darndest? to keep them pure. I think all this mixing up with these breeds are going to end up coming back to bite everybody in the butt before it is over. Geez.
Rant much? People breeding pure bred heritage birds or pure imported lines are breeding with a totally different purpose than the people on this thread. Hatcheries are mass producers and do not pay any attention to breed characteristics and traits. Again, they have a totally different purpose in their breeding than either the people on this thread or people breeding heritage, imported, or show birds. Where I (and many others) have an issue with hatcheries is misrepresentation, not whether or not the birds they are selling are purebred or bred to the breed standard or not.
People who are cross breeding their birds like those on this thread are doing so either with a specific end goal in mind or just because they want to see what will happen. They are typically totally 100% honest with anyone they sell or give the resulting chicks away to as to the fact that they are mixed breed chickens. These are often not people who have any interest in showing their birds and wouldn't be working with imported or super elite heritage birds anyway, so they are in no way detracting from what those types of breeders are trying to do. They want pretty birds to lay eggs or taste good once they mature and start growing. For that it really doesn't matter what line or what breed your birds are.
And the difference between mutt dogs and mutt chickens is that mutt dogs create a homeless pet population. It's not socially acceptable to eat dogs, and although no one has come up with a better solution to the problem most people are uncomfortable with just killing and burning the unwanted dogs. There's no such thing as a "homeless chicken" problem, or at least there shouldn't be. If the chicken is unwanted, it is socially acceptable to kill it and eat it. End of problem. Socially and legally, chickens are primarily livestock. And cross breeding is a time-honored tradition in livestock animals. It's really only an issue with exhibition animals.
