I'd like to see a picture of that female behind him.
Breeding for vigor?
When you read old breed books, how to raise poultry etc. it always starts with choosing birds “full of vigor” or “vigorous birds”. Why is that?
Vigor - physical strength and good health.
synonyms:
robustness,
health,
hardiness,
strength, sturdiness, toughness;
bloom,
radiance,
energy,
life,
vitality,
virility,
verve,
spirit;
zeal,
passion,
determination,
dynamism,
zest,
pep,
drive,
force;
When applied to chickens, to me vigor means attitude, ambition or motivation, sometimes confused with aggression. They are always trying to move up in the pecking order. If a young bird lacks vigor he will not be all he can be and health and maturity will suffer. It will not get the exercise and nutrients required to exploit its genetic traits. Think of an athlete vs. a couch potato, it’s easy to tell the difference. A flock lacking vigor is not a healthy flock regardless of how well it’s being taken care of.
When I see a photo of a bird lacking in chest and tail that is from an old championship line, I often see a bird that lacked vigor when he was growing up. The genetics to make a very good bird should have been there. Have you ever taken a rainy day back female and mess with her, poke at her with a stick until she gets aggravated? That tail will pop up and her chest sticks out and you see that her type is much better than you thought, kind of like when I stand hunched over, see a camera and stand up straight. I look better than I did seconds ago. Maybe I lack vigor. A female can hide type much better than males. Some breeders and judges refer to this as “won’t show”, meaning the bird won’t show what she’s got. A vigorous bird will stand proud all day.
When breeders do an out cross they often say one line brought this or that back to the other line. What more than likely happened was they restored vigor to both lines and immediately started seeing traits that was already in the blood. New genetic traits weren’t necessarily brought in, the existing traits are now being nurtured. I call this stirring the gene pool.
So, how do you identify vigor before a lack of it turns into bad type, poor hatchability etc.? Through observation. Not only do I find it very enjoyable to sit with the flock with a cup of coffee, I also find it very productive. Does a bird jump up and snatch a fly or butterfly out of mid air or watch it fly inches over its head? Does a bird forage and scratch for tasty treats all day even though it’s not hungry or does it stand or lay down in the corner? Do they constantly spar with one another for that spot in the pecking order or do they back down at the first sign of aggression? Do they push and shove at the trough when you feed them even though they already had feed or do the stand in the corner until you leave? These are all signs of a vigorous flock that will exploit their genetic traits.
Out crossing for vigor is inevitable. If the inbreeding is too tight you may have to do it sooner. Following proper line breeding techniques, it may take a few decades. Once vigor is restored you can see what you have and start breeding by selection to improve traits.
I will get pictures of the chicks posted later once they have dried out. 
