Calling all APA and/or ABA breeders!

[Trish1974]

Do any of you sell chicks?

Me? I do, but I don't ship.

 

[333113]

I'm relatively novice when it comes to this, but I've shown to a handful of APA/ABA sanctioned shows and I've recently got into breeding towards the SOP, like within the last year, and have since become an APA/ABA member as I'm friends with my provincial rep (if anyone here is from District 11 let me see you in this thread!). I know that it's gonna take quite some time to establish anything significant, and I've got some pretty good results so far in breeding, but everyone has to start somewhere right?

Finding breeders that work towards the SOP seems like a very hard task these days. Maybe it's because they don't really use social media, or maybe it's because there's not a lot of them at this point. I find that people seem to breed chickens just to breed chickens, but they don't care about the general disposition of the breed and they don't strive to maintain a standard which is sad to some extent. Even though I'm not even an adult, but I suppose that it's good to pick up something when you're young and take time to work towards a goal. It's better to get a job done correctly over a decade than to rush a job over 5 years. Hopefully, breeding season after breeding season, I can work my way up the up the ranks, become reputable, and maintain one if not a few heritage breeds for the generations to come

I have a goal list for my breeds that includes the standard, plus other qualities that I find important in the breed.

The standards published by the APA and ABA are mostly about the features you can visually inspect, that is, conformation, color, stance, etc. Okay, runner ducks and Seramas have another couple hoops to jump through. But, basically, the show judging measures only part of the bird's characteristics.

Crevecoeurs, for example, have more tender meat than most other breeds because of the short muscle fibers-- not judged at shows. Some birds are prolific layers, or have unique egg colors--not judged at shows. Eggs are judged separately from the bird. Personality....well, I have to think a judge, all other things being equal, might be influenced to set a bitey bird at #2 if he's acting like a #2. Things like long-term health, hardiness in hot and cold weather, lower feed consumption per pound of bird or per egg laid, are all tough to judge at a show, and almost impossible to see in a cockerel or a pullet. Yet, to be a serious breeder, all these features and some more should be taken into account to produce a healthy line of birds.

 

[333113]

Me? I do, but I don't ship.

I sell chicks, too, but I don't ship, either.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

I wasn't expecting anyone to ship, I wanted to know if there was any money in it. See, the ABA offers a scholarship, and it would be cool to get that, just wanted to make sure I wasn't blowing out more money than I was getting.

 

[FluffyBottomBantams]

Your cock bird has pretty mottling, and he’s nice and Cobby around here if you’re in the junior category and show initiative towards your breed lots of more experienced breeders are happy to give advice or even mentor you. same goes for judges, they’ll talk about your bird with you if you ask them After judging.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

Your cock bird has pretty mottling, and he’s nice and Cobby around here if you’re in the junior category and show initiative towards your breed lots of more experienced breeders are happy to give advice or even mentor you. same goes for judges, they’ll talk about your bird with you if you ask them After judging.

Good to know, thanks.

 

[FluffyBottomBantams]

I’ve never heard of the ABA scholarship, It would be interesting to look into though.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

It was on this home page, I decided to look after this thread☺

 

[MROO]

I am a life member of the APA and a long-time member of the ABA. I also belong to the Livestock Conservancy and the Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities. I have raised Crevecoeurs for over 20 years, Delawares and Nankins for about 14 years, and Sultans, Houdans, Runner ducks, and Dutch Hookbills for about 8 years. I have some other breeds, too, but not as serious about them. I still do breed to the standards, and last showed at the Tulsa State Fair in 2019.

I also have Nankins ... Your pair looks really nice - but even better, they're rose combs! It's wonderful to find someone else with RCs. I had them years ago, as a teen, but we had no idea what they were at the time. To us, they were just very personable, super pretty bantams. It wasn't until much later that we learned what they were (from the friend who gave them to me in the first place) and by then, they were all gone. Zheesh ... if I'd only known!

My/our current stock came from a private farm in VA - their Nankin rooster with a Williamsburg hen. I'm pretty sure one of them had a single comb in their line, because hints of it crop up now and again. No matter how carefully I breed, that will likely always present an occasional surprise. While I'm being careful about combs, my main focus right now is a more consistent size. I have a two month old cockerel that looks like he's going to be very small ... fingers crossed that his coloring & everything else is consistent with his sire's. If it is ... and so far, so good ... I'll be trying him over some of this summer's pullets, come Winter/Spring.

We've generally only show at our local County Fair and the Maryland State Fair. Our top rooster did really well at the County Fair a couple of years ago BIS! ... then promptly went into a hard (and I do mean HARD!) molt ... just in time for the State Fair. My poor daughter was devastated. She was SO counting on showing him, there.

She's pretty devastated this year, too. It's her final year in 4H and there are no shows. She's hoping to do the bigger shows at some point, but school comes first. We'll have to see what college brings. In the meantime, I guess I'll be holding down the fort ... or the coop (which technically, IS a fort - a converted play fort!) It's a good thing Mama likes the chickens, too!

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

I had a one year membership in the APA in 2019 so I could buy the standard. I bought hatching eggs for both Bielefelders and Mille Fluer D'uccles. Hoping to start selling chicks from the Biels and showing the D'uccles.

Looking at the pics of the Mille Fleur pattern that someone posted I have a LOT of work to do.

Uploading pictures of my D'uccles and my Biels. My D'uccles just started laying and I got a broody hen at the right time so YES.