Not all breeders are the same. Not all hatcheries are the same. One unethical breeder does not mean that all breeders are unethical. One unethical hatchery does not mean that all hatcheries are unethical.
If you are going to be satisfied with what you get, you need to first know what you want. Then you have to find a source that has what you want.
Some breeders breed to the SOP. Some breeders may be trying to create a six-toed Orpington. Some may be trying to create a new color of a recognized breed. Some may be breeding to the SOP combined with good egg production. Some breeders know what they are doing better than others.
Different hatcheries have different business plans and different methods of operation so I will not say that all hatcheries do this or that, any more than I'll say all breeders do this or that. So when I say something, it is for some of them, not all.
Many hatcheries do breed to the SOP, but they tend to use different methods than the good breeders. A good breeder will pair a specific rooster with a specific hen or maybe two specific hens to try to get exactly what he wants. He may even have a specific pairing to try to breed a prize winning male, knowing he is very unlikely to get a prize winning female from that combination. Good breeders are very good.
Hatcheries don't get that specific. They may pick their breeders based on the SOP, but they don't pair them up. They use pen breeding, where you might have 20 roosters randomly mating with 200 hens. You can occasionally get some birds pretty close to the SOP, but with random pen breeding, that is pretty unlikely. And you will notice that the hatcheries don't charge the same price as the good breeders. They have a certain place in the marketplace, and that is supplying decent birds that in general represent the breed. If they were breeding grand champions, their prices would reflect that.
Even the best breeders cull most of their birds, selecting a fairly small percent of birds hatched to continue the breeding program. The rest are not up to standard. The hatcheries use pen breeding instead of pairing up breeders so is it any surprise that a lot more of their birds are culls?
Will you get a higher quality bird from a breeder? That kind of depends on what you mean by higher quality. If you mean a bird closer to the SOP than you are likely to get from a hatchery, yes, IF you choose a breeder that is breeding to the SOP and knows what they are doing. Even their culls are much more likely to be closer to the SOP. So if you are going to try to develop your own line of grand champions, you will start closer to your goal if you choose birds from a good breeder that is breeding to the SOP, even if you get his culls.
If you are going to be satisfied with what you get, you need to first know what you want. Then you have to find a source that has what you want.
Some breeders breed to the SOP. Some breeders may be trying to create a six-toed Orpington. Some may be trying to create a new color of a recognized breed. Some may be breeding to the SOP combined with good egg production. Some breeders know what they are doing better than others.
Different hatcheries have different business plans and different methods of operation so I will not say that all hatcheries do this or that, any more than I'll say all breeders do this or that. So when I say something, it is for some of them, not all.
Many hatcheries do breed to the SOP, but they tend to use different methods than the good breeders. A good breeder will pair a specific rooster with a specific hen or maybe two specific hens to try to get exactly what he wants. He may even have a specific pairing to try to breed a prize winning male, knowing he is very unlikely to get a prize winning female from that combination. Good breeders are very good.
Hatcheries don't get that specific. They may pick their breeders based on the SOP, but they don't pair them up. They use pen breeding, where you might have 20 roosters randomly mating with 200 hens. You can occasionally get some birds pretty close to the SOP, but with random pen breeding, that is pretty unlikely. And you will notice that the hatcheries don't charge the same price as the good breeders. They have a certain place in the marketplace, and that is supplying decent birds that in general represent the breed. If they were breeding grand champions, their prices would reflect that.
Even the best breeders cull most of their birds, selecting a fairly small percent of birds hatched to continue the breeding program. The rest are not up to standard. The hatcheries use pen breeding instead of pairing up breeders so is it any surprise that a lot more of their birds are culls?
Will you get a higher quality bird from a breeder? That kind of depends on what you mean by higher quality. If you mean a bird closer to the SOP than you are likely to get from a hatchery, yes, IF you choose a breeder that is breeding to the SOP and knows what they are doing. Even their culls are much more likely to be closer to the SOP. So if you are going to try to develop your own line of grand champions, you will start closer to your goal if you choose birds from a good breeder that is breeding to the SOP, even if you get his culls.
