Let's start at the very beginning. That's a very good place to start!

[Dustin Biery]

Just my two cents..you can put anything in a show situation, it doesn't matter..you can enter them...doesn't mean they can compete....

Hatchery birds aren't going to give you a bird that is up to the APA standard for that particular breed.

 

[SandraMort]

Heh. want eggs, I want some meat if the roos are edible, and if I'm going to the trouoble of raising chickens, I may as well breed something endangered. I'd like to help out, if I can. But showing? Less than no interest.

 

[ninjapoodles]

I don't breed chickens, but have bred horses and dogs for years, and I can address your concern about buying exhibition-quality stock even though you have "next to no interest" in showing. That's a COMMON thing I hear from people buying a purebred pet puppy, particularly. Please bear with me for an over-simplified take on this:

Generally speaking (please keep that word "generally" in mind--there are always exceptions), those breeders who are actively out showing their animals are truly interested in consistently pushing the quality of their own stock, and improving, improving, improving. They understand the importance of getting out there and comparing their animals with others, to prevent "barn-blindness," and to get a (hopefully) objective outside opinion on how their stock stacks up to the standard; the ideal.

The exhibition breeders should be the ones with the most at stake in preserving their given breed(s)--they will have the good of the breed at heart. And I'd wager a guess that they're not making anywhere near as much money from selling their stock as are the people who stay home cranking out babies without thought for much besides profit-margin. (And before anyone gets offended, I am NOT saying that if you don't show, you're just in chickens for the money! I've seen MANY examples of breeders here who, while they don't show themselves, they get their stock from breeders who do, and they really stay on top of what's going on in their breed.)

Exhibition breeders don't just say, "My birds are the best," they can say, "The following judges found my birds to be the best." These are also the people to be most likely to be on the cutting edge of innovations in research and health and genetic issues that affect their breed(s).

And in breeding any animal, every single one is not going to be Best In Show quality, champion-quality, or even show-quality, period. You can probably get some super-nice birds that are actually culls from someone's breeding program, simply because they're choosing only the absolute best of the best of the best to continue on with their breeding program...there should be plenty of high-quality animals left to choose from. Even more, if you don't mind disqualifying faults.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong on any of this--I'm just taking my experience in showing/breeding other animals and extrapolating it to poultry. I haven't yet decided if I'll really show poultry someday, but it's always in the back of my mind.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Buy a what? Where do I get it?

On the APA site that MissPrissy gave you, look for the Standard of Perfection at the bottom of the page on this link:

http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/APA_ShoppingMall3.htm

I never seem to find copies of the standards anywhere else. The book lists the standards for all the approved breeds.

HTH​

 

[blue90292]

Quote:
why in the world would you not want to go to a show? so don't show, but that is where the best of the buckeye breeds would be shown and other buckeye enthusiasts that want to keep this breed alive and love and live for the breed would congregate.

the buckeye breed is not in danger of dying away, the best of the breed that is up to the standard is dying away. does that make sense? the ones' that look like the original bird is dying away. anyone can take a roo and some hens and hatch out the buckeye chick and keep hatching and keep hatching, but if it's not up to the standard, you're not doing the breed justice. you're just breeding junk.

hatcheries are in it for the money. they don't care if the chick has stubs or has a white feather or has a straight comb when it's born. they're not going to cull that parent bird because it produces a straight comb chick. breeders that show are in it for the breed. they breed to keep the bird as it was originally intended to look like. if you want to save the breed, go to the shows where the people that are in the same mindset as you, are at.

the first time i saw a show quality RIR, i was in awe. i'd always seen RIRs everywhere, but after seeing those RIR roos, i finally understood the beauty of the bird and why people love the breed. they're nothing like what you see from hatcheries. and the first time you see a partridge or penciled pattern bird that doesn't have any mudding, you end up just mesmerized at what nature can do.

keep your mind open to the suggestions. these people aren't just telling you these things because it's something to do, these people that are giving you suggestions have been where you are, and are giving you what experience has taught them. don't knock going to a show if you haven't even been to one. you can learn alot and meet with alot of people that can give years and years of information at these shows.

 

[ninjapoodles]

FWIW, I don't think that the OP was knocking attending a show; just stating that she had no interest in being an exhibitor.

 

[TheKidAndDame]

Blue, I think you hit the nail on the head. I too had no idea how beautiful some chicken breeds were until I saw real show quality chickens. Hatchery stock is good for people who want a backyard flock for eggs but I wouldn't ever breed them. If you do want to stick with some of your hatchery birds, wait until they grow out, keep the best 2 or 3 hens and cull the rest (including the roos). You could try to find some SQ cockrels from a breeder who has excess and go from there. It will still be more work than starting with birds that are all up to the standard. Best of luck with whatever you choose.

 

[SandraMort]

Correct.

Quote:

 

[LoneCowboy]

I'm not a breeder or a shower, but I'd like to get into a little too and learn, so I bought a book called The Mating and Breeding of Poultry. It's way over my head or something cuz I just don't understand it.

I'm also not the least bit interested in showing but I know that it would be the best way to learn. You get to rub shoulders with people "IN THE KNOW" you learn from your association with them and they point things out to you. After awhile of learning and gleaning from their knowledge then you start to become and expert. It's this way in everything you do really. It's always easier to learn from somebody who already knows. The judges or experts will say hey, you got a good looking bird there, but the breast isn't round enough, you should try breeding it to "X" and you do and you learn another thing or two. That's how you learn.

 

[Windy Ridge]

I also have no interest in showing. I will never have interest in showing. I DO have interest in preserving heritage breeds.

Just my opinion: hatchery birds are not going to be the best birds to win at shows. If you are not interested in having them win at shows, this is probably not going to be any problem for you. I agree that you should get the best stock you can, but the best stock for you may be something completely different than what any given breeder is looking for.

Take Welsummers for example. If you have a breeder that is ONLY interested in breeding for dark eggs, the birds may well not win at shows. If you are chiefly interested in getting Welsummers for dark eggs and not body conformation and typiness, why not purchase from this breeder? That breeder has what you're looking for, regardless of whether it is "show" stock or not.

With regard to preserving a heritage breed, obviously, there are certain obvious faults you will want to avoid. (That's where the "preservation part comes in.) The Standard of perfection should tell you what faults to avoid for your breed of choice.

Most important to me is a friendly bird. There are breeders out there who find this important as well. In fact, friendliness and docility is pretty important when it comes to showing a bird, as you certainly wouldn't want it to go wild on the judge during a show! However, friendliness may not be the most important thing a breeder is looking for. A breeder may choose to keep a "meaner" rooster with more perfect coloring and sell his friendly rooster with slight smuttiness in his hackles.

Figure out what you want in your birds, and ask the breeders you're interested in what they're breeding for. Choose your stock from that.