A Heritage of Perfection: Standard-bred Large Fowl

[fowlman01]

I gather the problem of not breeding to the standard, and not judging to the standard, has some fanciers of at least one breed concerned enough that they have written a document to remind people what the actual standard is for that breed. I think it is a fantastic document, and would love to see one for the breed I'm working on.

The title of the document is "Interpreting the Dominique Standard in 2015", and it is available as a PDF. I found the document over at facebook in the APA's public page, but I can't "share" a direct link here, so you'll have to hunt through the page to find it. If you do a search for "Dominique" at that page you should get it ...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmericanPoultryAssociation/

This is a good way to get decent judging of breeds some judges don't see often. Educating the exhibitors and judges is a very good idea.

Walt

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

This is a good way to get decent judging of breeds some judges don't see often. Educating the exhibitors and judges is a very good idea.

Walt

Would you be interested in helping draft documents like this for other breeds? Which breeds do you think are most in need of this type of thing?

I've been asked to put together a little educational document to use at a youth poultry fundraiser event in my area about birds I'm donating to the fundraiser (Delawares), and would love to include some "considerations" for breeding/showing in addition to the breed history and any tidbits from the Standard that I can get permission to use. I have exactly zero experience showing, and only slightly more in breeding, so I think it would be better if I could quote some more qualified people.

 

[Regin]

I gather the problem of not breeding to the standard, and not judging to the standard, has some fanciers of at least one breed concerned enough that they have written a document to remind people what the actual standard is for that breed. I think it is a fantastic document, and would love to see one for the breed I'm working on.

The title of the document is "Interpreting the Dominique Standard in 2015", and it is available as a PDF. I found the document over at facebook in the APA's public page, but I can't "share" a direct link here, so you'll have to hunt through the page to find it. If you do a search for "Dominique" at that page you should get it ...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmericanPoultryAssociation/

The buckeyes have a similar documentation on blogspot. Tittle is Understanding the SOP.

www (dot) americanbuckeyeclub (dot) blogspot (dot) com/p/understanding-sop (dot) html

 

[Ifish]

Being a Rookie when it comes to Heritage Large Fowl I can't contribute a whole lot , so I have been doing a ton of reading. Many sites, blogs, books, and face to face conversations about poultry and Heritage Large Fowl. One thing I have picked up on in my conversations and reading is that the majority of chicken owners do not care what the birds look like. I seem to be entering into a hobby that is of the very small minority. I'm ok with that and even intrigued by the possibility of spreading the Heritage Large Fowl bug across the land in my area. But I can't help but feel that the "I don't show my birds so I don't care about standards" mantra is a a detriment to large fowl in general.

I just can't understand this type of thinking. If I were to just want 6 Brown Leghorns for eggs, I would want them to lay and look like leghorns, not just birds similar in color that lay white eggs.

So how would you counter this type of thinking? How do you get people to understand that for a few dollars more than that hatchery chick they could have a chick from a heritage breeder? What can I say to someone the next time I hear "I'm gonna get some RIR's from TSC. I don't need those Show Birds"?

It just concerns me that the Heritage Standard-Bred Large Fowl is going to disappear because of something as simple as "I don't show chickens". There has to be a way to counter this.

I may be way off base here, If so please let me know. These are just my thoughts, and like I said, I am new to all of this.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Being a Rookie when it comes to Heritage Large Fowl I can't contribute a whole lot , so I have been doing a ton of reading. Many sites, blogs, books, and face to face conversations about poultry and Heritage Large Fowl. One thing I have picked up on in my conversations and reading is that the majority of chicken owners do not care what the birds look like. I seem to be entering into a hobby that is of the very small minority. I'm ok with that and even intrigued by the possibility of spreading the Heritage Large Fowl bug across the land in my area. But I can't help but feel that the "I don't show my birds so I don't care about standards" mantra is a a detriment to large fowl in general.

I just can't understand this type of thinking. If I were to just want 6 Brown Leghorns for eggs, I would want them to lay and look like leghorns, not just birds similar in color that lay white eggs.

So how would you counter this type of thinking? How do you get people to understand that for a few dollars more than that hatchery chick they could have a chick from a heritage breeder? What can I say to someone the next time I hear "I'm gonna get some RIR's from TSC. I don't need those Show Birds"?

It just concerns me that the Heritage Standard-Bred Large Fowl is going to disappear because of something as simple as "I don't show chickens". There has to be a way to counter this.

I may be way off base here, If so please let me know. These are just my thoughts, and like I said, I am new to all of this.

This is a very real problem, and it's not just the "uninformed" chicken owner who contributes to these issues.

There are a number of big show names that repeatedly post that you can't be a serious breeder if you don't show your birds.

There are many show breeders that concentrate so much on external appearance that the utility of the bird is left behind.

There are a number of judges that don't judge frame and size as more important than color, especially in the rare breeds.

So if all these commenters, breeders, and judges aren't emphasizing farm utility over appearance, how can you blame "the everyday, non-show circuit" person for having the impression that show chickens are just feathered runway models of little real use other than to the show person? People need to be educated about how proper selection of breeding stock is critical to both form AND function. People need to be educated as to the difference between how a real breeder selects stock vs how a hatchery selects stock. Breeders and judges need to remember that color is nice, but useless if utility is compromised.

But there will always be a market for inexpensive, mass-produced, poor quality goods -- whether you're talking about chickens, or cars, or clothing, or electronics, or any other commodity. To put it in perspective, just think of hatcheries as the WalMarts of the chicken world. It doesn't matter how much you educate people, you're not going to close WalMart, or Lowe's, or Home Depot, and you're not going to stop everyone from buying from hatcheries. Hopefully there will always be enough people who recognize and appreciate quality to keep at least some of the smaller retailers open, just like hopefully there will always be enough people who recognize the difference in a properly bred RIR from a Production Red to keep the heritage breeds alive.

Everyone who cares need to do what they can towards that goal. Would-be chicken owners need to be given options, as it can often be difficult to find private breeders. If someone knows of good quality breeders that sell their birds, it is important to pass on that information to people looking for that breed. Everyone wants convenience, and months of web searching for obscure references, or traveling to shows in search of an uncertain lead, will never be able to compete with the streamlined ease of ordering from McMurray, or the fun of going down to pick out your own chicks at TSC (especially if you only want 3 instead of 25).

 

[bnjrob]

Being a Rookie when it comes to Heritage Large Fowl I can't contribute a whole lot , so I have been doing a ton of reading. Many sites, blogs, books, and face to face conversations about poultry and Heritage Large Fowl. One thing I have picked up on in my conversations and reading is that the majority of chicken owners do not care what the birds look like. I seem to be entering into a hobby that is of the very small minority. I'm ok with that and even intrigued by the possibility of spreading the Heritage Large Fowl bug across the land in my area. But I can't help but feel that the "I don't show my birds so I don't care about standards" mantra is a a detriment to large fowl in general.

I just can't understand this type of thinking. If I were to just want 6 Brown Leghorns for eggs, I would want them to lay and look like leghorns, not just birds similar in color that lay white eggs.

So how would you counter this type of thinking? How do you get people to understand that for a few dollars more than that hatchery chick they could have a chick from a heritage breeder? What can I say to someone the next time I hear "I'm gonna get some RIR's from TSC. I don't need those Show Birds"?

It just concerns me that the Heritage Standard-Bred Large Fowl is going to disappear because of something as simple as "I don't show chickens". There has to be a way to counter this.

I may be way off base here, If so please let me know. These are just my thoughts, and like I said, I am new to all of this.

LOL - that's the thought many of us have. You're not off base at all. It's truly hard to counter that kind of thinking. It's a matter of seeing what their knowledge level is on the subject, and then bringing up things in a way that will pique their interest so that they become open to the idea of doing more than just buying birds at the feed store every year. And even when you do capture their interest, only a small few will stay interested enough to actually do something. But if you don't try, then you won't reach anyone.

So many folks don't realize that there is more to a bird than just their feather color. The more you talk about your birds and what you are doing with them, is usually how you get them to start thinking beyond feed store chickens. When people see that you do things differently than they do, they start wondering. And they'll finally be curious enough to ask a question. Then when they see your enthusiasm for poultry and learn how and why you do things differently - that's how you can educate them. It's not about telling them they are wrong, it's about showing them how your birds are different and then when they are ready, you can be a source of help and encouragement for those that want to take their chicken keeping to the next level.

 

[ocap]

Being a Rookie when it comes to Heritage Large Fowl I can't contribute a whole lot , so I have been doing a ton of reading. Many sites, blogs, books, and face to face conversations about poultry and Heritage Large Fowl. One thing I have picked up on in my conversations and reading is that the majority of chicken owners do not care what the birds look like. I seem to be entering into a hobby that is of the very small minority. I'm ok with that and even intrigued by the possibility of spreading the Heritage Large Fowl bug across the land in my area. But I can't help but feel that the "I don't show my birds so I don't care about standards" mantra is a a detriment to large fowl in general.

I just can't understand this type of thinking. If I were to just want 6 Brown Leghorns for eggs, I would want them to lay and look like leghorns, not just birds similar in color that lay white eggs.

So how would you counter this type of thinking? How do you get people to understand that for a few dollars more than that hatchery chick they could have a chick from a heritage breeder? What can I say to someone the next time I hear "I'm gonna get some RIR's from TSC. I don't need those Show Birds"?

It just concerns me that the Heritage Standard-Bred Large Fowl is going to disappear because of something as simple as "I don't show chickens". There has to be a way to counter this.

I may be way off base here, If so please let me know. These are just my thoughts, and like I said, I am new to all of this.

I ordered from a hatchery and two breeders that try for the "Standard". I had to see for myself. There is a difference! You might have both and show the local buyers the difference.

 

[chickadoodles]

.

 

[Ifish]

I ordered from a hatchery and two breeders that try for the "Standard". I had to see for myself. There is a difference! You might have both and show the local buyers the difference.

That's a good idea, but I'll need all of the room I have for our program.

Even my close friends that have a few chickens for eggs think I am crazy, think that their production Reds are the best thing ever, and don't seem to want to discuss the Standard Bred birds. In fact, they seem insulted. So I pretty much avoid the subject at this point with them.

So maybe it is my delivery of trying to point out what a RIR is suppose to look like. I will probably have a much better method and easier time once I get things up and running for them to see a difference. I still think that it's not going to work very well because their hatchery chickens produce eggs, and eggs are all they want.

Anyway, It's nice to know I'm not the only one who feels as I do, and others have been working on it for a long time. After sleeping on it last night I feel I need to stop looking at the whole picture right now. Focus on my setup, birds, and time with my daughter, one day at a time, one step at a time. The rest will come as people in my area take notice of what we're trying to do.

 

[Sydney Acres]

If people only want a few hens, aren't planning on breeding them, and are happy with what they have, why ruin it for them? I've had lots of hatchery stock that I loved. The fact that they can do better does not diminish their enjoyment of what they have. Most people don't want or need the "best" available -- they just want what works for them. When or if they find that the hatchery stock is no longer adequate, then they'll be willing to consider better quality. If you can get the information to people before the hatchery purchase, and can refer them to a breeder that is easy to buy from, then they're more likely to be receptive, if and only if they want superior quality. But once they already have hatchery birds that they care about, it's too late to tell them their birds are substandard, and somewhat insulting.