Why DO people breed exhibition birds?

Well, it's been a very busy month in our household! I changed jobs (yet again), my wife spent two traumatic weeks in hospital with an infected hernia and possible lymph cancer, my fourteen year old daughter broke up with her "boyfriend" and my dog had a fight with the neighbour's trespassing border collies (yep, she beat 'em both too).

The weather in eastern Australia has been cold and wet, not very pleasant for spending time outside with the birds. This time of year is exciting though, because it means another breeding season is just around the corner. It is also the busiest time for showing poultry, with all the really important shows being held over the winter months. Speaking of shows, June saw the biggest show in Australian poultry history held in Canberra over three days. Some 5,200 entries were benched with exhibitors coming from nearly all states and territories of Australia to compete. Some birds travelled thousands of kilometres to take part. Unfortunately, after entering nine birds, I was unable to compete due to the above-mentioned problems with my wife. Oh well, maybe next time.

Anyway, now that winter is halfway through, attention turns to deciding how best to set up the breeding pens to get next seasons champions. Now breeding chooks is a bit of an art, with some fanciers taking the scientific line while others choose their matings more from the heart. I used to be strictly of the former school, selecting pairings to compensate for this fault and to improve that fault and based on keeping written records on each bird. Over the years however, I have grown a little lazy on my record-keeping and tend to select my breeders more from simple observation and common-sense. I have know many old poultrymen over the years who never wrote a single record about their birds, yet bred champions year after year after year. Oh that I could be so successful!

My observations on this ability to pick the right matings, lead me to believe that breeding chapion birds isn't necessarily a science at all, but rather comes from careful observation, knowing the bloodlines of the birds and having a rigidly fixed idea about how the birds should be. Over the years, I have seen the passing of many wonderful and great poultry breeders and have seen marked decline in the breeds they kept. Some strains have died out completely within a few short years after the death of their progenitors. This is nothing short of tragic, with some breeds becoming virtually extinct. Now, why should this be? What knowledge did those folks have that the ones following behind do not? Well, that question is simple to answer. It was the knowledge that they did not pass on before their deaths. For whatever reasons, many breeders refuse to sell quality birds, refuse to impart simple tips to the less experienced and in the long term, refuse to ensure the survival of their very own breeds.

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