I agree with you in theory. I think that you know what my main interest is.
I also understand that people like to create and experiment. That is in our nature, and how we have what we have. That is how I started in this hobby. 20 years ago chickens were not online or the latest fad. I started by experimenting with feed store chicks. I think there can be a natural evolution of sorts. There was for me. At a point, the challenge of breeding the complete package appealed to me.
My original interest was production and it is still a very big part of how I see things.
Two things came together for me, and made a big impression. One was a batch of feed store production reds. In their second generation, there was one chick that grew faster than the rest, and was lighter in color. This male was far and beyond the others in the rate he feathered out and fleshed out. He was also lighter in color and I liked his color. Mature he was shorter than the others (proportionally), but larger. Also a wider and was a deeper bird. I was familiar with NHs, but not like I am now. He reminded e more of a NH. He was a throwback.
Anyways I used on a couple hens. I did not get any like him, but intermediate between the two. I decided to put him with a few of his daughters, and that is where I saw the progress. My interest in the breed New Hampshire was born. So to speak.
Now today had I posted pictures of my progress to those in the know, they would have criticized what I had done. Even that I learned more about breeding poultry in that experiment, than I have since that time. I learned the fundamentals of inheritance and making real progress. I lost those birds to a pack of wandering dogs. I was probably 24 or 25 then. So 15 years ago.
I started looking for some replacements. It was out of season for the feed store chicks, so I started asking around. I found a farmer that raised Rhode Island Reds. I thought what I was raising was Rhode Island Reds until I saw these. I fell in love with them. I was impressed by their size, and their uniformity across the flock. I did not know such birds existed. The first thing that struck me was how they looked like a picture and that they were shaped like a brick. This was fundamental in me being able to see a breed's type. They were so different than what I had gotten used to, what made them different stuck out to me.
This was an older gentleman, and he saw my interest. He set me up with a small flock. A cockerel, two hens , and four pullets. These birds were not just attractive, but they were good layers. I loved their big rich brown eggs. They were larger eggs than what I was getting.
Anyways, it came time to move. I would not be set up for chickens, so I gave them away. When I was ready I went back to get a new start. The man that I gave them to did not have them anymore, and the older gentleman was not around anymore. This taught me how easy it was to loose things like this.
I still had that NH like bird in my head so I decided was going to find a good line of NHs. I spent five years looking for something that I wanted. I had no idea how rare the breed had become. I tried the hatcheries, and was not impressed. Most were just light colored red layers. They were not NHs. I tried Cackle Hatchery's NHs and they were a little closer. I would say that they were NHs, but they were light in weight and were rather shallow birds. I was getting closer though.
Then I started looking on the internet. I found some that were better than I had been seeing, and gave the a try. The quality was poor, but I was getting closer. I raised them for a few years, but I kept looking. I stumbled across Kathy, and she had just got some birds from someone that got them from someone. She told me that I could find some pictures here, and that is how I ended up here. Four generations of NHs later, they are still the best that I know of. They are lacking in certain areas, from what I came to understand about NHs, but better than any alternative I have been able to find. I spent around five years trying and looking for New Hampshires before then. They were not available. It took an import from Germany to change that. One of the best American breeds of all time was disappearing.
So I get it. I came to realize that it was important to hold on to what we have, and try to do something with them. However, I got there by experimenting with feed store chicks.. Some things I picked up on then, I still have with me now. Like looking for the birds to have eyes that fill the socket. That is still a pet peeve of mine. Birds that held their wings well. Pinched birds, etc. I picked up on lot of things that the birds taught me. Not any online mentoring. Heck, I did not even know anyone that bred poultry. Experimenting with feed store chicks taught me a lot.
People new to poultry will be drawn to a variety of things. Whether it be color, or a story. Birds get overhyped. They come and they go. If they enjoy it enough, they will settle into what they like and what they want to do. And they will be all the wiser for having gone through the process. On many levels, I am still new to poultry. Maybe not keeping them, but trying to do what I am doing now.
