New Breeds, Genetics and Showing section coming soon

[Wynette]

Glad to hear BYC is finally waking up. Hopefully it's effective. NYREDS is probably right about it not keeping all the riff raff out but if some sort of standards are actually enforced maybe the newcomers and casual people that come there might actually learn something which would be a big improvement over now.

Seriously, Matt? Were you born with all your poultry knowledge?

You were once a newbie as well...you know I have a huge amount of respect for you, but I'd like to think our longtime members like you who have so much to share will be encouraging to newbies, not call them names.

 

[BGMatt]

Seriously, Matt? Were you born with all your poultry knowledge?

You were once a newbie as well...you know I have a huge amount of respect for you, but I'd like to think our longtime members like you who have so much to share will be encouraging to newbies, not call them names.

Wasn't intended to be insulting, ESPECIALLY to newcomers, so my apologies. I love helping newcomers along their journey into true poultry and sharing the limited amount of knowledge and experience I have. I simply meant there will probably always be those that tolerate and promote hatchery junk, non-standard but well marketed fad breeds and the like.

 

[Wynette]

Wasn't intended to be insulting, ESPECIALLY to newcomers, so my apologies. I love helping newcomers along their journey into true poultry and sharing the limited amount of knowledge and experience I have. I simply meant there will probably always be those that tolerate and promote hatchery junk, non-standard but well marketed fad breeds and the like.

No apology needed; and you're right. And, I DO get where you're coming from.

You know, it's folks like you, Matt, and so many others on here (Scott, Fred, Walt, Bill, Bob...many others) that urged me to seek out quality stock, work toward the Standard of Perfection and continue moving my birds on...I'm a newbie myself, but have been working on absorbing all I can. We all need to work together to turn more folks toward this than away from it. It can be done - I'm (still a work in progress, but) proof!

 

[3riverschick]

Well Wynette,
Well said. I would have given you a couple of Ovations by now but you turned them off, smile. I continue to remember the wise, gentle hand with which Bob Blosl welcomed newcomers to the old HLF thread. He had a way about him. One felt welcomed and approved of but also discerned as to their purpose. It was the kind of welcome which caused one to think. To pause and listen to what was going on in that thread. To take account of the poultry world and listen to another way of doing things. And to feel welcome if one wanted to join the parade. Who knows? The next BG MATT, Yard Full O'Rocks, , Fred's Hens or SonoranSilkies might just be that newcomer who stumbled into the Showing section by accident.
Best,
Karen

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

NYREDS is probably right about it not keeping all the riff raff out

Let me be clear: NONE of our members are "riff raff" and regardless of how things are setup on BYC, we'll never allow members to refer to one-another in that manner.

One of the reasons BYC is the largest and fastest growing communities (online or off) about raising chickens is because we have a strong sense of friendliness and "pay it forward". All of us needed help, direction, kindness, etc. at one point in our progression of chicken knowledge and experience. Over the years we've loved seeing people, who started out with zero knowledge who were helped by friendly and patient experts, become experts themselves and "pay it forward" to a new wave of experts.

We often hear complaints from people who "expertly" breed and exhibit poultry that there aren't as many people, especially proportionate to the growth of the trend, who are interested in breeding / showing at a higher level. IMO, the best way to encourage people's interest is to mentor them in a very friendly, patient, and respectful way that will encourage them to want to participate and pull them in.

We're excited for seeing how this new section goes and look forward to our more seasoned and expert members being friendly and helpful with all our members.

 

[speckledhen]

Sounds like what the Breeding, Genetics & Showing section should already be, but maybe that will undergo a name change?

Glad to hear BYC is finally waking up. Hopefully it's effective. NYREDS is probably right about it not keeping all the riff raff out but if some sort of standards are actually enforced maybe the newcomers and casual people that come there might actually learn something which would be a big improvement over now.

Excuse me, but this is exactly the attitude that BYC does NOT need. Chicken mommies? riff raff? REALLY???? That is NOT the intent of the division of the thread! I do expect that from some of you folks, certain ones in particular who have already posted in this thread, but this division was only to help, not to divide.
If someone wants a serious breeding question answered, they would know it would be better served in "Breeding..." than in "Breeds". That's where the more knowledgeable folks would be to help them. It is not to KEEP PEOPLE OUT, for crying out loud. Oh, my gosh, please don't go there. That is the height of snobbery and rudeness, not what BYC is all about. Everyone started from Square One, but some of you have forgotten, apparently.

I'm sorry, Rob, but I had to say it. This is one of my pet peeves, this attitude. Just because I have pet chickens, and I do, does not mean I don't know anything about genetics and breeding or that I don't have some high quality birds, which I also do.

 

[rancher hicks]

People will still get their Feelings Hurt, its just the nature of our Humanity... Helping with genetics is what I do best anyways,

Won't work. The chicken mommies will invade.

I think the best way to keep the "pet owners" away (as opposed to breeders) is to establish the guidelines for conversation, requirement to use Std of Perf terminology and insist the moderators direct "pet owner" posts to the appropriate other thread locations.

I know BYC has been and wants to continue to be friendly to the "causal poultry owner", but a thread of this sort will only be as good as those who can be attracted to participate on a regular basis

One of the things discussed many year ago at the ALBC conference was the attitude of the "experts" with regards to them being kind to the young and newcomers. Quite frankly it's this attitude, that some have, that prevents them from teaching anyone anything.

It's to bad for your short sightedness that your legacy will die with you and the "chicken mommies" and "pet owners" will go to those who will gladly have them and that is to the hatcheries, inexperienced and uneducated. Which is exactly what was said.

I'm so happy for those who think they will live forever. Bob Blosi's legacy isn't the snobby "breeders". It's those who are now keeping closer to standard of perfection birds in their coops like the "chicken mommies" and "pet owners" are now.

I used to keep and show Cavies, but dropped out when it became apparent that there was a wall of snobs I was going to have to break through. So called experts, who were to good to deal with my ignorance and judged me unworthy. Which is what's kept me back in showing chickens. I just don't want to deal with the "I don't have time for you" attitude. If you want to know why your shows are smaller than in past times, it's your attitude toward new comers.

Funny folks don't realize how much alike they are to other social groups. Folks will bash Hollywood, the fashion industry and other snobby social groups but not realize they're a part of one right here.

Yes you may get some who will never come up to YOUR standards, may never show, or learn everything a good chicken breeder should know, but in alienating them you alienate their kids and grandkids who just might carry on the torch.

When you wonder why there are fewer and fewer folks keeping good chickens in their yards, why breeds are nearing extinction and why your shows are small, take a good look in the mirror!

This thread is a good idea. I just have a different opinion on who the "riff raff" are.

What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal. Albert Pine

 

[Hanna8]

I've got to say I'm pretty surprised by all the negative backlash on this move. I love reading about things related to the standards and genetics of different breeds, and about showing birds in general, but don't like having to wade through pages and pages to find that information when I want it. I feel like threads with that sort of content tend to get buried under other things very quickly. I've often wished for this sort of division. People can stil have their existing breed threads where they post pictures of their birds and have fun discussions about them, but it will be nice to have a separate and more focused section as well. Sure, people will post some stuff that should probably go in another section there, but that is true of every section of BYC and I don't think it will be any worse in this case. At least not after a bit of time has elapsed and people have adjusted to the change.
So I say good call, BYC staff! Thanks! Any idea when we can expect to see this change?

 

[sumi]

@Hanna8 we've created the new section: Exhibition, Genetics, & Breeding to the Standard of Perfection and renamed the old Breeds, Genetics and Showing section: General breed discussions & FAQ We are currently reorganising the sections and moving appropriate discussions over to the new section.

I am very disappointed by the negative comments, especially the name calling, which you'll notice I haven't responded to. As the above posters pointed out, this type of attitude is not welcomed here. This site is called BackYard Chickens. This site never was and never will be the exclusive domain for a certain class of poultry keeper. Though we saw the need for and have created a new section to accommodate the serious breeders and gave them their own place to discuss serious breeding and hopefully teach newcomers, everyone who loves poultry is welcome here and no-one should be made to feel bad for what they choose to do with their birds and what they decide to keep.

What I would like everyone here to keep in mind is that our circumstances and levels of interest are all unique. We have members here who just started keeping chickens and still need to learn things the old timers are taking for granted by now. We have people here who have been breeding to the SOP for decades. And everything in-between. Some of the newbies are going to end up breeding to the SOP and some are simply going to enjoy the beautiful birds shown off in the new section and stick with and enjoy their hatchery birds. Some of our members cannot get show quality birds and all these wonderful breeds we see here. Many are not allowed to keep cockerels due to ordinances and can therefor not breed. We all need to keep that in mind and respect each other and our decisions and I'm saying that to everyone, the breeders and the new chicken owners.

We now have a section for general discussions, sharing of pics of hatchery birds, projects, general breed discussions etc. We now also have a section for breeding to the standard, show quality birds, discussions on genetics etc. Everyone is welcome to participate in either section, so long as your topics/comments/pics are appropriate for the section you choose. I'm sure there will be some bumps in the road while everyone figures this out and gets more comfortable with the change, so please be patient. The staff spent a long time discussing this, weighing the pros and cons and decided to go ahead and give it a try, because we felt we need this here and we all can make this work.

For those of you who were positive about this, made suggestions, are busy down there in the new section starting discussions, thank you very much. I'm looking forward to seeing what's coming in the new section.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

I'm very pleased with this new development. It addresses the needs of all the users. It is a positive change for the organization of material. I am glad that the BYC staff made a decisive and clear shift.

Thank you for your efforts!