I would think not. There is tendency in La Fleche to show some red. As Craig Russel would say, they're showing their history. When we were working with La Fleche, every so many La Fleche would show a fair amount of rustiness even in their chick down.
What we witness in this video is the effect of sustained selection over multiple generations for specific traits. This is what these fowl should be. I would imagine, like Reese' Barred Plymouth Rock strain, that these La Fleche represent a strain that has undergone on-going selection without hiatus.
Our birds can return to this, but it will require knowledge mixed with discipline. The ALBC website has put together excellent resources. Robert "Bob" Blosl has been highly proactive on these thread supporting heritage breeds and offering literature to educate. One of these works, The Call of the Hen, is an excellent source, and is obviously one of the foundational texts upon which the ALBC establihes their method. The Call of the Hen is available for free on Google Books.
The great thing about this is that one doesn't have to maintain dozens and dozens of breeders to develop a strain like this. However, one does need to hatch heavily in order to work within the law of averages. Following the ALBC method, one is going to cull hard at eight weeks. It doesn't really cost a lot to raise chicks up to this point. If one's goal is to grow out 30-50 chicks, one can hatch 200 or more and then cull down to 30-50 at eight weeks. This helps to ensure the probability of having a larger number of chicks that attain a minimum weight. Remebering that every year is a new chicken generation, it five generations one can seriously impact weight, which, through continuous selection, is moulded into shape, or type.
These La Fleche are outstanding, but they exude the effects of commitment and specialization. I don't know about pounding out moral imperatives, but it is wise to have an idea as to where one is going. Many people want to choose mixed flocks, but they're never going to have birds of this caliber. Subsequently, one could say that birds of this caliber cannot exist unless one does not maintain mixed flocks, but specializes, instead. This is not a moral statement, rather, a directional observation. In NH, if I go north, I arrive in Quebec; if I go south, I arrive in Massachusetts. There's no moral imperative here, but I can kick and scream all I'd like, but if I'm heading North, I'm not going to get to Boston. If we maintain mixed flocks and are unwilling to make a commitment to a breed, if we do not follow that Standard and cull hard for vigor and productivity, we simply won't get there. If we do, we shall.
In ten years:
A) We won't have chickens.
B) We'll still have the same run of the mill, ho-hum birds.
C) We'll have jump started and renewed a fantastic breed that, through our administrations, is able to go forward for the enjoyment and nourishment of another generation.
Remember, La Fleche are for caponizing. The fowl in this video show us this clearly.
What we witness in this video is the effect of sustained selection over multiple generations for specific traits. This is what these fowl should be. I would imagine, like Reese' Barred Plymouth Rock strain, that these La Fleche represent a strain that has undergone on-going selection without hiatus.
Our birds can return to this, but it will require knowledge mixed with discipline. The ALBC website has put together excellent resources. Robert "Bob" Blosl has been highly proactive on these thread supporting heritage breeds and offering literature to educate. One of these works, The Call of the Hen, is an excellent source, and is obviously one of the foundational texts upon which the ALBC establihes their method. The Call of the Hen is available for free on Google Books.
The great thing about this is that one doesn't have to maintain dozens and dozens of breeders to develop a strain like this. However, one does need to hatch heavily in order to work within the law of averages. Following the ALBC method, one is going to cull hard at eight weeks. It doesn't really cost a lot to raise chicks up to this point. If one's goal is to grow out 30-50 chicks, one can hatch 200 or more and then cull down to 30-50 at eight weeks. This helps to ensure the probability of having a larger number of chicks that attain a minimum weight. Remebering that every year is a new chicken generation, it five generations one can seriously impact weight, which, through continuous selection, is moulded into shape, or type.
These La Fleche are outstanding, but they exude the effects of commitment and specialization. I don't know about pounding out moral imperatives, but it is wise to have an idea as to where one is going. Many people want to choose mixed flocks, but they're never going to have birds of this caliber. Subsequently, one could say that birds of this caliber cannot exist unless one does not maintain mixed flocks, but specializes, instead. This is not a moral statement, rather, a directional observation. In NH, if I go north, I arrive in Quebec; if I go south, I arrive in Massachusetts. There's no moral imperative here, but I can kick and scream all I'd like, but if I'm heading North, I'm not going to get to Boston. If we maintain mixed flocks and are unwilling to make a commitment to a breed, if we do not follow that Standard and cull hard for vigor and productivity, we simply won't get there. If we do, we shall.
In ten years:
A) We won't have chickens.
B) We'll still have the same run of the mill, ho-hum birds.
C) We'll have jump started and renewed a fantastic breed that, through our administrations, is able to go forward for the enjoyment and nourishment of another generation.
Remember, La Fleche are for caponizing. The fowl in this video show us this clearly.
