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No matter which direction you look in the world the chicken is there.
Originating with the wild jungle fowl which laid and hatched one or two
clutches of eggs a year, they have been bred into egg laying machines
that lay an egg a day for 365 days a year.
In the days of the sailing ships, chickens went to sea where they
supplied the sailors with fresh eggs, and when they quit laying, fresh
meat. For food, they ate the scraps from the ships galley. Chickens
were sold and traded all over the known world at this time.
Chicken, as well as almost all other farm animals, under went dramatic
changes beginning just after the Second World War. As farms became more
mechanized, they also became specialized. Intense breading programs
were undertaken in the poultry industry.
As a result, chickens which once mostly consisted of dual-purpose birds
able to forage for their own food and produce adequate amounts of both
eggs and meat were slowly replaced. The new type of bird was meant to
lay an egg a day, eat scientifically formulated feed, and live out
their lives three or so to a cage. Their cages are now housed in
scientifically designed and climate controled buildings.
Another type of bird was simultaneously being bread to fill the market
demand for a meaty bird with lots of white meat. Starting with a cross
between the White Rock and Cornish the modern broiler chicken was
produced. These birds have been improved to the point that they grow so
fast that their cardiovascular system cannot keep up with the demand.
Because of this, many die of heart attacks before reaching market size.
This is an acceptable loss due to the exhalent feed conversion and fast
growth rate.
Both of these breeding programs have been successful from the viewpoint
of the producer's bottom line. I pass no judgement on the right or
wrong of producing these breeds or of the husbandry methods involved.
One side effect of all this improvement has been the demize of our
heritage breeds. Some of the breeds of chickens that were common in
nineteen forty-eight no longer exist or are very rare. Others have
fared a little better because of hobby breeders interested in showing.
A lot of the show birds are having trouble with reproduction however.
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Personally, I prefer to raise a healthy bird on free range. I of course
confine my poultry in the winter as where I live winter temperatures
can be quite cold.
I am also concerned about losing some of these
breeds. It is important that the numbers of each breed be increased to
prevent this from happening. The genes in the commercial strains of
chickens came from these antique breeds. It seems to me that if
something should happen to the modern breeds, like becoming too inbred, or
too susceptible to diseases, that an influx of genes from these older
breeds might save them from extinction.
It would be beneficial to these breeds to be bred for their production
qualities, while keeping their individual breed characteristics. See
the article on this site called
Preserving Production Qualities;
Pamela Marshall does a great job of emphasizing the importance of retaining
production qualities.
I have not mentioned the bantams and other chickens kept primarily for
sowing and just plain pleasure. These are great, and interesting birds,
and I get a tremendous amount of pleasure out of watching my Silkie and
English Game Bantams in my yard.
In closing, allow me to encourage everyone to support these rare and
wonderful breeds. If you live in the country you could gain much from
the keeping a small flock of chickens. What benefits are there you ask?
Well I'm glad you did.
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You will have a steady supply of fresh eggs (much better
tasting than store bought.)
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You will have a supply of uncontaminated meat (this also has a
better flavour)
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The birds are always interesting to watch, and are often quite
humorous.
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Your children will learn where food comes from (you'd be
surprised how many kids think food is made at the super market)
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Your children will also learn responsibility by caring for a
living thing. (Under your supervision of course)
If you live in town and are unable to have your own birds seek out
folks who raise heritage chickens and purchase your eggs and broilers
from them. You will benefit by having a healthy, good tasting supply of
eggs and meat, and will be helping to support the keeping of an importent
part of our heritage.
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