If not, I can show you how, and what to do about it
Do you think of yourself as a true breeder? This can be subjective, depending on who you talk to. In my opinion, there are big differences between a true breeder and someone who breeds. In truth, not everyone is a breeder, or should be a breeder.
So, what is the characteristics of a true breeder?
- You must have a love for your fowl and want to be with them.
- You must appreciate the breed and their history
- You must have a strong desire to study them
- You must have a strong desire to perfect your strain
- You must be willing to keep good records.
Let’s take these one at a time and break them down.
You must have a love for the bird:
A true breeder spends a good portion of their day thinking about their fowl? They go to bed, thinking how they can improve specific characteristics and traits? They dream of the future, of what could be? And, they drive their wife and kids crazy talking all the time about their fowl?
A true breeder lives for his birds. He is always thinking of ways to improve them and can’t wait to get home from work so that he can spend time with them.
Never, does he dread having to go out and feed and water them.
You must appreciate the breed and their history:
All breeds of chickens have a rich history, and enough written records to trace their origins. A true breeder is one that has a strong desire to know where they came from and how they came to be. They know that having this knowledge, not only gives them an appreciation for the breed, but gives them the knowledge necessary to make sure they continue to be good representatives of their breed.
You must have a strong desire to study them:
A true breeder spends hours studying his fowl, learning everything he can about their inherent characteristics and traits, their behaviors and any idiosyncrasies they may have.
He is always studying ways to improve them genetically, and to improve their ability to resist disease, and finds ways to improve nutrition and their living conditions.
You must have a strong desire to perfect your strain:
A true breeder is never satisfied with how they are. He is always looking for ways to fix and improve the family, and he maintains a zero-defect policy, and never breeds for the sake of breeding. In other words, he culls ruthlessly and selects the one percent that he feels has the ability to improve his strain.
You must be willing to keep good records:
A true breeder keeps detailed and compete records. He knows who is bred to who and why. He never relies on his memory and knows the parents and grand parent of every bird on his farm.
All the birds are banded and numbered. He knows the age and ancestry of every bird as well.
NOW THAT WE KNOW THE CHARACTERS OF A TRUE BREEDER, WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF SOMEONE WHO BREEDS, BUT IS NOT A TRUE BREEDER?
You are not a breeder if…
- Spending time with your birds is a hassle
- You use crossbreeding as your main method of breeding
- You are producing offspring, but have no interest in improving their characteristics and traits
- You don’t keep records
Let’s take these one at a time and break them down.
Spending time with your birds is a hassle:
How can you put the time and effort necessary to create, maintain and improve the strain if you don’t have a love for the bird?
You are not a breeder if you hate going out to feed and water your fowl. They need constant care and attention, and a flock that is ignored, will deteriorate.
You use crossbreeding as your main method of breeding:
I know many are afraid of inbreeding or line-breeding, but most of these fears are due to ignorance. Their knowledge in the areas of breeding is very limited, or they have a false understanding of what it takes to create, maintain and improve a strain, and how to do it. In their minds, crossbreeding is the safe method, and delivers the quickest results.
What they don’t understand is that those quick results are due to hybrid vigor. Hybrid crosses are limited to the individual produced by the cross, but they cannot reproduce their own kind. If you obtain a great individual, there is no way to reproduce or clone that individual. Those great qualities end with that bird.
The effects of Hybrid Vigor and the gradual improvement towards a strain.
- Beginning with the original P1 seed fowl – represents 100%
- F1 – Hybrids 120%
- F2 – generation 80%
- F3 – generation 85%
- F4 – generation 90%
- F5 – generation 99% – they never reach the 100% level of the original seed fowl
You are producing offspring – but have no interest in improving their characteristics and traits:
Many believe that by putting two birds together for the purpose of producing offspring, is breeding. But if truth be told, if you are not selecting and mating to achieve a specific purpose, and are not culling the substandard or defective offspring, while selecting the few that have desirable traits, you are not breeding, you are just multiplying.
Breeding is the process of improving a family or strain every generation. It is accomplished by selecting small variations that will improve the strains form, function, and beauty. It’s the process of creating a family that is uniform and consistent and shares the same desirable qualities.
A family that is not selectively being improved is a family that is falling behind. Nothing ever stays the same, they are either improving or they are declining. Mother Nature has a tendency to create the mediocre. She likes average.
To improve a family, the breeder must be proactive. Every bird he breeds must have the ability to improve the family. If that bird has a fault or lacks in any way, it should not be used for breeding.
I’m always saying – “great strains are never created by accident. Every strain has a great breeder behind it.”
You don’t keep records:
Those who don’t keep records are not only lazy but are breeding unconsciously. They don’t know their fowl or understand their true makeup. Their decisions are based on speculation and guesswork, not based on observation and science, better known as “Empirical Knowledge.”
They are always experimenting, never knowing or remembering what worked or didn’t work.
Breeders like this, who don’t select properly, or don’t select at all, are destined to ruin their strains. They can purchase the best strain possible, and in just a few years, the strain will be worthless.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF CREATING A STRAIN, AND OF BECOMING A TRUE BREEDER
I’m a firm believer that it’s better to create your own strain than to rely on others to do it for you.
By creating your own strain, it gives you complete knowledge of that strain. You will know their behaviors, their breeding tendencies, what diseases they are susceptible or resistant to. You will know their performance abilities and their faults.
Benefits of becoming a true breeder:
As a breeder, you will have the power to create the strain you want. You will have the power to sculpt and mold your strain into any form you like, with the function and purpose that you desire most, and have the beauty and attractiveness that others will most likely envy.
No longer will you need to rely on others to breed the fowl you like.
Think about it. Even if you obtained the best birds out there, they will never have all the characteristics and traits you desire.
They will always be lacking in some way.
As a breeder and creator of a strain, you will have the satisfaction of accomplishing something great.
- Your fowl will live on, long after you’re gone.
- There will be other breeders lying in bed dreaming of having a trio of your fowl.
- And you will achieve worldwide recognition.
- Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that a pure strain is worth more than hybrid crosses.
Being a great breeder also gives you a certain amount of authority as well.
- Others will seek you out, not only for your fowl, but for your knowledge and experience.
- They will want to know what you know.
This is a great responsibility, but one that I enjoy. If you are like me, you will enjoy helping others, and feeling the sense of satisfaction when they succeed.
What more can you ask for?
THE BIG QUESTION IS, SHOULD YOU BECOME A BREEDER?
Now that I have laid out what constitutes a true breeder, you will need to decide whether this is right for you.
You can continue to bounce around trying to find great fowl, or you can create your own. There are a lot of so-called breeders who claim they have the best fowl. And, you can pay high prices hoping for the best, but in most cases, you are going to be very disappointed in what comes out of that box.
For me, I would rather create my own strain. Is it easy? No! It takes work, a lot of work, time and money. Is it worth it? I say absolutely, yes! Breeding is a lot of fun and it’s rewarding.
Every year, I get to use breeding programs that will hopefully progress my fowl. I get to see how well those programs are working, and the way in which my strain is evolving. The fowl I have today are much different than the fowl I started out with. And, Yes, they are evolving.
I love the fact that I can go out in my yard, and everywhere I look, I see beautiful birds that are uniform, consistent, and are great representatives of their breed. I love the fact that my birds are in the hands of other breeders all over the world. And, I get to see and hear how much they appreciate them. I feel that all my time and effort was well spent, and that I have achieved something quite special.
Is this path right for you? Only time will tell.
This is not a short time hobby; it’s a life’s work. With that said, you will need to look inside yourself and decide whether you have what it takes to become a true breeder.
I will say this – the most important job of any breeder is to establish a strain, not just any strain, but to create a strain that is worthy of your name.
WHAT ARE THE OBSTACLES TO BECOMING A TRUE BREEDER?
We’ve been talking about what it takes to become a true breeder. If this is something that you want to achieve, you will need to overcome some of the obstacles that lay in front of you.
To start with, you will need to acquire the best fowl possible. These will be your seed fowl, the beginning of your strain.
The problem is, where to get them? Well, let’s examine the facts – what are the facts?
- There are more peddlers than true breeders
- Most of the birds available are not pure, they are hybrid crosses or mongrels
- No breeder is going to sell his best birds
- And, some breeders only sell their culls
Let’s take these one at a time and break them down.
There are more peddlers than true breeders:
The sad truth is that there are very few true breeders (like Johnny Jumper). There are more peddlers than there are true breeders. They either don’t know what they are doing, or they don’t care.
Anytime you purchase birds, you are taking a chance. The best you can do is to create your own strain. Therefore, you are forced into starting where you are, or getting the best birds possible as seed fowl and begin to create your own strain.
Most of the birds available are not pure, they are hybrid crosses or mongrels:
Few breeders breed pure strains. Most are cross-breeders. You can get good looking; good performing birds, but they are usually hybrids, and you cannot reproduce a hybrid. Hybrids cannot reproduce themselves.
Most American Games are the product of multiple crosses. Most are selling fowl that have no pedigrees or are crossed with other birds of unknown ancestry.
The problem is, Hybrids are the trend. It’s this kind of thinking that is ruining the breed. We need true breeders, who are interested in perpetuating and preserving the breed.
No breeder is going to sell his best birds:
No true breeder is going to sell his best birds – I know, I wouldn’t! And, we shouldn’t expect them to. If he is selling his best birds, then how can he improve his strain?
A true breeder will select his top 10 percent for breeding, cull all defects and substandard birds, and sell what’s left. Your job is to get the best of the birds that he is will to part with and create a family from that.
Will they be perfect, no! Just don’t select birds with defects and disqualifications, or birds that look sickly.
Make sure that they are good representatives of their breed and that the cock properly matches the hen, and that they are free of faults, and you should be fine
And, some breeders only sell their culls:
This can be a problem if his culls are defective and sickly.
Again, make sure the birds are good representatives of their breed and free of faults. This can also be a problem if you are ordering by mail – sight unseen. You are always taking a risk when ordering through the mail.
Make sure to check this breeder out, his reputation, and the reputations of his birds.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO BECOME A TRUE BREEDER AND CREATE THE STRAIN OF YOUR DREAMS?
Start by finding the right mentor, or a place where they specialize in helping others learn the skills and techniques necessary to create a high-quality strain, like the Breeders Academy.
Next, improve your knowledge of all areas of selective breeding, such as the Laws of Inheritance – which includes evolutionary biology, Mendelian genetics and advanced genetics. As well as the various mating and breeding methods – and which one to use and why.
And learn the value of using an actual systematic breeding program that is designed to progress your strain to the next level. One that uses a variety of mating and breeding methods to achieve a specific purpose.
Familiarize yourself with all the defects and disqualifications that exist and learn how to eliminate them from your strain.
WHICH LEADS TO:
WHY BREEDING PROGRAMS ARE IMPORTANT?
Everyone knows about inbreeding, linebreeding, outcrossing and infusion. But, no one knows why they are doing it, or when they should do it. They think those methods are the means to the end, when in reality, they are only tools used in a bigger more complete breeding program.
For example, line-breeding is a fantastic tool, but when used alone, it only creates a bigger, more problematic situation, one that can ruin your strain in the long run.
You cannot line-breed forever. And, if you introduce outside blood, you will destroy all your efforts, and the time and money spent trying to create a strain.
What you need is a true breeding program.
What is a true breeding program?
A breeding program is more than which birds to select. A breeding program is more than a mating method, A breeding program is more than a breeding technique, it’s a systematic program that integrates all aspects of breeding to achieve a specific outcome. This is how a strain is created.
Once you understand the principles of selective breeding, that knowledge is yours for life.
The reality for most modern breeders is that. Very few are able to start with a well-established strain. Most are starting with fowl that are unrelated or from birds that are the product of multiple crosses.
I understand where you are coming form, I hear it all the time. That is why I have created a breeding program, called – the Founders Program.
This program is designed specifically for breeders like you that have some great birds, and you want to create a strain from them, but they are the product of multiple crosses. Or you have a great cock from one breeder and a great hen from anther breeder and you want to create a family or strain.
The Founders Programis well laid out, it will take you step by step through the breeding process, it will give you the tools you will need to create a true strain, and it will show you how to improve that strain for years to come. all without the introduction of new blood.
This program is available at the Breeders Academy.
No more guessing, wondering what to do, or when to do it. No longer will you be doing it alone. I will be with you every step of the way, guiding you and providing the information you will need to progress your strain.
Join us at the Breeders Academy, and learn how to create a true strain, one that you can be proud of. I will help you to increase your knowledge of breeding, advance your skills as a breeder, and help you to improve the quality and performance of your fowl. I am confident that if you follow my advice, your fowl will improve.
