Pure bred vs. Mixed breed

[The Moonshiner]

Likely more than 99% of poultry keepers have what I would characterize as dead end flocks. That means, regardless of breeding, the chickens they keep will leave no descendants beyond a few years down the road.

Are you saying over 99% will only be producing chicks that wont live past a few years?

 

[CiceroXY]

Thank you all I just didn't know if maybe purebred would produce more egg.

Leghorns, Anconas, Minorcas, Andalusians, also Sicilian buttercups (our 'Siciliana' is known here for laying a lot of eggs but as far as I know the American variety is maybe different)..However all mediterranean chicken breeds are perfect for egg production, especially white Leghorns!

 

[centrarchid]

Are you saying over 99% will only be producing chicks that wont live past a few years?

I am saying the birds will leave no descendents. Hens and roosters can as individuals, produce chicks until they are pushing a decade old if properly cared for. What happens is most chicks produced will not produce offspring themselves.

As a whole, we treat the chickens as something that is used for a while then discarded. Like paper towels.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I am saying the birds will leave no descendents. Hens and roosters can as individuals, produce chicks until they are pushing a decade old if properly cared for. What happens is most chicks produced will not produce offspring themselves.

As a whole, we treat the chickens as something that is used for a while then discarded. Like paper towels.

So you mean their line or bloodline will die out because no one continues to breed them?
Im sure a lot would but no wheres near 99%. At least not in a few years.

Idk why but you have a way of making the simplest stuff complicated to understand.

 

[peaceisgreen]

are you talking about inbreeding? I believe he is saying that most people don't know how to create a healthy closed breeding population that is able to breed with itself and not have to worry about inbreeding and you do need a complex system and well thought out plan to do this that 99% of people don't practice

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've got a question that hopefully y'all could answer. Is there any benefits to having a pure bred chicken, over a mixed breed? Does it effect there egg laying, life span, etc... the reason I ask is I was give a few chicks that had just hatched, and I've never messed around with mixed breeds.thanks.

Whether a chicken is mixed breed or pure breed isn’t what affects egg laying, life span, anything like that. The person breeding the birds selection of which birds get to breed is what controls the traits of the offspring. If the breeder knows what they are doing they can minimize or enhance about any trait they wish with purebreds or crossbreeds.

Some people breed for show and only breed for what a judge sees. Some people breed for show and production or behavioral traits. Some people breed for production and behavioral traits and don’t worry about show at all. Some people just let chickens breed and don’t have a clue on breeding for traits.

Leghorns are known to generally lay a lot of big eggs. If the person that selects the breeders pays attention to lots or big eggs when they are selecting breeders, that flock will continue to lay lots of big eggs. If the person just lets the chickens breed at random, over time you get a flock that lays like a regular flock.

Commercial laying hybrids are bred to lay a lot of large eggs and convert feed to eggs very well. Commercial hybrid meat birds are bred to put on a lot of meat quickly and do a great job of converting feed to meat. These are examples of people who are really good at breeding enhancing traits through breeding.

 

[peaceisgreen]

also commercial breeds are breed to mature quickly make lots of eggs quickly or put on weight quickly and subsequently expire quickly where as heritage breeds are specifically breed to mature slower start laying later put on weight slower and lay seasonally which is easier on the birds system allowing them to live much longer

 

[centrarchid]

So you mean their line or bloodline will die out because no one continues to breed them?
Im sure a lot would but no wheres near 99%. At least not in a few years.

Idk why but you have a way of making the simplest stuff complicated to understand.

By far the majority will be lost once in the hands of backyard folks. What I see appears to be consistent when you take into account how many years a given backyard poultry person keeps chickens. Surely stats are out there on that issue and I will bet they support what I write.

 

[centrarchid]

are you talking about inbreeding? I believe he is saying that most people don't know how to create a healthy closed breeding population that is able to breed with itself and not have to worry about inbreeding and you do need a complex system and well thought out plan to do this that 99% of people don't practice

No, they simply die out in a given keeper's hands.

 

[The Moonshiner]

are you talking about inbreeding? I believe he is saying that most people don't know how to create a healthy closed breeding population that is able to breed with itself and not have to worry about inbreeding and you do need a complex system and well thought out plan to do this that 99% of people don't practice

I dont believe that is what he is saying.
With the statement...I am saying the birds will leave no descendents.
And....What happens is most chicks produced will not produce offspring themselves.
Could be wrong. Like I said its hard to understand exactly what is being said with many of his posts.