Hatchery quality vs. Breeder quality

Quote:
So I should handle her every day? I thought if I left her alone she would warm up, but that's not working. I will have to force my love on her
celebrate.gif


Be prepared Olive, when I get home tonight, you are going to have a cuddle session!
wee.gif
 
LOL even if she doesn't like it, you sure will! They're so soft and huggable, I just want to pick mine up all the time but like you, I respect their wish to be left alone. I already have too many birds mobbing me I don't need them all to hahaha.
 
I like this thread because it gives great examples. Side by side examples are surprisingly rare on this forum.

Since you mentioned you are looking at possible future purchases, I'll mention that not all breeders are the same. Some breeders are breeding for show quality only. They are only interested in the qualities that the birds are judged on in a show. I'm not being critical. I respect them for what they accomplish which is truly amazing, but these birds sometimes will not lay as many eggs as you might expect or may not have as good a feed to weight gain ratio as you might expect in a dual purpose bird. Others breed for those same show traits but also breed for the hidden qualities of the breed, such as egg color, egg laying rate, rate of weight gain, and such. Some people take hatchery birdes, don't even have a copy of the SOP, and sell "purebred" hatching eggs or chicks. And some are better at what they do than others.

If you are going to get "breeder" birds, find out about the breeder and their birds. What traits are they breeding for and do they have some examples. First you have to know what traits you want, then find the breeder that matches those traits. These photos show what you can find if you do your due diligence.
 
Quote:
Your first problem, was actually believing that hatcheries sell Araucanas... I think it's not the buyer's fault, I think it's the hatcheries fault... They might not know the difference b/w Araucana, Ameraucana, and EE. Maybe they do, and it's tricky advertising...
 
Quote:
Your first problem, was actually believing that hatcheries sell Araucanas... I think it's not the buyer's fault, I think it's the hatcheries fault... They might not know the difference b/w Araucana, Ameraucana, and EE. Maybe they do, and it's tricky advertising...
 
Quote:
Fluffy ones, I love fluffy too!
yuckyuck.gif


And the other chicken? A silkie! So they have a silkie and a "fluffy one." lol It was worth it though, that child LOVES her chickens. She's 7.
 
Last edited:
There's so much good info on here and lots to think about. My first silkies wore hatchery. Then I started doing more reading and searching about the breed. The first thing I noticed about my silkies is that they wore not fluffy like other pics I had seen. After doing much researching and still learning till this day. I try to buy from well know respected breeders and hope to be someday like them. Am starting to notice the difference and as soon as they hatch.


7 months old hatchery
88328_chickens_013.jpg



two months old breeder

88328_buttercup_and_cece_026.jpg



Every-time I pass by my fluffies I can't help but to squeeze them.
hugs.gif

They don't like it, but I do!
love.gif
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom