Quote:
Ok, so I am new to poultry breeding, and I have my own ideas about how I want to approach it, so prepare to shoot me!
Several conversations along this line have helped shape my thinking. I grew up in a rural area and with the thinking that all farm animals had to pull their weight or they were culled, and I still believe this. It is common knowledge that production and fertility tend to be lower in many show quality lines in many breeds. It is also a well documented fact that inbreeding/linebreeding is behind this trend. By crossing two unrelated purebred lines of the same breed one can get the same hybrid vigor that is seen in mutts according to the the authors of "The Mating and Breeding of Poultry" . I understand that by line breeding one concentrates the desired phenotype genes and achieves a more consistent 'type' of bird through out the flock. But in our quest for perfecting the type we are losing what I feel are the most important things: production and vigor. I myself would rather see a bit of variety of type and maintain the production and vigor. So I plan on doing more careful outbreeding and minimize the linebreeding. I know many of the experienced show breeders will disagree with my plan, but what is the point of having the most perfect looking bird if it can't do its job?
I can't afford a flock of freeloading chickens, I expect them to pay for themselves, or they are off to freezer camp.
I see many trends in breeding show birds that don't make sense to me like breeding silkies to have such a big top knot that they can't find food and water when turned out in a large area, and breeding them to have a hole in the skull that the brain protrudes through.
This makes as much sense as it did breeding huge bodied quarter horses to have tiny feet for halter classes which gave us generations of navicular disease in horses. I also know that many people are practicing AI in breeds like Cochins with a lot of fluff. Does it make sense to breed them to be sooo fluffy that the can't procreate without human intervention? I don't think so. ( My daughter is also raising bantam cochins for 4H, and we don't plan to pratice AI). I just think we, the human breed, need to rethink our priorities and be careful about the long range effects of our choices are on the creatures we love. Sorry this is a rant, I love a friendly debate, and I won't be offended if lots of people disagree with me.
In fact I expect several will, but these thoughts have been bouncing around in my head for months and this topic is the perfect time to express them.
Amen!
I'm new to chickens but I used to breed and show Pekingese. I feel exactly the same way you do. It's really sad how many faults Pekes have now. I have two Pekes now from a breeder in the Birmingham area and they have more problems than any Peke I ever had over the 25 years I showed. Thank you for posting the way you feel.
Ok, so I am new to poultry breeding, and I have my own ideas about how I want to approach it, so prepare to shoot me!
I see many trends in breeding show birds that don't make sense to me like breeding silkies to have such a big top knot that they can't find food and water when turned out in a large area, and breeding them to have a hole in the skull that the brain protrudes through.
Amen!
I'm new to chickens but I used to breed and show Pekingese. I feel exactly the same way you do. It's really sad how many faults Pekes have now. I have two Pekes now from a breeder in the Birmingham area and they have more problems than any Peke I ever had over the 25 years I showed. Thank you for posting the way you feel.
