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Absolutely agreed. Let's hope we can get more folks working on improving the stock that's out there, whether hatchery or heritage (or non-hatchery, breeder stock, if you prefer that term).
If my understanding of Delawares is correct, they were once widely used in the broiler industry then fell out of favor and were almost lost. And effort to save the breed involved some crosses (to diversify the gene pool) and has resulted in a present day Delaware that is not just like the Delaware of the 40s and 50s.
So I wonder, when you say "improving the stock" do you mean working towards the standard of today or the bird of yesterday? They are two different things, right?
The standard of today is based on the bird of yesterday, so arguably, there's not much difference between the two. Also, the degree of outcrossing that was done, and is being done, varies drastically from one strain or line to the next, so is there a Delaware out there that looks like the bird of yesterday and even descends from the bird of yesterday? Yes, I think so. For example, I've heard (from someone who was in the SPPA) that Bill Braden has some birds out of Ron Macher's old lines (which go all the way back to the original Delawares). Were they ever outcrossed? I'd guess so, although I don't know that for a fact, but are they so outcrossed as to be "two different things"? No, I wouldn't say so.