The Moonshiner's Leghorns

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Amer said:
Oh I’m writing a speech for ELA and it’s just a rough draft but ugh is it bad it’s all over the place! The students in my class won’t know what I’m talking about! It’s supposed to be an informal non essay format but still! Halp
Breed Standard Poultry

Why, my friends, does the modern world of speedy convenience have to be so ugly? Can the modern, more efficient car be more beautiful than the cherry red convertible? Will it ever evict nostalgia? Will this convertible ever be more beautiful than the original horsepower, the streamlined Arabian or powerful Clydesdale?
Imagine a chicken. I know what you see. Short. Fat. White feathered. (or maybe tall, skinny, and white feathered). I see anything but. Behold! *d’Anver picture*
People should breed poultry to the Standard. I say poultry, because I mean all poultry species. But for simplicity’s sake, we’ll stick to chickens. The Standard of Perfection is one big book of rules. It outlines all of the poultry breeds and tells you how they should look. “Why would I want to follow a bunch of rules?” you may ask. Well, these rules are important. It contains the information needed to save the world’s poultry.

Genetic diversity is most likely the biggest reason why breeding to a Standard is important.The poultry industry is one of the most streamlined animal industries out there. No land animal is more efficient in food production than the chicken. But it comes at a cost. This loss of diversity could prove deadly for the species. A disease could wipe out the commercial flocks without genetic disease resistance, and the commercial farms are painting themselves into a corner. While the genetics used may serve the consumer of today, the means of production of tomorrow may not be airtight, temperature controlled barns with chickens that are barely capable of breeding naturally. Commercial broilers—the chickens you eat—are taken to market at 7 weeks of age. They’re still peeping. The modern broiler isn’t capable of breeding on its own. It has no longevity. Because of its rapid growth, a broiler isn’t expected to live more than a year as its underdeveloped skeleton and organs literally collapse under the weight of its own overdeveloped muscle. This isn’t hormones. This is selective breeding.
Selective breeding got us into this mess, but we can still get out of it. Enter purebred poultry. Heritage poultry breeds can reproduce naturally. They have unique traits adapted to different environments. Many will hatch their own eggs and are capable of foraging for a portion of their food. We still have a massive amount of genetic diversity in poultry. There are over 100 breeds of chickens. But these breeds won’t continue to exist without the help of human beings.

Increases the beauty and utility qualities of birds. Purebred poultry comes in dozens of beautiful colors and lays eggs in a variety of colors. Chickens can have a variety of unique features like feathered legs, beards, crests, and different comb types. I use the Standard of Perfection of my guide, and for a good reason. There are two goals in breeding Standard poultry. To preserve and to improve. Beauty can be improved upon. If you stand a show quality bird beside a poor one, like that you can find in commercial hatcheries, there is no comparison. But beauty isn’t the only reason for which you should breed to the Standard. Without careful selection, the utility qualities of a bird will quickly decrease. Many poultry breeds are intended to produce both meat and eggs, and all need to reproduce and develop well. Plymouth Rocks are one of the most productive breeds out there. While the Standard of Perfection calls for the hens to be 6.5 pounds, many only weigh four pounds. They may still meet their egg laying potential but their meat qualities will never be what was intended. Well managed, you can have pure bred fowl that will be mature at 16 weeks with the capacity to live for many years longer. The Standard is a guideline for a group of people. If we all know what it is supposed to look like, the breed can move forward, and we can save the features that it was treasured for in the past.

Meeting a great community of like minded people Finally, breeding poultry to the Standard is just fun! Poultry breeding is an exciting challenge, as you are always shooting for that elusive, impossible perfect bird. Poultry shows are a place where poultry breeders can compete against each other by entering their birds. These birds are compared to the Standard, and the bird meeting the Standard the closest may get the coveted Champion position. Poultry shows are an awesome opportunity to socialize with others. Trash talk and congratulation of your fellow competitors is encouraged. You may meet an experienced mentor or judge that can help you to select and improve your birds if you ask for a word of advice. Selling birds to others and sharing their genetics is the best thing you can do to improve the breed. I’ve made many friends among breeders to the Standard. There are many poultry breed clubs, allowing for the communication between breeders of your favorite breed, and the promotion of the breed as well. One man did not write the Standard. People got together and decided what goals they had for poultry. Chicken people are genuinely nice and fun to be around.

Doesn’t breeding to a Standard reduce the genetic diversity of a breed? Yes, but it improves the breed and allows you to remove the undesirable traits and keep the desirable traits. Within a breed the individuals will look very much the same, but compared to the rest of the breeds, they are drastically different. Many breeds are adapted to particular environments, and that should be encouraged. What I fear is the whitewashing of the poultry world, persay, where all egg layers, all meat birds, are as bland and white as their own meat and eggs. The Standard encourages improvement rather than breeding in a way that could be detrimental to the health of the birds and their species.


You guys’ avatars are tripping me.

I find it hilarious how much your tone conveys injury.
When, my friend, did you become so interested in fowl meeting the Standard?

as a fellow person who enjoys them
Click to expand...
I think your speech looks great. :D Though I’m not a beginner to chickens, so I couldn’t judge if they’re be able to understand it.

Well, I’m only offended when the bird in question looks like the opposite of the breed it’s supposed to be. :p And it is a bit sad that SQ versions of even super common breeds are pretty difficult to find.
 
RoostersAreAwesome said:
I think your speech looks great. :D Though I’m not a beginner to chickens, so I couldn’t judge if they’re be able to understand it.

Well, I’m only offended when the bird in question looks like the opposite of the breed it’s supposed to be. :p And it is a bit sad that SQ versions of even super common breeds are pretty difficult to find.
Click to expand...
Aye yeah.
I laugh at everything. Including other people’s problems. I used to not be this way, but when I see an ugly bird, I laugh at it. I’m a very hasty person.
 
Like this “Columbian Leghorn.”
47B2E3D9-A485-49D5-A091-5B408AC9D2EF.jpeg
 

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