I noticed your trio from Lacy on FB. Congratulations!!!I got a very nice trio of RIR's yesterday to start a breeding program. I also got a Barred Rock cockerel and three pullets. They're still young but they are the nicest birds I ever owned. Even though they are young they are twice the size of the hatchery birds I have. The differences are stark. Being new at breeding, I hope I can do my part well to advance the line.
Thanks. I'll tell ya what, if I'm successful breeding the Rocks I'll give you a holler and if you don't have any yet I'll send you a couple chicks. It'll be a while yet but I feel your pain. I totally know what you mean about the hatchery Rocks. When I started learning about them in the SOP and I saw a real Rock I felt like I was going to have a spell. I know the hatcheries fill a need with their breeds but geeze-o-whiz, come on. What they sell is comparable to advertising a German Shepherd and selling a Chihuahua. I wish I knew the differences before I started my first flock. I'd of preferred to have 3-4 quality birds over 100 hatchery stock. I'm totally with ya on that one.
Lol... an excellent analogy. I only have barred rocks because a guy down the road had a flock from Cackle Hatchery. I had a new incubator and wanted to test it out before spending big money on RIR eggs. I had a good hatch, and kept the pullets and one cockerel for fresh eggs. They're good for that, but that's it. Not only are the heritage BR's good for eggs and meat, they also look sooooooo much better. Not likely I'll have sourced any by spring, so I may have to take you up on your offer. Thank you... I appreciate it very much.
They actually look quite a bit better than my hatchery birds. Here's mine for comparison:Young group of BR's... Dec 2015 hatch.
So what happens if a person, unknowingly or unwittingly, being under-educated in the differences between Standard bred fowl and mass produced feed store/hatchery birds? Yes, it happens. Very sad to walk the Junior aisles and see birds that some young person cooped into the show without a clue what Standard bred birds are. What happens? And, how did this happen?
Very often the kid "showed" his hatchery bird at some fair somewhere which wasn't even a sanctioned show nor was the "judge" licensed and was perhaps just some Joe from the Fair board who "knows chickens", so it is said. The kid may have gotten some kind of ribbon because fairs operate on an entirely different level. They seek to make kids feel good and they seek to build a big display in the poultry barn. All this is good stuff, but it often leaves parents and kids alike woefully uninformed about poultry quality. Often, these very fairs are far more particular about their beef or dairy cow livestock exhibitions. Sadly, "it's just a chicken" attitudes leave poultry in the far rear of respect. So it goes. Back to our story about a real, sanctioned show experience.
The judge simply never takes the bird from the cage for a look-see. No reason to bother. The judge has lots of top quality birds to judge and won't waste the time. The judges have various ways to express themselves to the "exhibitor" of a commercial, mass produced, hatchery stock bird. Sometimes they just write "commercial" and move on. Other judges I've noticed write "wrong type" and move along.
Other judges write "production" and keep on moving as they've a big job to do judging the hundred or so quality birds entered. The hatchery stock gets "DQed" but not in ways that most people here on BYC imagine. The judges are kind and don't write DQ very often. Instead they leave these cryptic notes. Sometimes I wonder if the poor kid or person who entered the production red into the show even understands. Sigh.
As an old Barred Rock breeder, it pains me to see the occasional hatchery Plymouth Rocks entered. Again, they don't get judged at all. The judge simply moves on to the standard bred birds next in line. I'm pretty hard core, and I freely admit this fact, but it does comes down to whether such birds truly are the breed they are said to be. Well, they're a chicken. Even a good chicken perhaps, but if they don't come even close to meeting the type of "the breed", they really are not the breed. The good news is they do remain a chicken. LOL
