What are differences between buying from a hatchery versus a breeder?

[NYREDS]

Breeder - (and I mean a true, reputable breeder who does NOT have hatchery related birds)

This can't be emphasised enough. There are many so-called breeders who do nothing but reproduce birds they got from hatcheries. Some of them have very nice web sites & they talk a good game but their birds are no better than what you'd get from a hatchery. They are however usually much more expensive. Honestly, this is true of many of the people selling on this site. There are people here who have quality stock but there are many more that don't. Just because someone has a familiar screen name it doesn't mean that they have well bred birds.
The best way to protect yourself is to do your homework. Buy or borrow a Standard & study it. Go to a few shows, look at the birds that win & talk to the exhibitors of those birds. If you know what you're looking for it's less likely you'll be taken advantage of.
All this assumes you're interested in preservation &/or showing. If all you want is some chickens for eggs, meat or jus to look at hatchery stock will work fine for you.​

 

[Chickielady]

Quote:

Also very well put, especially about the crossing of the RIR and the brown leghorns.
The color is very light, the birds are nowhere near as beautiful as a 'real' RIR AND they are mean, and can harm you or your kids.
Excellent point!

 

[punky rooster]

Quote:

Also very well put, especially about the crossing of the RIR and the brown leghorns.
The color is very light, the birds are nowhere near as beautiful as a 'real' RIR AND they are mean, and can harm you or your kids.
Excellent point!

Barred rocks have had the same thing happen to them but probably with white leghorns.

 

[Chickielady]

another good point.
There are many breeds ruined by crossing with others to get increased meat or eggs.
In the process their individual beauty, and even health has been lost or compromised.

 

[Chickhick]

Forgive me if I am repeating what has already been said. I haven't read every post in this thread yet.

One of my biggest reasons for buying from breeders instead of hatcheries is in the innate individuality of each breed. It seems that, since there aren't registration papers and pedigrees, that there is a lot of cross breeding to make certain breeds more productive from a sell-a-lot-of-chicks perspective. That homogenizes hatchery-bred chickens into basically 3 chickens: a Mediteranian type, a dual purpose type, and a meat bird type... just those 3 wearing different clothes. I like the uniqueness that comes with each breed, and the intellectual education I aquire as I get to know different breeds.

This "homogenization" effects a lot of traits, not the least of which is personality. I want my chickens to act like what the particular breed is supposed to act like. I want to get to know the breed, not just a general chicken. Other traits are effected, too, as is evidenced by the pale color of Marans eggs from hatcheries, the single combs on "Rhode Island Whites," and the small eggs from traditionally large-egg layers. Maybe I am giving breeders too much credit, but I feel that they chose their specific breeds because they LIKE them, and want them to be who they are, not just to be the most productive in a one-demensional way. Most good breeders do it as a hobby, and the bottom line is not how much profit, but the feeling of accomplishment at a job well done.

Only breeders (good breeders) are concerned with the whole package. Hatcheries don't individually choose particular pairings of their chickens for the betterment of the breed. Good breeders try to keep in mind the strong points of their particular breed, and choose breedings to emphesize these traits. Hatcheries have many, many, many different breeds and can't possibly get to know any of them very well, so how can they be choosing the best pairings, (even if they cared to try)?

I'm generally not very particular about colors matching the Standard of Perfection exactly, but I do care about soundness and appropriateness of structure, whether weighted toward meat, or weighted toward eggs (given one breed versus another.) And I do want them to forage well, and since hatcheries don't let their chickens forage anyway, then we know they aren't concerned with that.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[punky rooster]

chickhik, nice post

 

[EweSheep]

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

It is so irritating at times to have birds that are assertive instead of flighty. We are now under a winter storm warning. The school issued an auto-dialing call yesterday warning to arrange for an early release today. Then at 6:15 this morning the superintenmdent had an auto call that said only the central office employees and maintance should show up. He called a snow day. Between the kids and I we had every feeder full and vitamin water in all waterers. The temp was 31 this morning and is dropping. No temp above freezing till Friday. So we used the poly feed bags and stapled them on the outside of the Bantam coops. We were done just as the storm hit.

Here is my compalint!

Went to feed the Buff Ducks. Could not get to their feeders for them walking all over my boots. Went to feed the Buckeyes....same issue! Surely the Buff Orpingtons would be a little easier. We had moved them into a new pen and needed to install a wall feeder. I had to feed them in the old feeder before I could hang the new one. The Orps wanted to know what we were doing. Our Heritage Exhibition type birds are so friendly we have difficulty caring for them. Our 6 year old has to scold them to get them away from her feet. No mean roosters here! Just gentle birds that LOVE their keepers. Sometimes it would be nice to walk into a pasture and see the birds run for the corners instead of us!

That is one difference in quality bred poultry and those that are raised with automatic equipment for generations.

Note: We free choice feed, so our birds do not come running for hunger reasons.

 

[Chickhick]

Quote:
I still haven't made it all the way to the end of the thread, yet, but I wanted to make a comment here. (If I wait til I'm done reading, then I'll forget what I was going to say!)

You can only "breed up" if the genetics are still in those particular bird's genes. If they have been crossbred, (or the particular traits in question have been ignored for many generations,) then those genes may or may not still be present (though hidden) in the specific individuals.

("You" being the generic "you," not you specifically, Speckledhen.

Your bird shown here is beautiful., and looks nice and meaty.)

For instance, working Border Collies and rough collies used to be the same breed. But you can't "breed up" from the rough collie and end up with a great working sheepdog anymore... you won't get a dog that works or looks like a Border Collie, ever. (And yes, I know that there are some that can do a little herding, but not with the same intensity and style.) The genes just aren't there anymore. Now in any specific batch of chickens the traits may or may not still be there, but I'd rather start with a bunch that I knew had the traits I was looking for. You can only get back the size, or leg color, or leg feathering, (or lack of leg feathering,) or meatiness, or foraging ability, or egg production, or personality, etc., if the genes are still present.

But if someone has birds that they love, and they want to try to see how much they can improve their stock by careful breeding and culling, then I applaud them.

Got to go... my mailman just delivered 2 dozen hatching eggs from a breeder... I have to go open up the boxes!!!

 

[jmc]

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