I am trying to breed them with silkies who are too broody, to introduce that into the RIR and I am adding Brahma (Both Dark and Light) who also go broody but also most importantly to me... makes the birds larger (silkies will shrink the reds) but with the right balance I think you could get the 3 traits.
I see no problem with using landraces.
Interesting point. Since their physical characteristics aren’t important to me except with respect to camouflage maybe game birds would be a better foundation.
This is truly a ridiculous concept, like ancient Egyptian Pharaohs keeping their bloodlines "pure" by marrying brother to sister. Greenfire Farms sells Barbu du Watermaal, a breed produced through extreme inbreeding just like the pharaohs of old, and of course they have absolutely horrendous health problems. Every single time I've seen someone post about this breed on BYC it's about them dying some horrible, premature death. From my perspective it looks like less "purity" would be far more compassionate to the breed
I was looking at Swedish Flowers since I can get those much more locally. i think the breed Greenfire Farms specifically said this about were Icelandics “Due to their varying appearance it may cross your mind that you can easily cross-breed them with another breed however, don’t do that. Even if some of the birds share a resemblance, the Icelandic should never be cross bred. The purity of the Icelandic breed is imperative to maintaining the genetic integrity of the breed”
The wording is ambiguous. I would guess that this is advice specifically for breeders who might be tempted to add in another breed with a similar appearance in order to increase genetic diversity.
Right. It’s an issue in the field of conservation biology, in trying to rescue breeds of animals (or plants) with dwindling numbers. Keeping them genetically distinct (“pure”) requires breeding strictly within the species or subspecies. In zoos, this involves such things as flying frozen elephant semen to the other side of the world to catch a female about to enter estrus. But genetic biodiversity invariably decreases over time, weakening the breed. It postpones extinction, but it doesn’t escape it.
Landraces aren't breeds to begin with. A breed is a deliberate human creation typically made through some degree of inbreeding and high amounts of artificial selection. A landrace on the other hand is a feral animal that nature has recrafted through the process of natural selection. They typically have a lot of genetic diversity because that's what it takes to actually survive out in nature
It's ironic because the more any breed or landrace is preserved, the less genetic diversity it will continue to have, until one day the entire breed is a clump of highly inbred relatives
Absolutely correct. This is also why mutts are healthier than pure breeds. Because they don't have conservationists continually inbreeding them
"The German Shepherd Dog is also a breed that is routinely mentioned when people talk about ruined breeds. In Dogs of All Nations, the GSD is described as a medium-sized dog (25 kg /55 lb), this is a far cry from the angulated, barrel-chested, sloping back, ataxic, 85-pounders (38 kg) we are used to seeing in the conformation ring. There was a time when the GSD could clear a 2.5 meter (8.5 ft) wall; that time is long gone."
