Reply to Jill

 Jill. wrote:
> unicorn wrote:
>
>
>>Yes it is fairly humdrum at the moment.   I sold/Gave away all my fowl
>>18 months ago to move 2000Km away and have not really had an
>>opportunity to re establish as rental properties in town are not the
>>place to keep fowl. But I have recently bought a new place and can
>>start again soon.
>
>
> THAT is exciting
> Would you mind sharing with us "What will you start with and Why"  ?

I should start this with a couple of basic comments on what it is that I try and do with breeding. I have two 'bibles' on form.

1. the 'British poultry Standards' published by Blackwell science
http://store.blackwell-professional.com/0632040521.html
2. Australia Poultry Standards published by the Victorian poultry fancies assn
http://www.vpfa.org.au/apsp.htm

I also like to read the American standard occasionally, but that is more for entertainment. The American standards are SO different, that it is some times difficult to consider that the birds are the same breed. If you ever get the chance, compare the American and British idea of a leghorn.

Now, whilst I am an Australian, and am judged on the Australian Standard, I breed to the British standard, because I feel that a number of the Australian Standards have been watered down due to the poor offering of birds and genetics available. But that is a personal choice and at times it goes against me in judging, but so be it. I have made my choice so to speak.

Now in getting back into breeding, I will start small, probably 3 or 4 trios of birds which I will source where I find birds that catch my eye. They will be selected not for their actual show strengths, but for the defects that they show or do not show. I will attempt to locate birds, or genetics that will blend to produce an improvement in the next generation where ever I find them.

I have been known to simply stop the car when traveling and go knock on the door of a house if I see a bird that really catches my eye in their yard. Sometime you get lucky. Otherwise I will haunt the shows, and get to know the breeders in this part of the world. I will buy carefully and few.

A dozen breeders will probably be more than enough in the first year, while I get my eye back into seeing the birds for what they are, and what they can be breed to, to get improvement. With a Dozen breeders, I will probably produce a hundred or so chickens and keep perhaps 10%. The following year I will be hunting again, for birds that demonstrate strong genetic features to correct what I have found to be deficient in the stock that I have breed. Over the following years, it will be breed many, keep few until I get them to where I want them

The show poultry community being what is is, there is frequent exchange of birds in relatively small geographic areas. To ensure I get as diversified genetic pool as possible, I will bring fertile eggs from a couple of different places as far from where I am as I possibly can.



> Will you go back to the folks who have your previous stocks or start afresh?

No return!.. My prized golden seabrights, I gave to my nephew when I moved, and he basically fed them to the neighbours dog in short order. I was not pleased when I rang him about 3 months after I moved to be told he had a single hen left. As the chap who originally supplied most of the genetics for that line has left the country and the flock dispersed they are basically gone :'~( The shame of it is that they came from stock that had won a number of championship ribbons at the Sydney Royal.

One of the reasons I disposed of the Seabrights, instead of moving them was that an associate at the local poultry club had been in South Australia judging the birds at the Adelaide Show and came back to tell me how wonderful the South Australian birds were. Unfortunately I think he was wrong. I went to the Adelaide Show expecting to be impressed, what I saw was a collection of birds which hardly could be considered true to type, let alone excellent. So much for listening to that particular judge.

My greatest difficulty will be resisting the urge to buy this breed bird and that because it has taken my eye, or because it is very well priced. I have been known to go see a breeder about a particular breed, and come away with a dozen birds of a completely different breed, simply because they were well priced and an uncommon breed.

This time round, I am thinking that I will start on the Seabrights, Japanese bantams and OEG Bantams again and am tossing up Leghorns (white and blue) Hamburgs (silver spangled and gold penciled) and Andelusians as a sideline.

This is probably not what you had in mind Jill, but the breeders and strains you mentioned are not all that important to me. Genetic diversity is.

Matt
.

Relevant Pages

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