Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[kathyinmo]

Personally, I do not think ALBC even has an accurate assessment of the breeds, any of them. They try, but it is simply not accurate. I don't think they know what they are saying when they say ANY hatchery has descent birds either. That is just hogwash, in my mind. NO hatchery works toward the SOP, plain and simple. They are all about production, and that is all they produce .... production birds.

Just my opinion.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Quote:
I have to agree. The Del roo on the ALBC site isn't even a good Del IMO according to the SOP.

 

[kathyinmo]

I don't know who (speaker from ALBC) said that, Tim, but it is obvious to me that he/she does not know much about Delawares. That just burns me, giving out crap like that. Breeding for production (hatcheries) is a business, and the lines are ALL polluted with higher producing birds. I have yet to see anyone get quality from a hatchery. Good layers, yes, quality towards the SOP, no.

 

[Poultry Enthusiast]

Seems to me that big hatcheries wouldn't necessarily keep all the breeds they sell--that they'd buy hatching eggs from breeders of some types they don't sell lots of. To me, it's possible that not all hatchery stock is necessarily production stock. Still, I'd rather buy from a breeder so I can see parent stock.

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:

Hi! Glad you are here!

Yes, I believe most hatcheries do purchase hatching eggs from outside their establishments. Generally speaking, their goal to produce chicks and eggs leads to producing less than desired (not toward SOP) progeny. To increase quantity they often cross breeds. To say hatcheries have APA SOP type birds would be quite rare. After all, they are all about quantity not quality. Sticking a bunch of Delawares in a pen and hatching all the eggs does not a breeder make...... a propagator, yes.

 

[rancher hicks]

Well, in either case I was really disheartened. If you are a member of the ALBC and have received your definition of cattle you'll understand. I didn't have chickens when they gave the definition of breeds in 2008, but I will look it up.

Wishing you all the best
Rancher

 

[holly's chickens]

those are so so cuite:cd

 

[Ohne-Fehler]

Quote:
I have to agree with this. When you toss a bunch of animals together and go with what you get you have stopped being a breeder and now are simply propagating an animals. Even in most production livestock operations there is some form of selection and breeding program followed.

That said I don’t view hatcheries as the “great evil”. Yes they mass produce large quantities of chicks without regard for the SOP. Yet their purpose is not to produce show quality birds but rather provide the consumers with a wide selection of breeds at a cheaper price and they do this very well! Hatcheries are not the place you go to find showstock, it’s an outlet for production stock. I am amazed by people who go to a hatchery expecting to find show animals, you wouldn’t go down to your local auction pick up a horse and expect to set the A rated breed show world on fire. This just doesn’t happen, show animals are bred for the show ring/ pen and production animals are bred to produce. You can look at just about any species and see this difference. Why, because often when we breed an animal to be pretty for the show ring production takes a back seat or is completely overlooked.

Now as far as pollution of bloodlines go I think this comes down to the preservation vs progression argument. I personally do not see crossbreeding as a pollution of bloodlines in poultry, particularly in the American breeds where most of them are composites to start with. In livestock pedigrees are kept and purity of a breed is monitored, or in the case of an association allowing an outcross bylaws state a specific number of recorded generations required to gain registry. In poultry it seems that what you see is what you have. If it looks like a Delaware and meets SOP then it’s a Delaware, it doesn’t matter if it’s a ¼ something else its still going to win if it’s the best bird. In this way it is possible for a breeder (notice I say breeder) to improve their flock through the utilization of out crossing if they so choose.

I’m not advocating hatcheries as a place to buy show stock but simply saying they do have their place and in most any livestock breed there are show and then production animals.

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
I have to agree with this. When you toss a bunch of animals together and go with what you get you have stopped being a breeder and now are simply propagating an animals. Even in most production livestock operations there is some form of selection and breeding program followed.

That said I don’t view hatcheries as the “great evil”. Yes they mass produce large quantities of chicks without regard for the SOP. Yet their purpose is not to produce show quality birds but rather provide the consumers with a wide selection of breeds at a cheaper price and they do this very well! Hatcheries are not the place you go to find showstock, it’s an outlet for production stock. I am amazed by people who go to a hatchery expecting to find show animals, you wouldn’t go down to your local auction pick up a horse and expect to set the A rated breed show world on fire. This just doesn’t happen, show animals are bred for the show ring/ pen and production animals are bred to produce. You can look at just about any species and see this difference. Why, because often when we breed an animal to be pretty for the show ring production takes a back seat or is completely overlooked.

Now as far as pollution of bloodlines go I think this comes down to the preservation vs progression argument. I personally do not see crossbreeding as a pollution of bloodlines in poultry, particularly in the American breeds where most of them are composites to start with. In livestock pedigrees are kept and purity of a breed is monitored, or in the case of an association allowing an outcross bylaws state a specific number of recorded generations required to gain registry. In poultry it seems that what you see is what you have. If it looks like a Delaware and meets SOP then it’s a Delaware, it doesn’t matter if it’s a ¼ something else its still going to win if it’s the best bird. In this way it is possible for a breeder (notice I say breeder) to improve their flock through the utilization of out crossing if they so choose.

I’m not advocating hatcheries as a place to buy show stock but simply saying they do have their place and in most any livestock breed there are show and then production animals.

I totally agree with everything you have said. And, you said it so well, too!

 

[TACEYPERKINS]

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAID TOO!