This is definitely an opinionated group, which is NOT a bad thing. I stand by my thought that a breed is a breed. Weather they all meet specific, man made standards or not. Let me just ask this question. What is the purpose for these cosmetic standards? Are they standards man thinks better the breed, or are they just pretty characteristics that are appealing to someones eye? Is there somewhere in this standard that takes into consideration a birds longevity, egg production, tendency to forage or other propagation traits. I would imagine that at some point, poultry experts of the time made observations of what made a good bird. Keep in mind that in order to achieve those standards, over time, selective breeding hurt the overall genetic strength of the breed. The RIR for example was bred to be a dual purpose bird. Through breeding for the "Brick" look, egg production dropped and the tendency to brood declined. These are both counter to the original intent of the breed. With out the less bricky RIR out there, the RIR breed would soon become a very rare breed.
I'm not sure what makes a puppy mill a puppy mill in your example. As I define a puppy mill; a breeder who over produces pups to the detriment of the mother with little regard to welfare of the animals and emphasis on profit. I know of two local hatcheries that I would not classify as "chick mills". They do not claim to produce "Show" quality birds, but they will provide documentation as to breed. I am unaware of any registration of birds to provide linage. All the birds I received from the mills were healthy productive birds. I have also purchased birds from independent breeders. I have lost half of those birds to illness. The local hatcheries I am familiar with run good sanitary operations. They produce good quality general purpose birds.
I have never been a "show" person because I do not have the discipline nor the desire. I do enjoy going to shows and think they have a place in the big picture. I am new to poultry but I have been around livestock my entire life. I raised hounds earlier and would put my dogs up against any Best of Breed out there, especially in the field. Hunting was my desired priority and I had good hunters. I never had any problem selling my pups because folks new I had good hunters. My priority for birds is to have healthy self sufficient birds that have good temperament and fill the bill of why I have them (meat or eggs). My Rhodies are still RIRs because that is a recognized breed, They are not production reds, or heritage reds or show reds, because those are not recognized terms. They are terms that have been added by folks trying to set their birds apart from others for a specific reason.
Finally, one must understand that a "Standard" for a breed is not the sole determination of a breed. At least not in other other species. Linage is the SOLE determination of a breed. The standard is only a means to judge a bird at a show. It gives judges a standard to look for.
