Very frequently we see people advertising birds from this breeders line or that breeders line. They say they have been breeding them for several years...but are they truly still the mentioned breeders line? Heres an some interesting thoughts by Ser Jennings that she posted on the New Hampshire SOP page. Rip “Whose Bloodline Do You Have?” by Sher Jennings Anyone who knows me cringes when they overhear someone else tell me they have “the pure bloodline” or “75% bloodline” from “[fill this in with any New Hamp breeder’s name from decades ago]”. You can almost see my head start to spin around on my shoulders. It’s all I can do not to quote my mentor by responding “Listen crazy, that guy has been dead for decades. What are you talking about?!” Not that the point they’re trying to make is lost on me but it warrants a reality check. Let’s assume you’ve already done your research on Hamps and selected a breeder that you purchase birds from. Whose line is that? Well, one would argue, it’s still that breeder’s line. Okay, I’ll give you that. Now you go to the next step..... you select the birds that you will be using for breeding and even showing, and the ones that are going to get culled, BOOM.........................guess whose line that is now. The breeder’s? Yours? Who made the selection choices and culling decisions? Now you’ve taken one big step forward (hopefully) into the gray area. And finally, you actually breed the birds you’ve selected, hatch the chicks, grow them out, cull through them, breed some and even keep some to show. That is now YOUR bloodline. Period. So when someone tells you “I saw someone selling your Hamp line on Craig’s List”, it would be appropriate to be mortified. Because even if they originally bought birds from you a few or even a couple years ago,..................NOT your line now. You haven’t made the culling or breeding decisions. And, worse yet, who knows what other lines they bred into those birds along the way. I’ve sold birds from an outstanding and established bloodline that produced uniform, massive birds of beautiful type. Two breeding seasons later I saw the buyers offspring and it looked NOTHING like my line. What you work with gets changed. It gets improved or deteriorated beginning with your first decision about culling and breeding. Even if you manage to “maintain” the quality.........the birds will still be changed based on your own eye, taste, breeding goals, experience, knowledge, mentor (you have one, right?),quality of feed & care, and genetic surprises that can occasionally creep up. YOUR line. Not “Omeg”. Not “pure German”(.....what does that even MEAN anymore?) Not mine. And not even a percentage of mine. Now where you got your original breeding stock from? That can be important for a couple reasons. Many people do want to know where you chose to gather your foundation breeding stock from.........ie a specific breeder or more than one? a hatchery? It says a lot about your own standards and about what may or may not pop up in your bloodline......ie I know of a number of New Hamp breeders who pluck stubs and don’t cull for them.....and I know breeders who put those birds straight into a freezer (it’s a good question to ask if you’re shopping for Hamps, by the way). Where all that takes us is that it doesn’t make sense for me to say “I have the Williamson bloodline”. It makes even less sense for me to say “I have 50% Williamson & 50% Omeg Hamp bloodlines!” (If you hear this stuff while you’re shopping, offer a polite farewell and hang up the phone.) It does make sense for me to say “My foundation breeding stock came from Mike Omeg and Jimmy Williamson 8 years ago.” On a final note, when you do buy birds from a breeder, if you decide to show any of those specific birds and you win, please make sure to give the breeder some credit. There is little in the universe that is more offensive and unforgiveable than to buy a bird, show and win with the bird, and then not give the breeder any credit. The fact that they were willing to put good quality stuff out there is a huge credit to that breeder and the role they are playing in improving & promoting the breed overall by “getting the good stuff out there”. Don’t disrespect that by stealing credit you didn’t earn. Then, go forth, find a good mentor, and make good breeding and culling decisions with those birds. You’ll help move this great breed forward, leave a good impression, improve the existing lines, and earn the credit you deserve. **********************END********************
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 10:00:01 +0000
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