Its been bothering me for a while didn't know the proper response to the word...now I know! Thank you!
As for inbreeding, the US has its fair share. Greed has a lot to do with it. Some breed knowing they have issues, others breed not knowing what they have the issues, some just don't care.
That's true, it's common enough in all countries. I wish there was better genetic legacy information available, to concisely put into perspective the generational effects of the choices we make in what birds we cull or breed. Obviously a very difficult subject to simplify or even quantify though, and the burden/lure of economic factors would still turn many away from it even if they knew it was a dead-end genetic line they're propagating.
Like you, I've pulled my flocks from all over the U.S., East Coast, West Coast, North, South and Central areas. Anywhere from 1 to 5 birds from a breeder. A lot of my spare time is spent watching mine looking for anything and everything I do and do not want in my flocks. The hardest part for me is my cull pens, knowing it is for the best for the integrity of the breed. The cockerels if I catch it early enough I capon them and leave them with the flock as long as I can. So I really do not have a meat pen. My meat pen is full of birds I found not to beneficial to the breed.
I found separate meat pens not ideal, too. I haven't done caponizing, since meat tenderness is very heritable and I've got some decent dual-purpose genetics in my mongrels; plus, I've always liked meat with a bit of firmness to it, even chewy, though I've bred into softer fleshed lines for my family's sake since they don't much like chewy meat.
I leave my 'cull' birds in with the main flock, or separate them into another flock where they still remain free range, because the quality life they can have is something that benefits us in turn, when we eat them, or their eggs. You can taste poor quality of life in animals, they just don't taste the same as animals that were able to enjoy their daily life.
Many people are applaud of the thought, but they forget they, chose a specific breed for a reason, they would be very upset if there beloved backyard bird had something wrong with it. If it came from my birds, I would be the first they blamed. But then I am cruel in their eyes for weeding out those with problems.
Ah yes, everyone's judgmental about it until they have that special needs chook on their hands and no way to stave off its inevitable death... Then they appreciate the importance of the culling. In the meanwhile they can be quite verbally cruel and short sighted.
I too was a bit chary of culling very strictly, in my own birds anyway --- I wasn't verbally attacking anyone else over it --- until of course the inevitable happened, and I had defects and doomed animals (Leukosis and genetic spraddling) and all of a sudden I found it easy to cull certain animals I'd been too lenient to cull before. I haven't culled chicks, but I've noted them at hatching as being on the list to cull. I make sure they have a good life first, it's the least I owe them, in a way.
I find it much more cruel and reckless to purposefully bring a living breathing animal into this world having full knowledge it will live a life of suffering because of my greed and lack of consideration. Nature normally weeds out the weak, man has intervened and decided who will live and who will not. Many times they should let nature take its course in extreme cases.
I agree completely.
I like your philosophy, wish there were more like you out there, they are far and few between.
Thanks, I'm trying to be a responsible and wise poultry keeper, often easier said than done when faced with the sheer abundance of often conflicting information out there. By some people's standards I'm irresponsible, but each to their own, we each do what we believe is right and that's about all we can do.
Best wishes.
