Cross breeding

[Kickingbird]

Cross breeding is one of my favorite topics. Many times in my breeding adventures I have found the need to cross different breeds to "import" the desired chariteristc I'm looking for into my birds. Many times I have recived negative feedback from show breeders reguarding my breeding tactics because they think that the birds should not be crossed out to other breeds or some other sort of non-sense.

Every breed in exsistance today is a representation of an idea the original breeder had. The breeds were formed and molded from genetic matierial that the originators had to work with. Some were crosses and some were inbred to achive the desired goal.

The key to crossing is keeping good records (to breeding in general) and having lots and lots of pens!

If you would like a prime example of how cross breeding can produce excellent results check out my crele phoenix project in the longtail section of this forum.

Good luck breeding!

KB

[BrianWI]

Doesn't keep those same people from buying them when you then have the best birds does it?

[PAG]

When you have an idea of what you are doing it is great.However some of the mixes "because" I don't care for. I have large pens and have many roosters when I want to breed I pull birds from this large pen.Today I had to defend myself to a breeder as I am random breeding. I said no I have breeder cages and if I want to cross something I do.It didn't get better. I don't free range so this pen is as close as it comes for my birds and they are all social this way. I eat eggs too!The eggs from these birds are for food. He had his mind set on what I was doing and no amount of talk would get him to understand I don't cross the works! I do know what I am doing but I feel like shoe scrapings right now. What he called me was a hack hatchery in so many words. Now that hurt!

[Manok]

I'm new in this forum, and want to say hi to all out there.

"HI!"

For me, crossbreeding is the most fun of having chickens. To see and discover what genetics
certain chickens have, and what results from it, there is no greater satisfaction in this world...
(Well, perhaps one ;D )

In the mean time, I am having much more handsome and pretty chickens than many of the
people that I know.

[Kickingbird]

Manok,

Welcome to the forum! I hope you enjoy it here.

PAG,
Don't worry about your visitor, he is just a close minded idiot. Without great minds crossing (and inbreeding) chickens none of the breeds we have today would exsist.

Mark

[PAG]

After 20+ years with birds I still feel like I am so new at it. When someone who breeds top birds gives me a hard time My eyes tear up and I fold like a lawn chair. I never know what to say because they are "breeders" and I am me.
I will always feel that way I don't play their game so I will never fit. But the words do hurt.

[Kickingbird]

DO NOT let your heart be troubled! Anyone who looks down on you is not worth the dirt they are standing on. In the end it don't matter what you bred or what you did with your chickens. It's what you did with other ppl that count and I can tell you that these "serious breeders" you speak of may be good breeder but they are not good ppl if they can't see that what you do with your birds makes YOU happy and is none of their business.

Mark

[fowlplay]

well mark...that is the point i was going to make...lol good . wise words my freind! pag, dont let people bother you, seriously

[JenniferL]

PAG, don't feel bad. For some reason some breeder people can be extremely closed minded about this kind of thing. I can hardly imagine breeding the same bird year after year after year trying to get it "perfect" according to standards that other people arbitrarily set up! But if they want to do it, hey, I'm not calling THEM names. (Well, OK, maybe boring. ) But it's their choice. Who am I to carp at them?

What they always overlook is we do something totally different and about the only thing related to what they are doing is we use birds for breeding, too. For some reason they just can't stand that. Kind of like they have to have all the toys in the sand box and won't share. ;D

I think playing around with genes to see what looks like with what and what bird "X" contains is great fun. I'll go further and say it shows a person of imagination, curiousity, and intelligence. It's like working a huge continuous puzzle that never ends. Always a new direction to go in.

So don't fold when challenged that way. Start asking them what they know about the genetics of their own birds! Bet they don't know as much about the genetics of their own birds as you do about yours. People who DO probably look at what you (we) do with more tolerance or even interest.

Barring that, just nod and smile a lot and after awhile they'll leave.

Jennifer

[PAG]

Thanks all. PattiAnn

[PAG]

lol......a year later and working with a top DNA professor from UW we had a long talk about the sad state of the commercial poultry they are really out of only three main lines and he has to come to me to see the rare stock to see if he can improve the lines we have because they are in major danger. He was brought in from South America and I wanted some work done for my work on the long crowers and long tails and we had by the end concluded there is very few real anything in America and to find mom and dad under many types is going to be hard but he need s to find some as the other countries have other issues and he needs to use American lines. We found so real tight lines and we are working to see the genes. We have over bred back into food and layers so much and the lines offered are so messed up other wise we are having a hard time. I laughed and said oh a year ago I wanted to try breeding everything together to see what would happen , He laughed and said its good to do that but when you want to find pure it becomes a nightmare. So I now and looking from the other side too. You can tinker and still keep a pure line which is what I have always done but it does get over done and I understand a lot more now having to find things in a family as I didn't before.