Bred to Perfection

Old Wives’ Tales and Superstitions that Hold us Back This episode is about “The Misconceptions about Breeding.” These are popular misconceptions that tend to hold most breeders back. And can prevent you from creating anything special or superior or great. When I talk with the average breeder, I find that they are very reliant on “Old Wives Tales” and “Superstitions.” Nothing is based on empirical evidence or scientific facts. I recently did a coaching call with one of my members of the Breeders Academy, and most of his questions were based on many of the misconceptions we see around breeding. I spent most of that call clearing up those misconceptions. And, he’s not alone. These are misconceptions that are shared by a majority of breeders, beginners and veterans alike. After that call, I gave it some thought. And decided that we should do an episode of Bred to Perfection, and address them. So, it’s my intention and hope that we can clear up many of these misconceptions, and change the way we understand breeding, and improve the way we breed and raise our fowl. I understand that this is going to be very controversial, and is going to rub many breeders the wrong way. It’s going to challenge what you think you already know, and ask you to think differently, and hopefully we can change the way you breed your fowl. Special Note: Most of what we are going to talk about will be about American and Old English Games, but can be applied to other breeds as well.

In this episode, we are celebrating our 100th Episode of Bred to Perfection. When we asked our listeners their thoughts on how to make this episode special, the response we got was they wanted to hear more about us, Kenny and Nancy Troiano. Well, our 3 daughters, Megan, Samantha, and Tawny grabbed the mics and did it for us. They talked about our lives’ and what it was like to be our daughters. I believe you will find this episode to be interesting, funny, and at times touching. You are going to learn many things about the Troiano’s that you did not know before, and give you greater insight into our lives. So, sit back and enjoy the show.

In this episode of Bred to Perfection, we will talk about the 3 most dangerous breeders. These are breeders who use breeding practices that are detrimental to the breed as a whole. These include those who believe in combining the traits of two separate and distinct “breeds”, such as American Games and Aseels, each having contrasting characteristics and traits. Those that think they can mix the traits of two separate strains, such as Hatch and Sweater, and produce offspring expressing the best of both strains. And those who believe that Performance overrides all other factors. This is a problem that concerns me very much, as it should concern you as well. Breeders who think and practice in this manner will never reach the statue of Master Breeder. Without the proper knowledge and knowhow to put these principles to practice, they will never reach the highest levels of success.

In this episode of Bred to Perfection, we are discussing Genetic Drift, and the effect it can have on our strains. Genetic drift is a force of nature that contributes to the evolution of species, but can also have an effect on the evolution of our strains. In fact, it can change the direction of your strain with a blink of an eye through a sudden change in the number of birds within that strain, and change the frequency of their alleles over time. Your ability as a breeder, will and can determine what that strain will become. One thing can be certain, that strain will be different than they were before. There’s a lot of great nuggets of information that I know you will not want to miss.

In this episode of Bred to Perfection, we are talking with Dr. Gallardo about Infectious Laryngotracheitis, otherwise known as ILT. This is an extremely contagious virus that affects chickens and other poultry. The virus attacks the cells of the trachea (windpipe), leading to bleeding and difficulty breathing, and ultimately death. This is maybe one of the Worst and most Devastating diseases known to backyard chickens. It can destroy your whole strain, in a matter of days, and the sad part is, most don’t take proper precautions. We are going to talk about the causes and symptoms of this disease, and how to prevent exposure. There’s a lot of great nuggets of information that I know you will not want to miss.

In this episode of Bred to Perfection, we are talking sublines, and why they are so important for the creation and improvement of your strain. We have mentioned sublines in our podcasts many times, but we still get questions about sublines and why they are so important. Let’s see if we can shed some light on this very important practice. The use of sublines can be the difference between a successful strain and one that never seems to reach their potential. It also separates the true Master Breeders from the beginners, or novice breeders. Not only does a Master Breeder understand the value of using a subline, it shows you their level of knowledge and experience as a breeder. While beginners tend to avoid the use of sublines, or they don’t know about sublines, Master Breeders will use it at every opportunity. A good breeder will have a foundation strain, but he will also have a number of sublines running parallel with his foundation line. There’s a lot of great nuggets of information that I know you will not want to miss.

In this episode of Bred to Perfection, we are talking with Peter Brown, also known as the Chicken Doctor, about the most common mistakes made by backyard breeders. We cover a great number of topics that are aimed at helping our struggling beginners. It is our hope that by listening to this episode, you can keep from making these same mistakes.  These include worming too often, over medicating, unnecessary vaccinations, poor biosecurity practices, poor feeding and nutrition habits, and much more. There’s a lot of great nuggets of information that I know you will not want to miss.

In this episode of Bred to Perfection, we are talking with Dr. Rachel Potter, who is a member of the Breeders Academy. Rachel is a breeder of Old English Moderns Bantams, and breeds a number of varieties, such as Birchens, Silver Blues, and Splash, and she’s looking to create strain with each variety. We talk about where in the Founders Program she is with each strain, what are the next steps she should take, and the future of her fowl. We address many topics concerning breeding and creating a strain that I know you will learn from, including which traits are dominant and recessive, and which traits are polygenic, and what that means to the breeder. We also talk about breeding methods, such as inbreeding, line-breeding and whether or not double mating is the right choice. There’s a lot of great nuggets of information that I know you will not want to miss.

In this episode of Bred to Perfection, we are talking with Dr. Rodrigo Gallardo about Infectious bronchitis (IBV), which is an acute, highly contagious respiratory disease of chickens, caused by a type of coronavirus. This is a disease that can be found on many yards and farms, without the breeders even knowing it. In most cases, they will confuse Bronchitis with other respiratory diseases, such as Coryza. What they don’t realize is that Infectious Bronchitis has a huge effect on our brood fowl and their offspring, and can affect the future of our strains. Listen in and learn what you can do to treat and control this disease, and hopefully prevent it. There’s a lot of great nuggets of information that I know you will not want to miss.

There is a lot of confusion in this area. I see so many breeders calling their Foundation Fowl “Seed Fowl”, and calling their Seed Fowl “Foundation Fowl.” To make matters worse, they skip any and all regards or reference to the fowl in the middle, the fowl in the Transitional Stage, which I call my Transitional Fowl. It is my hope that by clearing up the description and meaning of the three stages, you will better understand their function and purpose throughout the Founders Program.