Pure bred? What are breeding "rules"?

[Penny spender]

I'm starting to think about pure bred chickens, but I have no idea how one would tell. Do they come with registration papers or anything like that? Do you just have to hope the seller knows what they were doing and tells the truth?

For example, I bought a few barnyard mix hens and the seller said she used to raise pure delawares and that one of my hens looks like she is mostly delaware. If she fits the "breed type" can I call her a delaware?

This is mostly just a curiosity question, but I do hope to attend some poultry shows in the near future. Thanks in advance for your insight!

 

[bradymars]

That's a good way to see what the pure breeds look like. You can also Google the breed your interested in and look at pics and sites. Also get you a book on the poultry breed standards. If you want the best find a good reputable breeder not a hatchery.

 

[Mrs. Light Sussex]

That actually is an intriguing question, considering the origin of the "pure" breeds...
In a nutshell a pure breed is one that is accepted as one by one of the Poultry Associations (most countries have one). Each pure breed is given standards which the fowl must conform to (different Associations have different standards).

There are breeds which started off as barnyard mixes and where then purified to become a pure breed (such as the Panadasenca).

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then...

It doesn't matter where or how you produced a bird if it matches the standard of perfection for a breed then it's that breed. There is nothing "pure" about the lineage only the purity of conformation to the standard. If you look at the different varieties of a breed stop and think how that came to be? Wyandotte chickens of various varieties were used to create Plymouth Rock's of that same variety and so on. The end result is the bird matches the standard of body type for that breed and color pattern for variety. It takes generations of serious breeding selection to achieve these things but you get the idea of "purity".

But yes, get your start from a reputable breeder. You won't regret it.

 

[Mrs. Light Sussex]

I'd just point out that other than external appearances, true breeds have other characteristics too, such as temperament (docile or flighty), yearly egg production, broody tendency etc.

 

[junebuggena]

Chicken breeds are based on what a bird looks like. There are no registries or pedigrees.
For example, this guy looks like a Barred Rock, and therefore, is a Barred Rock. Pure for silver, pure for barring, yellow skin, single comb.

He's better quality than what most hatcheries are turning out. But the only Barred Rock in his pedigree is 2 generations back.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I'd just point out that other than external appearances, true breeds have other characteristics too, such as personality (docile or flighty), yearly egg production, broody tendency etc.

I disagree.
None of the three things mentioned has anything to do with it.
All that matters is what you see. With the exception of egg color in some breeds.

 

[Penny spender]

Very interesting. I had assumed there was a registry or something that I just hadn't heard about. Thanks!