Old and Rare Breeds

[saladin]

he still has his sumatras and minorcas and other birds

Really? That is not what he personally told me some five years ago at the Unifour Show.

Interesting.....

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Thanks NanaKat.

I was just forwarded a reading from a British text (title yet unknown) that made several interested points about rarity.

One was that rarity itself as being a virtue for attention is misplaced. The author went on to underline that one look at the stock explains the rarity.

She, a poultry Ph D, then went on to state rather boldly her opinion that the rarest of poultry is well bred poultry, which I kind of think bears a lot of reflection.

Then she went on to stress the the surest way to beat scaricity is through the quality. That birds of quality promote themselves and draw interest such that by the fact of their quality they draw more breeders to consider them as a possible focus of attention.

She had no qualms about putting forth the idea that the surest way to get nowhere was trying to be a chicken collector with a dozen things going on all under the auspice than one's saving rare breeds, that true progress can only be had through the limiting of projects and the subsequent capacity to specialize and hatch in number.

Another important point she brought to the for was that in the UK (British author), barring white and black, that each color or pattern had a breed that was the banner breed for said color. I agree to an extent, although perhaps not that there can be only one. I do think though that a breed can only sustain a very limited number of varieties at a level of true quality. The largest number I can think of is Cochins with Blk, Wht, Partridge, and Buff. Having said that, I can't think of another breed that maintains that many Standardized colors in high quality. Consider the Rocks, whe one goes to the shows. There are whites; there are barreds, and then there are always of few examples of the poor cousins that never will be. In Leghorns it's the same, certainly in Wyandottes.

I honestly think that the only way we'll see again birds of extreme quality in a n age where far fewer people are involved in the fancy and the price of infrastucture and feed can be daunting, is to let some of the varieties go and either focus on the prominent variety or varieties in a breed or to follow the desired color pattern to the breed that is it's de facto stakeholder, i.e. if you want something to be silver penciled and of quality, get Brahmas.

 

[saladin]

Joe,
I agree totally.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: Maybe he found it harder to get out and stay out than he expected.

 

[hallerlake]

Thanks NanaKat.

I was just forwarded a reading from a British text (title yet unknown) that made several interested points about rarity.

One was that rarity itself as being a virtue for attention is misplaced. The author went on to underline that one look at the stock explains the rarity.

She, a poultry Ph D, then went on to state rather boldly her opinion that the rarest of poultry is well bred poultry, which I kind of think bears a lot of reflection.

Then she went on to stress the the surest way to beat scaricity is through the quality. That birds of quality promote themselves and draw interest such that by the fact of their quality they draw more breeders to consider them as a possible focus of attention.

She had no qualms about putting forth the idea that the surest way to get nowhere was trying to be a chicken collector with a dozen things going on all under the auspice than one's saving rare breeds, that true progress can only be had through the limiting of projects and the subsequent capacity to specialize and hatch in numbers.

Another important point she brought to the for was that in the UK (British author), barring white and black, that each color or pattern had a breed that was the banner breed for said color. I agree to an extent, although perhaps not that there can be only one. I do think though that a breed can only sustain a very limited number of varieties at a level of true quality. The largest number I can think of is Cochins with Blk, Wht, Partridge, and Buff. Having said that, I can't think of another breed that maintains that many Standardized colors in high quality. Consider the Rocks, whe one goes to the shows. There are whites; there are barreds, and then there are always of few examples of the poor cousins that never will be. In Leghorns it's the same, certainly in Wyandottes.

I honestly think that the only way we'll see again birds of extreme quality in a n age where far fewer people are involved in the fancy and the price of infrastucture and feed can be daunting, is to let some of the varieties go and either focus on the prominent variety or varieties in a breed or to follow the desired color pattern to the breed that is it's de facto stakeholder, i.e. if you want something to be silver penciled and of quality, get Brahmas.

That's my plan. I'm going to take my best Appenzeller Spitzhaubens to a local show. To see them is to want them. I was fortunate to get my initial stock from a good breeder. All I have to do is cull the occassional flaw that pops up using the UK SOP as my guide.
This spring, I've ordered some eggs from a good Brabanter breeder to improve my current stock. When I've got them up to snuff (using the Netherlands SOP), I'll show them, too.

 

[Frizzle13]

What about fayoumis they are probably one of the most ancient breeds known and incredibly rare

 

[Yellow House Farm]

What about fayoumis they are probably one of the most ancient breeds known and incredibly rare

What might you mean "What about Fayoumis". Do you have a specific question? It would appear that they descend from the same stock as the Holland-based Hamburgs and Campines. One of the reigning theories is that this stock emerges out of trade with the Near East. From what I can ascertain, they are an unimproved, landrace type.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Saladin, aryou still working with Ed's old line of light spangled OEG?

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Egg pic's...
both my crele penedesenca and white empordanesa are laying daily

 

[saladin]

Saladin, aryou still working with Ed's old line of light spangled OEG?

What I rec'd from Ed was a Toppy stag that I worked into my own line. They now come Black Red.