Endangered breeds

[FlashPointFarm]

Thanks!!

 

[aveca]

why its important to keep the rare chicken breeds going. diversity wards off disaster like great potato famine

In Ireland, exclusive use of one variety of potato, the “Lumper”, lead to the great famine. It was cheap food to feed the masses. Potatoes were propagated vegetatively so for all intensive purposes, the potatoes were clones with little to no genetic variation. When the potato fungus called “the Blight” arrived from the Americas in 1845 to Ireland, the Lumper had no resistance to the disease leading to the nearly complete failure of the potato crop across Ireland. Had the farmers used multiple varieties of potato, the famine may not have occurred. Keep in mind that Andean natives were cultivating three thousand varieties before the Spaniards arrived. Today in the US we cultivate 250 varieties ALBC composite from numerous sources

About 20 percent of farm-animal species are endangered, says FAO. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that one in five species of farm animal are in danger of extinction. Of more than 7,600 species that the FAO has in its farm-animal database, 190 have kicked the bucket in the last 15 years -- about one breed a month. The globalization of livestock production is the "biggest single factor" impacting farm-animal biodiversity, says the FAO, as global agriculture focuses heavily on specialized, super-productive livestock. Indeed, a mere 14 species provide 90 percent of the human food supply from animals. FAO's José Esquinas-Alcázar is stressing the importance of maintaining animal genetic diversity, which he says will "allow future generations to select stocks or develop new breeds to cope with emerging issues, such as climate change, diseases, and changing socioeconomic factors."

The turkey is the most genetically eroded of all livestock species. Only several strains of large white turkey are used for over 90% of all turkey production. These birds have such large breasts that they are no longer capable of breeding naturally. Fertility has been decreasing for the variety. Often, the birds get so big that their legs will collapse under the tremendous body weight. Their fast growth and large bodies also make them prone to heart attacks causing mortalities from shipping stress. Farmers become reliant on hatcheries to provide stock. Without artificial insemination performed by humans, this breed would become extinct in just one generation. ALBC piece compiled from multiple sources

60 breeds of chicken that had been raised in the United States prior to World War II were abandoned in flavor of just a handful of high performers. Today, five industrial “improved” breeds of chicken supply almost all of the chicken meat and brown eggs sold as food. White eggs now come almost exclusively from a single breed of industrial white leghorns.
Ten large companies produce more than 90 percent of the nation’s poultry using hybridized, fast growing birds. (National Resources Defense Council). NC State University study shows that the fast growth of the hybrids is supported by the development of thin intestinal linings that allow nutrients to be absorbed very quickly by the body. These extra thin intestinal linings make the birds vulnerable to infection and reduce disease resistance. In effect, it becomes necessary to incorporate antibiotics and anthelmintics. The poor immune system leaves them open to bacterial infection and disease like avian influenza. That’s why biosecurity becomes a huge issue in the poultry industry.

A report from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture puts the rapid growth rate of today’s chickens into perspective: “If a [human] grew as fast as a chicken, you would weigh 349 pounds at age two.” Sustainable Agriculture · Thirty-nine percent of the U.S. population uses organic products according to The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) and SPINS.
Farmers markets have enjoyed rapid growth in the United States. Between 1994 and 2000, the number of U.S. farmers markets increased by 63%, from 1,755 to 2,863 according to USDA

 

[aveca]

SO To all of you out there breeding the great american Buckeye, Deleware, Le freich, orpingtons ,leghors, ausdtralorps and various others including many dainty bantams you are all very important and there should be more rewards for you I think

 

[BellLisamo]

I would love to help preserve chicken breeds. I think all of them are beautiful, when I first started, I thought "a chicken is a chicken" and there wasnt any different breeds. WOW was I wrong!!! There are well over 300 (arent there?)! And they are so very different and sooooo beautiful in their own ways. Hatching them is such a joy!

Currently, I have a goose breed I'm trying to preserve, as they were listed as critical. This will be their first year laying. (I have a pair). I'm going to hatch out as many babies as I can, and hopefully have a bunch ready for next year. I will be very selective on who can buy the eggs from them (if I decided to sell some).

We have to keep the poultry world alive!!! And BYC is the best place to do it!!!

 

[rancher hicks]

Absotively Positlutely, right now I have Delawares and have plans to get Javas , if I can from the Garfield museum in Chicago. Some of the endangered breeds just won't work in my climate.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Poultry is different from any other livestock. There is no concept of pedigree in poultry breeding, and only "some" concept of general tracking of lineage (as in, "my flock is from Joe Smith's lines"). This is not necessarily a problem. Indeed it probably avoids as many problems as it causes. You just have to alter your expectations if you come from a background in breeding other domestic critters.

So what's the point of keeping an endangered bird if it's already bred out of its genetics? The best we can do is get a breeding set or two and cross and cull to get close to the standards, but that doesn't mean that the genetic line is intact. And if that's true there would be no way of re-creating said birds because the lines of birds that they were created from don't exist either. aaargh

There are two things here:

First is lineage. If your birds have a considerable proportion of blood descending from an old line, they are preserving as much of the old gene pool as is realistically possible. So while pedigree of *individuals* is not generally much worried about, pedigree of a *flock* (if I may twist the term to say that) IS a relevant concern... where the original stock was from, and what other blood may have been introduced since then.

Second is selection. Chickens are real bad at staying true to breed standard on their own. It can be argued what the cause(s) of this is/are, and whether it should be telling us something important or not, but for this thread the point is that it's just the way it IS. So no matter WHAT you start with -- even if you could go back in time and capture a flock of Colonial-era Dominiques, for instance -- if you just let them breed in a motley undirected fashion, they will soon drift away from what the breed is supposed to be. The same is true if you select carefully but for the wrong things. So what you need is someone selecting constantly and fairly strongly for the flock to stay true to the breed standard. It is not like, say, beans -- where you can plant this year's seed, grow them up, harvest seeds for next year, and do that ad infinitum with very little change in the product.

Also, remember that all chickens, of any breed, have the same number of ancestors

The point, I think, is to preserve what diversity there is TODAY, and try to keep it diverse, keep it from all swishing together into a single homogenized product that then gets selected-down for just a few traits and the rest is lost.

JMHO,

Pat​

 

[greathorse]

Pat you hit the major points and explained them very well. You have a nice gift for putting thoughts to "pen" so to speak. Thanks, I would have made a mess of saying the same thing and would have probably made some folks angry at me at the same time. Nicely done.

 

[Oopoo]

thanks for all the info and I am totally wowed by how this little thread grew. I think I might go one more year and then choose one breed to work with.

 

[zephyrcreek]

One of the things to consider when working with a heritage breed is production values. It is great to breed for APA standards, but unless these birds can also produce a resonable amount of eggs or a good carcus, the breed will not survive. I value body type and production values at the same level. Production values will always come before combs in my book. I was lucky enough to find some excellent Dels that are great layers. My Javas' on the other hand were very difficult to find. I now have two seperate lines that I will be crossing and using the offspring for the future. Both lines have something to offer, but do not meet my expectations or APA standards on their own. This will truly be a project while the Dels are almost where they need to be. Thankfully I have plenty of room and time to devote to my birds.

Rosecomb Dorkings are the next breed I am considering. If anyone has any information to share please contact me.

 

[Long Horn Poultry Farm]

Quote:

Hi aveca

Le freich, do you mean La Fleche.

Long Horn Poultry Farm