We need to talk about genetic safety in imported breeds

[call ducks]

But you still have to hatch more then those 25 or 30 chicks to get that number! you can breed great birds from a flock of five if you have selected the best birds and hatched enough. Every thing revloves around hatching lots of chicks and being able to select the best.

 

[ChicKat]

Thanks to a posting by Redchicken9, I found this information on spiral mating:

http://avianaquamiser.com/posts/Breeding_small_flocks_of_chickens/

 

[ChicKat]

Since I just read this today....and people reading this thread would be interested in breeding, I wanted to put in a plug for breeding for resistance... Here is the quote (I added it to my Marek's disease page...so It is an easy cut and paste)


Just today, I read in Gail Damerow's The Chicken Health Handbook p.198 "When only certain breeds, strains or individuals are resistant to a disease, immunity is 'partial'. Chickens have partial immunity to Marek's disease, since some strains never succumb to the otherwise common killer. In nearly every disease outbreak, some individuals do not become infected due to inherited immunity. Those are the birds you will want in your breeder flock if you wish to breed for resistance as described in Chapter 1"

My comment would be, that is the approach I would favor.

 

[galanie]

I agree that immunity and overall hardiness is an important thing to keep in mind when breeding. But First should always be to breed to SOP for that breed. Like the OP says, too many of our American breeds have fallen downhill. I blame the hatcheries. Most people never see a chicken that is not from a hatchery. And those birds almost never even live up to the descriptions on that hatchery's own web page!

 

[call ducks]

Hey, Regarding breeding to the SOP. I think that should be put on hold untill you have great foundation stock with all the qualities you need. Because with most breeds once you start breeding to SOP egg laying decreases, or there are other side effects! I allways keep this in mind "You have to build the barn before you can paint it".

Also as a side note i would say it's not really hatcheries faults. In fact if a breeder want's to work on improverving a breed. Hatcheries would be a great start, along with many other lines

 

[galanie]

No, hatcheries are a horrible source if you want to breed to SOP. They have to have the genetics to begin with and hatchery birds simply do not. They are mixed with Leghorns and lordy knows what else to make them great egg laying machines. For example, I got what was supposed to be a great dual purpose bird, the buff orpington, that is supposed to grow to 6-8 lbs if it's a pullet. None of those full grown hens are more than 4 lbs. No matter how many years I breed them, they'll never be twice their current weight. Oh sure, they lay ok. But in fact, they don't really lay any better then the ones I got from a breeder that indeed are 6-8 lbs

Edit: And before you say "mine are that big", wiegh them. You'll be surprised at how small they really are under those fluffy feathers.

 

[call ducks]

Not really a bad source!

You do know that before you foucas on getting it to look a certain way you have to get all the good qauilitys in it. And in order to get some of those qauilitys you have to pull genetics from every where possable in order to start. Honestly Closed flocks are not the best answer. IF you want to breed a breed back to the way it is you can not just focus on what APA says it should look like. We have to foucas on the quailitys that made that breed first then we should start working on how it looks. This takes us back to starting with plentefull genetics and cull reg. Hatchery birds are bred an entirely different way. The same way the UofA used to breed there light sussex, and that is why Canada has a power house of light sussex genetics. They are there they just need to be extracted.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

I believe this thread will be of interest.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/623070/standard-of-perfection

 

[ChicKat]

I believe this thread will be of interest.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/623070/standard-of-perfection

Thank you for the link Year of the Rooster................

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Quote: Not a problem