By Kenny Troiano
Copyright © 2020 by Kenny Troiano/Maximus Troy Publications
In the following paragraphs, I will give you some basic guidelines for purchasing brood fowl that will save you considerable time and money. These include topics, such as,
- Playing the name game
- Select your fowl in person
- The benefits of building a good relationship with the breeder
- Try to select your fowl from an established brood pen
- Dealing with the u.s. Postal service
- Understanding that there is no such thing as a perfect bird
- And, the seriousness of defects and poor health
Let’s get started.
Don’t play the “Name Game”: This is a game that benefits peddlers, not buyers. It especially hurts beginners, who are forced to start with substandard fowl. This all goes back to the commercial side of the hobby, where most purchases are not of quality, but of quantity.
The fact is – a fancy strain name still sells a lot of chickens. Peddlers, whose only interest is to sell fowl, are always on the lookout for fowl that have a popular name, or fowl that resembles fowl with a popular name. If he doesn’t have it, he will get it, and if he can’t get it, he will fake it.
A peddler only breeds to produce as many fowl as possible. Rarely does he cull, and in most cases, he will raise and keep every bird with the hopes of making money. The bird can be good, bad or mediocre, but to peddlers all fowl have a cash value. He will sell his brood fowl and their offspring. A true breeder, on the other hand, will never sell his broodfowl. To a peddler, brood fowl are easily replaced, but to a true breeder, brood fowl are irreplaceable.
Each and every year, a peddler will hatch as many fowl as possible, sell every one of them for as much as he can get, and then look for new fowl to replace the ones he sold. This is why there are so many inferior fowl out there, and why so many beginners are getting discouraged, and eventually quit.
Select your fowl directly, in person: When purchasing brood fowl, it is by all means advisable to make a personal visit to the breeder’s farm. This will give you the opportunity to select the best fowl possible, and a chance to look over the health of the breeder’s birds, and management and his farm.
As you look over the breeder’s birds, make sure to assess his farm and its cleanliness. If his farm is in worse condition than yours, leave. You do not want to bring home a bird that might carry an infectious disease.
Building a good relationship with the breeder is essential: A personal visit to a breeder’s farm will also give you the opportunity to talk with the breeder, and gain valuable insight about the fowl you’re going to buy. By getting to know the breeder, you will learn more about his breeding methods and the breeding tendencies of his birds. This knowledge will enable you to more intelligently breed your new fowl, and to attain greater results, much easier and faster. If he is experienced, you will also learn more about his strain and the history and origins of the breed.
Make sure to select a breeder that is not only knowledgeable of the breed, and how to breed them, but is eager and willing to share that knowledge with others.
Each and every strain is a little bit different, and it helps to know how to breed and raise them properly. Who better to ask than the breeder who knows them best?
Select fowl from an established brood pen: For beginners, buying a trio (one cock and two hens) is a good way to start. However, buying a mated pair, or two mated pairs, is even better. This is especially true if the breeder has mated them for the purpose of perpetuating and improving his strain. He must have a strong belief that they will do well, or he would not have placed them in the same pen.
While, selecting brood fowl from an established brood pen sounds great, the truth is, it can be somewhat problematic, such as, convincing the breeder to let them go. Many breeders typically don’t sell their brood fowl. If they do, you can be certain they will ask a much higher price. If the breeder is willing to sell some of his brood fowl, plan on paying much more for them. I would also be interested in knowing why he is willing to sell them. Don’t be afraid to ask important questions. This will help you to evaluate the breeder and the quality and integrity of his fowl.
Here are some important guidelines to follow when purchasing mated pairs, and questions to ask the breeder before committing to the purchase:
- First, make sure that the hens match the cocks.For instance, if you are considering a black-breasted red cock, the hen must be of the proper partridge color. If she is wheaten or buff colored, or is partridge backed, but has a buff colored breast, she is not a proper match for that cock. In this case, the offspring will come both dark-red/partridge and light-red/wheaten (also known as “Lemon”). Another color differentiation to watch for in the plumage of partridge hens is the expression of reddish/orange throughout the plumage. This is known as “foxiness.” Hens such as these also throw light-red stags and wheaten pullets.
- Ask the breeder to explain why these particular birds are mated. He should be able to tell you why, and the results he was hoping to achieve from this mating. Then, ask him why he is willing to sell them. I would be interested to know why he is willing to let his broodfowl go.
- Are the bird’s leg banded or wing banded, or both?Without proper identification of each and every bird on his farm, records and pedigrees are impossible. A good breeder always marks his broodfowl for identification reasons, and keeps records.
- Do they share the same characteristics and traits?For instance, do they share the same color of legs or comb type? Some breeders claim to have a strain, but their fowl tend to come many leg colors and comb types. Do the offspring come in a variety of plumage colors? E.g., examine the nest sibs; are some coming dark-red/partridge and others light-red/wheaten? Breeders such as these have no definite direction, and have no idea what it takes to create and maintain a strain, or to produce a uniform and consistent family.
- Are they the same breed and variety?The cock and hen may share many characteristics, but be from a different breed or variety. In this case the offspring they produce will only be hybrid-crosses. Offspring produced from hybrid-crosses are rarely uniform and consistent in their characteristics and traits. In fact, the differences between sibs can be quite extreme.
- Are they from the same family or strain?Again, they may be from the same breed, and share many traits, but, because they come from separate strains, they will not produce genetically pure offspring, only hybrid-crosses. It is very difficult to create a family from hybrids.
- How are they related?For instance, are they brother and sister? Or father/daughter, mother/son? Do they share any relation to each other whatsoever, such as aunt/nephew, or uncle/niece? This can tell you a lot about the breeder’s methods of breeding, and his level of experience.
- Do the birds have a good temperament?All birds should be easy to handle. Any man-fighters (cocks) and flighty or nervous hens should be culled. Bad tempered birds will tell you a lot about a breeder and his fowl. It indicates improper breeding or a genetic fault, or both.
- Do they have any noticeable defects or disqualifications?Some defects are easy to spot, such as duck toes or wry tail, others require that you handle the bird, this includes defects such as crooked breastbone, or having, or not having the proper muscling and good flesh. A bird that is underweight or overweight should raise some red flags. Even eye problems are hard to spot from a distance, such as irregular pupil or sunken eye.
- Are they in good condition?For example, how do their legs and plumage look? Are the legs smooth, round and clean, or rough and scaly? Is their plumage shinny and smooth, with strong quills, or dry and brittle? Do they have external or internal parasites? Do they feel overly fat or extremely lightweight? These are indications of how well the birds are cared for.
- Are they active and energetic, or listless and lethargic?Their actions are a good indication of their health, and poor health is the biggest defect of all. If you see a sick chicken, it is best to leave his farm. A sick bird shows you the weakness of that family.
When ordering fowl through the U.S. Postal Service: When a visit to the breeder’s flock is not possible, it becomes necessary to depend upon the judgment and ability of the seller to select your bird(s). Needless to say, this can be very risky. However, by talking to the breeder and discussing the kind of birds that you desire may lower the risks a bit.
Explain to the breeder how you expect the birds to look, act and perform. Be clear and precise as to the conformation of body and color of plumage you expect to receive. Ask the breeder to explain the common breeding tendencies of his strain, and what defects are common to this strain.
Also, ask the breeder if he leg/wing bands his fowl and keeps records of his breeding’s.
However, the biggest risk to buying fowl unseen is the health issue. When ordering by phone and through the mail, you take the risk of introducing disease to your yard. I suggest that you take the proper biosecurity measures before combining the new birds with yours. I cover this better in the health section of this book.
No bird is perfect: Whenever I get a call, from a reader, who wants to talk with me about a bird(s) they purchased, from a specific breeder, their usual complaint is about a flaw or imperfection that they found. In most cases the flaw or imperfection is small or insignificant.
Although I don’t want to seem nonchalant or insensitive about your concerns, you must understand that no bird is perfect. Flaws and imperfections are things to be guarded against, but are found in all birds to some extent. In fact, it is quite normal to see a slight flaw or two when purchasing birds.
A bird, which is good overall, but may have one or more slight flaws or imperfections, which are not genetic defects or breed disqualifications, is a good bird and usually worth the money you paid for it.
Another complaint I get, usually from beginners, are that the birds they purchased show or develop a few off-colored feathers, and believe this indicates an impurity of blood. Such is not the case, for off-colored feathers are not uncommon in many varieties. For example, the black feathers in the Barred Plymouth Rock. Such off-colored feathers are not seen in the specimens exhibited at the shows, simply because they are pulled out, but their presence does not indicate an impurity of blood.
Also, in 5-6 week old chicks, before they get their mature plumage, there may be evidence of foreign plumage color, usually in the wings and tail. This is often mistaken for evidence of impurity. With the growth of the mature plumage, however, this foreign color is usually lost, completely. An example of this is the white, which commonly occurs in the wings of juvenile chicks of black varieties, but usually disappears from the adult plumage.
Defects are more serious: Defects are inherited from mother and father, and are passed down generation to generation. It is a weakness that can destroy the strain, and should be avoided at all cost.
Do no purchase or accept birds showing defects: Most defective traits are genetically recessive. When a recessive trait is matched with the same recessive trait, from its mate, that trait will be perpetuated in their offspring. And if not culled will, in time, be passed down to the next generation.
Once a defective trait is established in a family or strain, it is very difficult to eliminate it. Many believe that with proper selective breeding practices, and persistent culling of all defective birds, these traits will no longer be expressed. But in truth, this is only an illusion. Recessive traits are never eliminated, entirely, only hidden, only to arise later down the road. As soon as they are mated, with another bird, carrying the same recessive trait, even when not expressed, the trait will be expressed in the offspring.
Poor health is even more detrimental to a family or strain: Genetic defects are destructive to the future of a strain, to be sure, but it is very difficult to produce healthy offspring from unhealthy parents. Therefore, purchasing broodfowl that are in good health should be your first priority.
If the fowl you are purchasing show illness or a lack of vigor and vitality, in any way, don’t buy them. In fact, don’t buy anything from that breeder. If you see even one sick or questionable bird, it is time to leave. Go straight home, wash your clothes, scrub your shoes, and shower right away.
Many things, such as exposure to disease, improper nutrition, and stress, can cause poor health. Stress is a powerful force that weakens the immune system. But it can also be a genetic weakness, inherited from its ancestors.
No matter the cause, the results are the same, substandard broodfowl. Breeders who raise fowl, such as these, usually have pitiable farm management practices, or they are beginners that simply lack the experience to breed and raise strong, healthy, genetically superior fowl.
Take your time and find fowl that are free of defects, and are of good health. The last thing you want to do is start with broodfowl that lack a strong, healthy constitution.
Select brood fowl that have good constitutional vigor, and have a good genetic resistance to disease.
