All about breeding chickens! Another great article from poultryOne.com

No doubt you've met the two types of people who breed their chickens:

1. The "just for fun" or "multipliers" that concentrate on quantity,
2. and the "breeders" who emphasize on bird quality.

For the first group, it doesn't matter what traits are passed on to the next generation of chickens (as long as you get a lot of birds out of it!). A large brood of chicks is their final goal, no matter what quality the birds are.

For the "breeder" group, a big brood is simply a way to reach their final goal because a large batch of chicks means you can cull out undesirable traits more relentlessly. Good breeders have been doing this process of breeding and culling for years, and will tell you that although it may take a while, you will end up with a fine flock of chickens! Perseverance is the key.

To breed out unwanted traits and improve your strain of chicken, you need to have a working breeding plan that includes the following steps:

1) Establish a long-term goal. Find out exactly what you are trying to attain.
2) Begin with the best birds that you can get. It's easier to start with quality chickens than to work hard to breed unwanted traits out of an unsatisfactory batch of birds.
3) Keep accurate, detailed breeding records. This is a must! Mark chicks (common ways to do this is through wing clipping or leg bands) to track their lineage, and be sure to carefully control matings to faster achieve your goals.
4) Cull cull cull, and again cull. Remove birds with negative characteristics as soon as you see them! Don't keep chickens with unwanted traits. This will waste precious time and resources, especially if you're doing this as a commercial project.

Obviously, you must first know what you want before establishing a long-term goal. Your goal depends on the quality of birds you are starting with, and what you want in the end. In selecting the breeding pairs, avoid birds with poor lineage and look for good ancestry and individual superiority.

Experienced breeders concentrate on one particular breed and only one or two varieties within that breed. This allows you to focus your time, energy, and monetary resources on improving your quality line. Each year, raise the standard for your line a little higher. It will take a while, but with determination you will achieve your goal! As the famous quote goes, "Never ever ever give up!"

BREEDING LAYERS:

Egg production will plummet if your flock is small and allowed to breed uncontrollably among each other. While inbreeding is detrimental, cross-breeding actually enhances production. This is the reason why many commercial layers are usually not one particular line but a diverse mixture of different lineage. "Going hybrid" is the key! It is difficult for small-scale breeders to achieve the results of such hybrid projects since breeding for commercial production is very complex and usually accomplished by experienced specialists with vast funds. However, you can still take tips from the "big farms" and enhance you line's egg productivity.

Good layers are usually not the result of great ancestry (egg-laying is not a highly heritable characteristic). For a general picture of a hen's ability in passing on her egg-laying ability, look at the average rate of productivity in her entire line. It may not be entirely accurate, but it can help you make your decisions.

(This is the end of Part One. Part Two will continue the discussion on breeding layers, then move on to breeding broilers and show birds. Stay tuned!)

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