Obligation to Breeding Program Birds

[greathorse]

I am not being critical here just wondering, why would you not tell the purchaser that they are purebred but culls and would need a lot of work if they were interested in showing.

I am asking because I have a very nice strain of RIR and intend to hatch quite a number of chicks. I hoped that I could get a bit more for mine if I let them know that they are Heritage RIR but not my breeders.

Anyone think that is doing a disservice to the breed? I think it is a way to introduce folks to the breed and as they continue to learn they can either seek the good stuff or breed for it.

Thoughts??

 

[Laney]

I think that if I'm selling ones that have obvious faults that will do no service to the breed to people who are just looking for layers then I have no problem selling them as Delaware Mixes.

If someone were to approach me looking for a Delaware because they wanted a Delaware, then I would sell them a better quality of bird as a Delaware.

However, I don't think I'm helping anyone out if in the beginning of my program I sell someone a hen with no tail black, and columbian type markings that is overly thin and calling her a pure Delaware. Now if I had a hen with great markings and a wonderful body type that had an extra comb point, and I had decided not to use her for that one factor, I might have no problem selling her to a new breeder as a Delaware as long as they knew her faults and were just starting out.

Laney

 

[PandoraTaylor]

I think it really is a personal choice as to how to handle your own flock, as long as you are not misleading anyone.

I have several thoughts on breeding "Rare", "special" or "Heritage" and I would not want to mislead any customer as to the pure breeds, culls, SQ etc. On the other hand, I would not run them with my regular flock of layers either. I would think that a seperate coop/run and seperate free-range time would have to be maintained to insure Pure anything.

Therefore I will be constructing those pens before getting any special breeds.

 

[Goose and Fig]

When I sell my cochins, I only sell ones that are breeder quality or better. The culls end up in my layer coop. I only hatch small batches though- so it works for me. I end up with a few more layers, as the older girls are slowing down. More eating eggs

 

[greathorse]

So to take this a little further If I decide to sell eggs or chicks from a flock that is known to be a great line so that I can pay for a little feed, and I dont know if those birds are culls or not, do I have a responsibility for those. I bought a couple dozen birds from a really good strain, he had no idea if he sold me culls or not, they were day old chicks. As you might expect some of those birds are pretty darn good and some are not so good.

How does that work. If we only sold known qty's in terms of breeder flocks we would have very few breeders.

 

[HennyJenny]

Happy Mountain - I like that - I don't plan to indiscriminately breed or hatch birds and I do wish to expand my layers. I have plenty of people who want eggs but I really only want to work on the special birds just to perpetuate my own flock of them not necessarily to become a breeder maven of show birds. Laney - I also like that you pointed out to me that there are other methods of culling. I am learning a lot from this discussion - I hope it keeps going.

 

[Goose and Fig]

Quote:
If you only breed the best birds you got out of those, I would think you could sell the offspring for a bit more and be able to use the original breeders name as to their origin. You can't be expected to grow out several generations to see how true they breed- that would be crazy!
On the other hand- don't use birds that you know are lacking and sell them as "So-and-so"s line" . You wouldn't want that to happen to you.

 

[greathorse]

that I get

 

[Laney]

HennyJenny, I let all my Hens and Roos run together free range. When I decide I want to breed a particular pair I take the Hen and put her in the breeding coop. It's a very good size for a single Hen. I keep her there until her Eggs are infertile. About 2 weeks. Then I put my Roo of choice in there with her until they have mated and I have observed it. Then I remove the Roo. I can now collect her eggs for the next few days, testing the first few for fertility.

This way everyone gets Happy Free Range life unless I want to breed. I also don't tend to breed too much. I'm not one for caging my birds unless I have too.

Laney

 

[HennyJenny]

Laney - thank you for that. I was wondering how to work all that out

- I figure I have a good 12 months or longer before this all actually becomes a problem for me - but I would like to figure these things out before hand - especially since I am planning my new coop right now and will start building in February. Then I won't have so many "please help me" posts when I am faced with situations I didn't fully think through in the first place. I'm just weird. What I know about chickens I learned watching my Dad raise farm layer birds and meaties. I actually like chickens and the "old farmer treatment" just isn't for me. Nothing against "old farmers" but I'm not making a livelihood from my birds and so I can afford to be more careful and generous about how I handle them. I learn something new here everyday.