breeding Heritage, and rare exotic breeds

[NYREDS]

Kelly's Chickens :

This is something my dh and I have been discussing of late. We would like to breed RIR's and BO's since those are the two breeds we currently have. However, they are both from the same hatchery and we only have one rooster of each breed. How difficult is it going to be to breed up with just what we have? We don't have a SOP yet but are getting one so I'm not sure how many hens/pullets we have that are close to the SOP. (BTW, can we hatch pullet eggs for breeders?) I know I have at least 3 large BO pullets that I can breed to our rooster but I was thinking of only breeding one this year and then using a cockerel from that hatch to breed the 2nd large hen next year and so on. That will give me three lines to breed with in the fourth year. I'm not sure about the RIR's yet.
If anyone knows where to get good RIR hatching eggs, feel free to let me know. That might be a better way to go.

Many people talk about s goal of breeding hatchery stock up to standard. While I suppose anything is technically possible this would certainly be a long road. Stated simply you can't add what isn't there. For example many of the large fowl breeds sold by hatcheries are under standard weight. How then, within that strain of birds, would you breed to bring the weight up to standard.
There's an old saying that applies: "you can't make a silk purse from a sows ear". If the genetic material isn't there tp work with the goal is unreachable.
Assuming it is even possible to breed hatchery stock up to standard it's a project of many, many generations. Since the cost of quality stock vs hatchery stock is often cited as a deciding factor in starting a breeding program be aware that those extra generations will soon eat up any perceived savings.
The last thing I'd add is do some research before deciding on a "breeder" to buy from. Go to some shows & talk to people exhibiting your chosen breed. There are many people producing birds for sale, not all of them are breeders in any meaningful sence. Many breed clubs now have websites with information about the breed as well as lists of club members. Lastly buy a Standard before you buy birds not after. It will help you to know what to look for & what to buy.​

 

[cybercat]

Quote:
Many people talk about s goal of breeding hatchery stock up to standard. While I suppose anything is technically possible this would certainly be a long road. Stated simply you can't add what isn't there. For example many of the large fowl breeds sold by hatcheries are under standard weight. How then, within that strain of birds, would you breed to bring the weight up to standard.
There's an old saying that applies: "you can't make a silk purse from a sows ear". If the genetic material isn't there tp work with the goal is unreachable.
Assuming it is even possible to breed hatchery stock up to standard it's a project of many, many generations. Since the cost of quality stock vs hatchery stock is often cited as a deciding factor in starting a breeding program be aware that those extra generations will soon eat up any perceived savings.
The last thing I'd add is do some research before deciding on a "breeder" to buy from. Go to some shows & talk to people exhibiting your chosen breed. There are many people producing birds for sale, not all of them are breeders in any meaningful sence. Many breed clubs now have websites with information about the breed as well as lists of club members. Lastly buy a Standard before you buy birds not after. It will help you to know what to look for & what to buy.

Oh it is possible as long as the breed breeds true. That is the biggest problem with alot of hatchery stock that even though they look like the breed they might not be. But breeding up in size is not that big of a problem. In some breeds you also have no choice but to buy hatchery in order to get the breed. If one does their research and gets the SOP and does selective breeding it is very possible to breed up from decent hatchery stock. Even some show breeders today did that when they started. Not all hatcheries are bad in there stock you big two are the worst in many breeds when it comes to stock. But they are good on some less popualar ones. Your smaller hatcheries that have been round are good for more popular breeds. But for those comon breed like barred rocks and buff ops I would buy from a breeder. Its the color variations on these breeds that is almost impossble to find outside of a hatchery. In mine before I bought there were no breeders selling to the public. Another person on here looked for over a year to no avail. She was breeding hatchery stock and gave up. I did more research found where a good line was from a small hatchery and bought. Right now there are only 3 breeders in the club with my color variation not including me. They all got theres last 2 years. So sometimes hatchery stock is the only way to go and yes it can be a long road. This is why there is a big campaing for heritage chickens to perserve the breeding lines that are disapeering.

 

[Sumatra55]

Quote:
Many people talk about s goal of breeding hatchery stock up to standard. While I suppose anything is technically possible this would certainly be a long road. Stated simply you can't add what isn't there. For example many of the large fowl breeds sold by hatcheries are under standard weight. How then, within that strain of birds, would you breed to bring the weight up to standard.
There's an old saying that applies: "you can't make a silk purse from a sows ear". If the genetic material isn't there tp work with the goal is unreachable.
Assuming it is even possible to breed hatchery stock up to standard it's a project of many, many generations. Since the cost of quality stock vs hatchery stock is often cited as a deciding factor in starting a breeding program be aware that those extra generations will soon eat up any perceived savings.
The last thing I'd add is do some research before deciding on a "breeder" to buy from. Go to some shows & talk to people exhibiting your chosen breed. There are many people producing birds for sale, not all of them are breeders in any meaningful sence. Many breed clubs now have websites with information about the breed as well as lists of club members. Lastly buy a Standard before you buy birds not after. It will help you to know what to look for & what to buy.

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