Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Know Your Breed
Before jumping into a breeding project, take care to fully understand the history and
traits of that breed. For example, Dorking chickens have a long history and well-doc-
umented traits that make it easy to ensure that you are not inappropriately altering the
breed. Dorkings are known to have five toes, a broad body situated low to the ground,
and a desire to be broody even during their first pullet year. If you want to breed true
Dorkings, you must strive to maintain those characteristics.
It's inappropriate to select hens that never want to set if you are breeding Dorkings,
as the desire to hatch eggs is a key trait of this breed. By constantly culling — not select-
ing for breeding pairs — all of the hens that go broody in an effort to increase the egg
production in your Dorking flock, you may think you are doing something spectacular;
but in fact, you'll eventually destroy the traits of the breed. The same thing can be said
for selecting breeding pairs that are higher off the ground than is typical. Continual se-
lection of breeding pairs that appear to have desirable traits that don't actually meet the
guidelines of the standard is not breed improvement but breed destruction. These rules
hold true for all breeds or variety. So before starting on a breed maintenance program,
know the traits and characteristics that make that breed unique and be sure that you se-
lect for those traits and shun traits that are not representative of that breed.
BREED PRESERVATION
AND CONSERVATION
Many groups of raisers are devoted to preserving and conserving all the many breeds
of poultry. If you share this interest, these breed clubs and conservation groups would
be the first place to turn for information about how to do it right. The two most prom-
inent agencies in the United States intent on breed preservation and conservation are
the SPPA (Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities) and the ALBC (Amer-
ican Livestock Breeds Conservancy). Both groups provide newsletters and breeders'
directories that can put you in touch with people who will help you select the proper
breeds for your projects and sources for obtaining breeding stock.
Small-Scale Breeding
The easiest and least stressful of breeding projects — and perhaps the best way for most
novices to get started — involves simply penning up a rooster with a particular group of
hens who you know are about to start or have already started laying eggs. You add the
rooster even though the sperm from the previous mate is still fertilizing the hens' eggs,
because you will be letting the hens “
clean up
.” That means not saving any eggs for
