It's hard to find informed and rational discussion about breeding poultry that aren't also over my head. Facebook comes with everyone's jokes & politics (if you want to talk one-on-one with them), and much of the time that's a real turn-off for me. There can also be serious moderation issues at Facebook. Here there are limits about how serious the conversation can be, and if you don't stumble on one of the few productive threads, and aren't vigilant at filtering out the nonsense yourself, you're kind of out of luck getting to the facts. Other places don't really get a lot of traffic.
Not all of us can get to shows, which "they" say, are where the real conversations happen.
I've seen a couple pretty good videos on YouTube that answer a lot of the basic questions. There could be more of that stuff available. It just means hooking people with the camera/internet connection up with the "mature and established breeders" who do not frequent the Internet. I've seen some materials from breed-specific clubs that are brilliant for addressing breeding concerns for specific breeds -- not my breed, of course, but still useful if you can extrapolate; those materials aren't free or easy to produce.
I had a breeder/judge consultant up to my coop this past weekend for a team meeting and hands-on "master class." That was an amazing experience. The stuff I've read here and elsewhere, plus all the stuff my breeding mentor/partner has told me, lots of that came into focus for me. As if there were all these little dark rooms of concepts in my brain, and he flicked the lights on. Now the challenge will be to keep those lights on. Make them brighter.
I haven't found much useful info on transitioning from keeping a sizable flock of hatchery mutts to being a breeder of Dual Purpose Heritage poultry. People don't really like to answer the "Tell me everything I need to know" question, for obvious reasons. But the common advice of "First, get rid of all your other birds" advice is a bit silly ... clearing out the junk can come later if you'd rather not stare at empty coops and a trio for a year.
I think it comes together in the rolling up our sleeves and going to work. It is simple inheritance after all. You know the drill. It is recessive, dominant, sex linked, etc. etc. Observation teaches and it confirms.
There is nothing like pairing some birds up, hatching a qty. of birds and watching them grow out. Finally as they finish, the results are realized. What do we see? What don't we see? What are the problems?
I think a good portion of it is are we the type to sort those problems out. Problems come and are we problem solvers?
It is possible that we goof it all up on the first round, but we did no real harm. There is nothing wrong with starting up again.
I do not tell people to get rid of all that they have. I tell them to do as they please, and recommend settling with a breed. Taking interest in something in particular. I started with hatchery birds, and for years kept and paired up hatchery birds. I learned as much in the doing as I did anything else. I toyed with all of this before the internet was the norm.
Outside of the doing, there is no replacement for the privilege of knowing and getting to know other poultry breeders. However that can be done. Whether shows, house calls, phone calls, emails, etc. etc. Those that have been doing this a long time, and part of the culture, have a lot to offer. I find that they are willing to share, if we are interested.
It is up to us to get to them though.
It sounds like you had one of those experiences recently. Few things replace the hands on interaction with those more experienced than ourselves.
We could do better chatting here again. We would have to decide on a thread. I like discussing breeding, breeding plans, inheritance, management etc. I am not a good contributor when it drifts off into the other things.
