Kk guys, quick ?. Found some slw's. Wondering if hours guys know anything about Lefeber and Foley lines?? Congrats on the job Terri!!!!!!! Good luck!
I think Foley dispensed his breeding flock of BLRW last year, just remember once a breeder (in this case Foley) has sold the birds after that the 1st generation of that line came from Foley but the person breeding the birds is now making the choices for culling and going forward (or not) with the birds. Hence, it is no longer "the" Foley line. I try to talk to the breeder and get a feel as to how they breed, what their goals are and have been, have a list of questions ready and try to get clear direct answers. Also get as many pics as possible or actually see some of their birds, if you like what you see and the info they give you move forward.If they aren't forth coming or take offense at your questions there is usually a reason for that, move on to someone else
SLW are getting pretty hard to find really good examples of but there are some out there....
example,,,,my BCMarans are "Davis" lines,,,,but 5 generations removed, with little forethought put into breeding, my pullets are close to the standard and lay a fairly dark egg (#5), the cockerels are a long way off with some major faults. I raised out 19 cockerels last summer culling to one, he's close to what I need to make improvements. It will take me at least a few years to hopefully get what I think will be a good looking line again.....I plan to hatch a lot of birds and cull heavily to do this.
All that being said, there are some really good breeders here on BYC,,,some "not so much" be aware and do your research. In any event, getting birds direct from a breeder is usually the best way to acquire good stock in the Heritage breeds. Hatchery birds usually have had outside blood added to increase "production" once this is done the loss of the original genetics is something that can't be regained.
If you are looking for certain breeds a good source is finding a club, then check their website for a breeders listing. Some clubs have forums that you can access for additional info.
hope this makes things clearer than that mud Jim mentioned earlier today....
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