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I've edited this post with a bit of information for clarification, as some jumping to conclusions seems to have upset some folks. We can't all think exactly the same way, but we can show respect for one another and try to learn from others' experiences. I, for one, will not be making personal attacks or lack compassion for what I may not understand behind the scenes. I will leave my post intact except for what has been added for clarification.
OOOOooo!!Let's talk about genetics!! You guys know how much I love that!!
I deliberately have flocks that are made up of different gene pools, and if I keep stock to breed back, I DO NOT breed back brother to sister. The only exception will be in the case of the Silkied Ameraucanas, simply because
in the mix of males and females in this group that I received from another breeder (which you can read about here there is a 75% chance of
some of them only being 1/2 related, but no way of knowing for sure.
There is a scarcity of them, but Julie has tried to get the few into others' hands for improvement and since they developed from a spontaneous mutation,
which she cannot claim, as she hatched the originals from eggs she got from ebay, there must be some inbreeding to perpetuate the unique feature. I have a cock from John Blehm stock that will be the patriarch of the new line, then a hen from Dak's eggs that came from another show line of Ameraucanas altogether.
The Blehm cock will be bred to the females, Dak's hen (when it grows up) will be bred to the males.
In chickens, it is scientifically accepted to line-breed: that is, breed back son to mother or father to daughter. It is frowned upon to breed brother to sister because things are known to crop up.
One example of an unknown possibility is this: Since relatively is still known about how scissor-beak is triggered, or whether it's genetic predisposition AND a trigger, etc., it's always a better choice to seek genetic diversity. Unfortunately, if you're dealing with a small pool of genes, you might have to outcross to a different, similar breed and then weed out undesired qualities. This is where I am on some other lines.
There is excellent documentation to show that abnormalities occur during incubation, and one member had a heat spike during the first few days recently. She stabilized and many hatched...but most had no eyes. This is only to say we are still learning about malformations and I, too, wish to keep diversity in play.
While keeping OCD records on these birds to keep lines straight, I am still somewhat of a nut. They nearly all have names, and I remember most of them. I use a naming convention for them, so it's easier to remember. My Black Orps are nearly all from a particular Jane Austen book. My French Black Copper Marans are all named from Les Miserables. My Lakenvelders were all from Hunchback of Notre Dame, as my very first line,
which were all hatched from another breeder, produced a boy with a corkscrew neck, Quasimodo. He was loved and pampered right up until he couldn't any longer eat.
He had his own flock of pullets and had a wonderful life up to about a year old, then he got stiffer in the neck and couldn't function correctly. I sobbed when I had to ask my DH to euthanize him. I preened him myself because he couldn't manage the job, always. I think I had a hard time after that- I neglected the Laks a bit because it made me sad.
These little things are wonderful and some are incredibly intelligent. Some are not. I definitely have a respect for them that extends well beyond what I ever thought I would, and my roo, Professor, was an exceptional animal that had a family position as high as our dogs and cat. He was tube-fed in the crop several times a day for years. No vacations, no matter how sick I was, or tired, etc., the boy still needed to be fed, and it was a dicey process that no one else had the guts to try.
When we went to Thanksgiving for the first time in years, we did have him lodged at the vet's, and I taught the vet tech how to hold the red tube so that Professor would go after it like a snake. He swallowed it himself. He was happy and never resisted feeding, but rather loved it! If he saw the tube when he was in the house (which was often) would jump up and chase the tube when he was full! He was huge, healthy, and happy! The crop is only one molecule thick and risked being punctured with every feeding. Professor came when called, and I understood his language. He used a specific cluck to name family members, and it was consistent. The big dog had a series of clucks different from the little dog, different from a stray big dog. He was well loved! When he passed we lost a little bit of our hearts and he's got a special spot in the yard with a big, round stone. No unloved rooster could last 2 days without a lower beak, and he went years. My family thinks of it as hoarding because I didn't just put a bird like that down...but I know it's because I had already established a relationship and mutual respect was well underway. THAT'S what makes folks think we're bonkers.
I know you like to keep us thinking, Mike, and I respect the way you do things. I also feel that the way I do things is important, and just because I sell eggs doesn't mean I have less feeling or respect for the birds- it's that I love them so much I've chosen to do this for a meager living so I can spend more time with them, rather than finding another job like the one I had before which took all of my time and made me miserable. I would love to not have to make money from them, but I have a family to feed, and I'm barely managing that.
I think a part of my soul would die if I had to give up my flocks and go back to Corporate America. I also think some very interesting projects that folks are excited about would disappear and some amazing and unique birds wouldn't be out there for folks to have, because I enjoy fostering new colors/patterns/etc. with the wonderful ingredients God has given us for creative diversity. I feel this is a good thing- that I can do this and make a scant amount of money.
In other news, the project I have been working on to make a less grotesque meat bird is looking very promising, and I'm hoping to refine it a bit more soon. I've made a foraging, fast-growing, cushion-combed dual-purpose bird with good egg-laying potential. The hybrid vigor seems to be exactly as I'd hoped, and I think they'll dress out at 5+# at 16 weeks, maybe sooner. We'll know by late June if it might be sooner...perhaps by then I'll have figured out who will process them for me, since I don't think I could unless my daughters' lives depended on it.
