BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Dead Rabbit]

For those of you who have been breeding birds for a long time, what are 5 rules or tips of breeding you would give someone interested in starting out?

1. Decide on ONE particular breed. And ONE ONLY
2. Spend hrs days weeks and months researching this particular breed. Speak to ones that are well known and successful with said fowl. Dismiss most everything written in modern books about raising poultry. The Internet is valuable but not fool proof. Dismiss most everything read on most sites. There are about 4 individuals here that I follow most everything they say. Cause I can tell they actually know. I'm sure there are more that I'm not familiar with. Remeber a lot of words and a lot of posts mean nothing. Most everything else here take it for entertainment value. Your research should includ actually visiting others yards and seeing their operations. Studying their methods. Dismiss a lot of what "science" says. Science is just "the study of......." And science isn't real life in most cases. Dismiss most everything some one says that free ranges with mixed breeds. Or multiple breeds of fowl. A serious breeder single mates and on rare occasions flock mates. But all mating are planned and organized. Free ranging accomplishes nothing but tickles human emotions.
3. Build quality breeding facilities indusive to the breed you choose. Build more pens than you think you will ever use. Chances are you still won't have enough space.
4. Buy the absolute best fowl you can find. Regardless of cost. Remeber you can't make chicken salad out of chicken manure. Certain breeds and types are well worth $1000 or more per trio. I recommend two pairs. Two cocks. Two hens. Proven producers if you can get a master breeder to part with them. Don't be afraid to inbreed and line breed them and their offspring
5. Keep copious notes on everything. This includes spending ALOT of time with your fowl. Watching and observing. Wing bands, leg bands, nostril and toe notches are your best friend

I will add point 6. Be open minded. This may seem contradictory to what was stated in point 2. But there is a difference.. Always be willing to think outside the box. Some things that will be stated will seem ridiculous, will go against everything you THINK you know. Go against the traditional and common way of thinking. But never dismiss something, as ridiculous as it sounds, till you meditate on it, research it, ask very experienced and knowledgeable breeders, and prove it too yourself, right or wrong. If you are willing to think outside the box you will be years ahead of your contemporaries.

 

[gjensen]

Hugh Norman a master breeder of game fowl once said, battle fowl aren't brood fowl. And brood fowl aren't battle fowl. .......He never fought his lines of brood stock and never used his battle fowl in the brood pen.

Another words. You keep your brood stock pure and generally tightly inbred to where the genetics aren't greatly diversified. Like produces like. Everything produced comes typical with very little variances.

Then you cross your tightly bred lines to produce your sporting or production lines. The "hybrid vigor" is produced from crossing lines that have proven to be compatible

This method of breeding proves true in most any form of animal husbandry .

This is one of the better contributions of this thread.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

Thank you for your valued information.  We DO appreciate discussion of hybrid vigor and many other (almost any other ) types of breeding but we DO NOT shave too close to the topic of combat between animals of the same species, meant for entertainment or cash rewards.  Our discussions are about POULTRY and about dogs, jack asses  and other animals/live stock that will help to protect our chickens, rabbits and other animals that are too fragile or timid to protect themselves.

Thank you for understanding

RON

Yes sir. Understood.
Mr Norman was a master breeder in his own field which was generally accepted at that period in time. I just use his writings as an example of a proven method of breeding. The sporting issue can be dismissed from his saying and the method will still stand true. No harm or foul intended

But I will add that I find it humorous for a lack of better terms that allowing two WILLING individuals of a species to fight is illegal and immoral, whereas pitting a dog on an unwilling participant of a different species, I.e. Bear,coon, lion, hog etc, is not only acceptable but applauded in most circles

Now before you turn the dogs loose on me, I want to add I support hunting, enjoy talking dogs. Enjoy hunting dogs of all sorts. But the hypocritical irony does not escape my notice.

 

[collie1470]

Baiting is illegal in many places as well. Coon hunting isn't for the purpose of watching an animal gett harassed and killed....it's an effective way to get rid of a serious varmint, and a major transmitter of rabies. Coons are no joke.

 

[collie1470]

Intent is more important than action, in many laws. If the intent is solely to gain entertainment from watching two animals killing each other, it's morally wrong and usually illegal (excepting some cultural things, like bullfights). But hunting is legal, because it is important for health and safety, and in cases of animals which are eaten, for food. Trophy hunting is another issue, but it's not usually done with hounds 9.9

 

[Dead Rabbit]

Not sure about where you are from. But have you ever been around a bunch of coon hunters? The purpose may not be harassment. And the final kill. But it's certainly the case...in most cases

 

[collie1470]

I have been around coon hunters. Some bad individuals don't change the purpose behind it, though.

 

[collie1470]

The dogs go nuts, but they're supposed to. It alerts the hunter to their location. The same is done by legal mountain lion "hunters". Except the purpose there is actually to scare the cat bad enough that it wants to avoid the property. But doing so saves it from being shot by an illegal hunter.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

Coon hear hog. It's all the same.
You are correct The purpose is well known. But real life dictates otherwise. FEW bad individuals isn't the half of it. Regardless. It's two individual of different species. One very willing. One very unwilling. And the general consensus is applauding, slapping on the back, and atta boys.

 

[collie1470]

Of course it is, just like people getting excited when they catch a fish. Getting a coon means the dogs are doing as they should and that it's one less coon to kill people's birds, get into their trash and homes, destroying property, and potentially spreading rabies to other mammals (including humans).