- Dec 14, 2010
- 157
- 0
- 99
Have you ever thought about if you were God and could breed humans the way you want them? What males and females would you put into a breeding pen together? Ok, this isn't who you wanna see in your own porno, its who in humanity represents the qualities you most would like to see in future generations?
For me it would be Sean Connery as top male breeder. My main momma would be Jodi Foster. Both have shown fantastic longevity, in their careers and physically. Sean, while not the extreme in buffness, has managed to remain a top pick from women in sexiness, and while Jodi may not, her intelligence, career, and classic curves outweigh the fads of modern body types. For a women in her mid 40's, she still is a beautiful woman, and when a mike is shoved to her to weigh in on current issues, she answers with well thought out, reasoned arguments, not modern drivel that is passed off as intelligence.
Would you choose the same two? Probably not.
The point is, BUYER BEWARE.
If you want general birds for your backyard, hatcheries are the way to go, usually, unless you are looking for an odd breed that most hatcheries don't deal with. That's a generalization. Some breeds from hatcheries do exhibit the basic SOP, while others do not. The Rhode Island Red is a perfect example of one that rarely does. The production reds were bred as laying machines, not the dual purpose workhorses of past generations. Heritage, or purebred RIRs should go broody on occasion, make a good meat bird, and should lay a 3-4 eggs a week. Production reds can easily average 5 eggs a week during the middle of summer, and 6-7 eggs a week during spring and fall. On this, I speak from experience. Out of 23 hens split between a friend and I, none had gone broody in over a year. The odds are 1 might in 3 years... That's great if you just want eggs and don't want to deal with broodiness, but if you want a self sufficient flock that will raise its own young, its horrible.
Also of note, Heritage RIR roosters should have a very deep reddish mahogany coloration. I have seen a few of our birds with a few splashes of it, but none have much of it. Some breeds are easier to maintain such distinct colors, while others are not. To me, that's part of what I wanted in my birds, that beautiful reddish color. Not to sound like I'm railing against the hatcheries, cause I'm not. I'm simply making the point that we are all responsible for the choices we make.
When dealing with breeders, DO NOT DEAL WITH BREEDERS THAT WON'T TOLERATE YOU ASKING A FEW QUESTIONS. Now anybody might get annoyed if you demand that out of 6 eggs 1 is guaranteed to be the next Grand Champion. It doesn't work that way. But if asking simple, reasonable questions turns them off, especially about what traits they breed heaviest for, then move on. Order hatching eggs from a reputable breeder. Its still a likelihood that if 10 hatch, 1 might be a good bet as a future breeder. It doesn't mean they can't all be bred, just that only a few will exhibit ALL of the characteristics within the SOP. Its good to have folks around that still practice good husbandry, and a shame that more don't get into it. As a breeder, you decide what traits you want in your birds. You decide if a yard full of mutts is the most beautiful thing ever. Someone else may want some of your mutts, great. As long as they know they are mutts, great. I have 2 brooders with a total of 33 chicks right now. They are mutts. The daddy was a very imperfect, crossed up Marans with beautiful coppery orange plumage and the mommas were my production red hens. After losing the original flock, this is all I have left of them. Yes, these chicks are all mixed up, from white to black, with chipmunk and cinnamon mixed in.
My new flock is being built around the Copper Marans genotype (I think I used the right term.) I have a Copper Blue rooster and a Copper Black hen, and a pair of Blue Cochins LF. Maybe I will do some breeding for extra cash eventually. I can tell you where they all came from, too. My Marans are based off of Whitmore Farms line, bred by West Knoll Farms, whom I purchased them from. The Cochins are from a Rarest of the Rare Assortment from McMurray Hatchery. Any I breed for sale next year, even hatching eggs, will go with what I know of their lineage and how I select for breeding. Most likely, I will select Marans predominately for color and meat qualities in roosters and egg and plumage in hens.
Buyer Beware
Ken
For me it would be Sean Connery as top male breeder. My main momma would be Jodi Foster. Both have shown fantastic longevity, in their careers and physically. Sean, while not the extreme in buffness, has managed to remain a top pick from women in sexiness, and while Jodi may not, her intelligence, career, and classic curves outweigh the fads of modern body types. For a women in her mid 40's, she still is a beautiful woman, and when a mike is shoved to her to weigh in on current issues, she answers with well thought out, reasoned arguments, not modern drivel that is passed off as intelligence.
Would you choose the same two? Probably not.
The point is, BUYER BEWARE.
If you want general birds for your backyard, hatcheries are the way to go, usually, unless you are looking for an odd breed that most hatcheries don't deal with. That's a generalization. Some breeds from hatcheries do exhibit the basic SOP, while others do not. The Rhode Island Red is a perfect example of one that rarely does. The production reds were bred as laying machines, not the dual purpose workhorses of past generations. Heritage, or purebred RIRs should go broody on occasion, make a good meat bird, and should lay a 3-4 eggs a week. Production reds can easily average 5 eggs a week during the middle of summer, and 6-7 eggs a week during spring and fall. On this, I speak from experience. Out of 23 hens split between a friend and I, none had gone broody in over a year. The odds are 1 might in 3 years... That's great if you just want eggs and don't want to deal with broodiness, but if you want a self sufficient flock that will raise its own young, its horrible.
Also of note, Heritage RIR roosters should have a very deep reddish mahogany coloration. I have seen a few of our birds with a few splashes of it, but none have much of it. Some breeds are easier to maintain such distinct colors, while others are not. To me, that's part of what I wanted in my birds, that beautiful reddish color. Not to sound like I'm railing against the hatcheries, cause I'm not. I'm simply making the point that we are all responsible for the choices we make.
When dealing with breeders, DO NOT DEAL WITH BREEDERS THAT WON'T TOLERATE YOU ASKING A FEW QUESTIONS. Now anybody might get annoyed if you demand that out of 6 eggs 1 is guaranteed to be the next Grand Champion. It doesn't work that way. But if asking simple, reasonable questions turns them off, especially about what traits they breed heaviest for, then move on. Order hatching eggs from a reputable breeder. Its still a likelihood that if 10 hatch, 1 might be a good bet as a future breeder. It doesn't mean they can't all be bred, just that only a few will exhibit ALL of the characteristics within the SOP. Its good to have folks around that still practice good husbandry, and a shame that more don't get into it. As a breeder, you decide what traits you want in your birds. You decide if a yard full of mutts is the most beautiful thing ever. Someone else may want some of your mutts, great. As long as they know they are mutts, great. I have 2 brooders with a total of 33 chicks right now. They are mutts. The daddy was a very imperfect, crossed up Marans with beautiful coppery orange plumage and the mommas were my production red hens. After losing the original flock, this is all I have left of them. Yes, these chicks are all mixed up, from white to black, with chipmunk and cinnamon mixed in.
My new flock is being built around the Copper Marans genotype (I think I used the right term.) I have a Copper Blue rooster and a Copper Black hen, and a pair of Blue Cochins LF. Maybe I will do some breeding for extra cash eventually. I can tell you where they all came from, too. My Marans are based off of Whitmore Farms line, bred by West Knoll Farms, whom I purchased them from. The Cochins are from a Rarest of the Rare Assortment from McMurray Hatchery. Any I breed for sale next year, even hatching eggs, will go with what I know of their lineage and how I select for breeding. Most likely, I will select Marans predominately for color and meat qualities in roosters and egg and plumage in hens.
Buyer Beware
Ken
