advice for buying breeding stock at shows

[big medicine]

If it was me, I would go to some shows, especially any wyandotte events, national, regonal, special shows. Join the breed club. Study and develop an eye for how a good representative of the breed should be put together, regardless of color. Once you have a feel for what a good wyandotte looks like, start looking seriously for stock. If at this point you can not find quaility stock in the variety you are mainly interested in, I think I would consider buying some top notch birds in one of your secondary interest catagories. In this case I would get some good silver laced, you will learn alot about breeding wyandottes, become more known in wyandotte circles, and may open doors to quality silver penciled, or columbian stock. If quality stock is not obtainable, the silver laced could also be used to improve either of the other two colors, as they are not that genetically different. It would take a few generations to get the color back, but is do able.

Or you could do the smart thing and just get Brahmas.

 

[duckluck]

Quote:
I HIGHLY disagree with this statement.

I do as well...if you're successful at hatching you might not necessarily have the budget or room to raise every single bird to maturity, and if you have quality layers, you may have more eggs than you can incubate. Hatching shipped eggs can be difficult but it is not impossible to do, and you have an equal chance with the breeder of producing SQ birds from those eggs. Especially in Calls, this may be the only affordable way for the average Joe to acquire SQ stock. Or the only affordable way for someone on the east coast to get a quality bloodline from the west coast. I can tell you for certain that I have hatched shipped eggs from a respected breeder and gotten some nice Calls.

Personally I think the quality breeder will know their limitations and let some eggs and young babies go before they overface their farm with more birds than they can bring to maturity with high quality of care.

 

[joe17]

nicely said duckluck!

 

[Tim63]

Listen to Big Medicine, he's always right. Just get Brahmas!

 

[cracked_egg]

Quote:
Ok, how close is the White genotype to the SPW genotype? If I wanted to improve type wouldn't I be better off to use whites as they have the best form? Or is it a different kind of white genetically speaking?

Anyone have a list of books that are really worth the purchase? TIA!

 

[starryhen]

That was great ya'll. I have the best looking hens around but they are just feed store chicks and I am sometimes surprised how they turn out - especially the Americanas. I didn't know anything about the show world described here. I shall look around here NE of Austin, Texas and see what's what in hen breeding. I breed horses and wish people would follow this advice in that world. Buyers often take any ole thing that's cheap or they take a fancy to - and waste a lot of money or end up in the hospital. Ha, I always recommend newbie horse buyers start with chickens and goats. If they can keep the chickens alive and manage the goats then they will probably do well with a horse (no guarantee, though).

 

[big medicine]

Quote:
Ok, how close is the White genotype to the SPW genotype? If I wanted to improve type wouldn't I be better off to use whites as they have the best form? Or is it a different kind of white genetically speaking?

Anyone have a list of books that are really worth the purchase? TIA!

Not sure, but I would imagine wyandottes are recessive white. You would have to do some test matings to see what is hiding under the white. On the other hand I do have experience with silver laced, columbian, and silver penciled pattern interaction. Silver laced have both Columbian and Melantonic that the silver penciled lack, but other than that have the same genetic make up. Columbian pattern is just lacking Pattern Gene and Melantonic from being silver laced, if that makes sense.

 

[cracked_egg]

Somewhat... Lol. Obviously genetics are difficult, but chicken color genetics seem to be even worse! I have horse genetics down, lol, but chickens are still out there.

So if white is just recessive, how can it be hiding something? If it is recessive, it would be hard to breed out once crossed in with a dominant gene.

I take it there is a "base color" loci, then a "pattern" loci? Are there others? I know in horses we have quite a few loci that affect color. Do chickens have the same deal? (My understanding is that any one loci can only have two gene possibilities, and but can be dominant, recessive, co dominant, and then the more tricky ones which I forget the terms for, sorry been out of school too long!)

 

[geebs]

starryhen Oh how right you are!!! I was a horse rescue agent for years....Not a very fun job... It is scarey to think that these 1000 pound animals can belong to "just anyone" who wants one...Especially Stallions.... I have seen much.

 

[aveca]

Just my opinion, but just go around to the bigger shows and meet breeders and make arrangements for future hatching eggs or stock purchase visit that farm are the NPIP? depends on what you are looking for but find out who is winning and consistantly at different APA shows..Lots of these breeders are not afraid to travel the states to show..They are as a rule very helpful , they liike to mentor somone new as its the future of that breed and good breeders want you to go out and win because it helps thier reputation.. I just took a whole summer and made arrangements with a breeder gearing up for next year, will be purchasing adult birds pre-arranged vet check and pullorum free flock..Expect to pay well for decent stock , breeders work hard and deserve to be paid decent amount. treat them well and they will treat you well.. That said, there are a few strange charachters out there and if it doesnt feel right avoid it and dont let anyone push you into buying birds that arnt what you want..depending on the breed its a long process..an example is australorps, there are millions out there yet they remain in US on endangered list , most are hatchery stock so it takes a long time to find and establish a connection to breeders, often these people are extreamly busy working thier farms and dont spend a lot of time online.Ive met 2 like that , they win everywhere from maine to maryland and virginia but herd to get ahold of... long summer traveling for them...

geebs, I have a farm that was used as a holding place for rescue horses, Ive seen some of the saddest specimines you can ever imagine , every sort of abuse I wont go into detail about them there were so many.some were so bad there was no choice but to have them put to sleep..It was so sad .. We dont do it anymore because I have severe RA and hands are very bad and cant lead them around anymore or assist the vet so had to give it up..The worse case we had was a pony so emanciated and dehydrated in winter it got down and eyeball had frozen to the ground after IVs and removal of eye the pony went on to make a drs children very happy riding around the yard..he died of old age on thier property..I really didnt think that pony was going to pull throu , but it had a happy ending.