Quote:
Some can do it in one generation.
Those are the "expert breeders" you read about on BYC.
w.
I am thinking whether or not you ruin, or begin to ruin a line has most to do with the start. I have always "played around a bit", with breeding. I liked seeing what would work or not work. The most I learned was that it is not as easy as it would seam. Most of the birds I have had were average, either hatchery or someone elses offspring from a backyard flock. I wasn't hurting anything.
What changed my approach was that I picked up on some birds that were pretty darn good. After a couple of years, a move became necessary. I gave them away. After settling in, I tried to get some of the offspring from those birds. They were no longer around. I decided to get some birds from the breed I preferred most. After four years I finally found some that I wanted to work with. That was not four years of waiting. That was four years of beating the bushes, and bugging everyone that I could come up with. I never realized that finding good examples of alot of breeds would be so difficult.
Now I have them, and they are sharp. What concerns me is out of the batch that I purchased, I am limited to working with what I have. I don't have a perfect one in the bunch. If I am going to go backwards, I will do it right here and now. I think I know what I am seeing, and I think I know what I want to do. My options are limited though. I plan to purchase more in the spring to give me more options and a little more security. Picking the best of average birds is easy. Selecting the best options to move forward with good birds is a little more challenging. I figure if I don't go backwards, I would do well.
To sum up my point, it wouldn't take someone new long to go backwards. I don't know about ruining the line. I expect to have the originals. I can picture some challenges along the way. Especially up front. Some of us could use a few pointers along the way.