Very Disturbed by What I'm Reading So Far

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
I just linked to a report listing the old jungle fouls gray and red as the common ancestors- I had a link in that post.

 

[Chris09]

Plainfieldpoultry,

If you don't mind could you post a of some your "Purebred" Chickens?
I would like to see what you are calling "Purebred"..
Chris

 

[Camelot Farms]

I agree, this was a troll. A well spoken, highly literate troll but none-the-less...a troll.

I enjoyed the resulting one-sided debate though. When I clicked on it I was thinking that I would see tons of flaming but ya'll did a great job of defending our Mutts without any forced editing by the mods.

Much to their appreication I am sure.

 

[woodmort]

Boy, Plainfieldpoultry, did you ever run into a buzzsaw!

In defense of what you said, I am familiar with the place you're coming from: a background in breeding and showing tropical fish. In fact. I'm sure we have probably crossed paths sometime in the 70's and 80's when I was chairman of the American Cichlid Association's BOT and judging fish shows in the NY/NJ/CT area.

For those that aren't up on breeding of tropical fish, especially Rift Lake African species, there was, and still is, a great deal of crossbreeding of species that not only diluted the original imported species but ruined the hobby with a mass of mutts. For those showing fish--and these people can be very serious about this phase of the hobby--this was a real concern. This also caused a great deal of debate and consternation in the ACA, which has condemned and pretty much banned the practice--although if you buy them from your local fishshop there is no guarantee what you're getting is the "real" thing. I can well expect this can produce the same kind of thing if one is into showing chickens.

That being said, the big difference between tropical fish and chickens lies in the fact that tropical fish are show animals, period. Whether you want them as part of your decor or are hauling them hither and yon across the country to amass trophies. Aside from that, the only other purpose is for one to be able to breed and sell to others that want them. If you're doing this and want to be ethical about it, you will keep pure lines going. (This can also be an expensive obsession--I know from whence I speak having had over 2000 gallons of water in aquariums in my fishroom when I was seriously breeding and selling them.)

Whereas chickens can be shown, seriously so, most keep them for pets and/or eggs/meat. This being the case, the main purpose for breeding is going to be to produce better eggs or meat and if this can be done by cross-breeding, so be it. Most are concerned with increasing their flock, not selling animals to be shown. If one is into show animals then it is up to the bodies governing them,i.e. APA and ALBC, to make sure of the lineage of those birds being shown. For the average BYC'er this is not going to be a problem nor is it something that is within the scope of those posting here be worrying about controlling.

I might add that, if one has mutts and either sells or otherwise disposes of them that they inform the new owners of the fact. It would be wrong not to do so.

 

[robin416]

My thoughts? If those crossbred junk birds bother you so much don't read about them. Simple as that.

And for all of you folks with wild sense of humor you made this topic fun to read with my morning coffee. Thank you, now I need to go find all those places my coffee sprayed to when I had the sudden urge to laugh after taking a large gulp.

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
Don't you know coffee drinking is dangerous?

Honestly this guy has 3 post all nearly the same except the hatchery one which is odd... so really.

I just want to know if he test crosses to make sure he has what he thinks he does, like crossing to unrelated breeds to see if each ones dominate and rescessives traites show (and don't show) properly.

then what DOES he do with those cross test birds (think Mendel's peas ans Mendel's pea soup

)

 

[PortageGirl]

I was mostly fine with most of what Plainfieldpoultry wrote, and if and when I'm looking to buy anything more than a few chooks to supply myself and my neighbors and family eggs, or a pot of soup now and then, he's just the sort of person I want to buy my breeding stock from.

People lie about what they sell all the time and yes we should be careful, because if they don't outright lie, they're sometimes simply ignorant. Anyone who's called someone about eggs or chicks for sale on Craigslist will have a ton of stories about someone claiming their chickens are this breed or that breed based solely on the color or something equally trivial or even nonexistent. Believe me, ignorance is at least as prevalent as dishonesty... in a lot of things these days. Finding a good breeder is much better, but hey, as long as people are honest and good at spotting the ignorant among us, ya can't legislate this sort of thing.

That brings me to that last bit about banning mutts on BYC? Ummm, no? Not strong enough though NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

....ahem, well then. Much better to encourage good practices wherever possible, help people with knowledge and information, and give access to good breeders as much as possible and assist people with learning whatever they can. The various breed sections, the discussion of rare breeds all are doing that.

Thank You BYC!

People that want to breed old standards, and people that want to breed the odd crosses, well, honesty is all that we can ask for really. This is Back Yard Chickens, it might lead to someone going to look for a purebred site to learn more, or it might not. Here it's more on the lines of the farmers and farm wives of the past who kept some chickens for the benefit of their families, then noticed some good traits they wanted to encourage. ...now that we're not isolated by region so much, (the reason so many of the old breeds are named for places as much as anything) breeding is quite different. My flock is somewhat mixed, but I do keep some pure hens and only the one corresponding roo, so that lets me isolate the breed of my choice to some extent. Is it perfect? Heck no but the eggs are great from all of them.

 

[SunnysideupstateNY]

Quote:
Love it!

 

[Netherworldtaken]

and to the OP, my weiner dog mix is not a junk dog, neither is my gordon setter mix dog. if, in time i decide to breed my hens they too will produce offspring that are not junk. As has been stated before, crossbreeding created your pure breeds. Now to counter the all mixes are good set just a bit, in order to get those pure breeds, people took time to develop them, usually carefully over time. Having, no pun intended, a pure mutt, that is not giving a thought to what the outcome will be isn't necessarily wrong, but the OP was right in saying that you shouldn't try to sell it as something that it isn't.

 

[speckledhen]

You know, the only way I use the term "purebred" is that the animal breeds true. Most everything I can think of in the dog, horse, chicken world was crossed to get to the "purebred" state where that animal produces animals like itself, recognizable as that particular breed. Dog breeds were also created by crossing breeds, so in that sense, you might say there are no purebred dogs either.

If a breeder represents their stock in a certain way, it should measure up--that is never in question and that is not the way I took the OP's point. BYC's mission is "a chicken in every backyard". What type of chicken is up to the individual.

There is no reason for anyone to get their hackles up here; be careful you don't degenerate into name-calling or insults. Be merciful to the Staff who pop in today, please.

I have a quilt project going on and I do not want to leave it to referee a fight. Thanks for your cooperation.