PURE LINES VS. GENETIC VARIATION One thing I have learned from the best breeders in the world is that – they are not afraid to inbreed or line-breed to produce or […]

WHAT SELECTIVE BREEDING IS ALL ABOUT? Breeding, in the case of domestic fowl, refers to the reproduction and inherent improvement of breeds, varieties and strains. […]

Things to Lookout For when Purchasing Fowl If you are like many who have decided to purchase mature brood fowl, it is a good idea to select them in person. This allows you to […]

WHY VARIATION IS IMPORTANT! As we know, the domestic chicken possesses numerous characteristics and traits, this point must be emphasized. For instance, I have a […]

KEEP’EM PURE AND KEEP A CLOSED FLOCK As we all know, a chicken inherits a large percentage of its traits from its direct parents. Although they only inherit a small […]

What Kind of Breeder Are You? The Truth About Different Types Of Breeders – In this episode of Bred to Perfection Live, we will talk about how some believe they […]

Are changes produced by the environment inherited? There has been quite a bit of discussion these days about acquired characteristics – “Are changes produced by the environment […]

Starting Over: When Your Strain Isn’t Worth Saving
 How to Identify Genetic Dead Ends and Reset Your Breeding Program for Success Have you ever found yourself questioning whether […]

Is There Such Thing as a Perfect Bird? Let me begin by saying that purchasing fowl through the mail is similar to playing the lottery. You hope for high quality fowl, but […]

Form, Function and Purity of Blood The total package is what counts! Special note of interest: Although I use American Games as the example, this information is good […]

What to Start With (Eggs, Chicks or Mature Fowl)? Once you know the kind of fowl you want, and who you are going to buy them from, the next step is to decide whether to purchase brood […]

Best Sources for Good Fowl – And, Never Settle for Second Rate Feed stores and mail-order hatcheries do a great job marketing and selling layers and meat chickens, not to mention general purpose […]

ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION OR NATURAL INCUBATION Which do you prefer? I’m often asked, which do I prefer, the incubator or the setting hen? I like to use both, but for different r […]

THAT SENSATIONAL SETTING HEN What would we do without her? (The rooster may crow, but the hen delivers the goods) “As sitters and mothers they are invaluable, q […]

INHERITANCE OF CHARACTERS 101 The breeding pen is to us what the test tube is to the chem­ist, an instrument whereby we examine the nature of our organisms and […]

Homozygous or Heterozygous, what do they really mean? We hear the words “homozygous”and “heterozygous,”but do you really know what they mean, and how they affect the breeding of our fowl? […]

Understanding the difference between Genotype and Phenotype The terms “genotype” and “phenotype” were first used by Danish geneticist, Wilhelm Johannsen in 1911 to describe the entire genetic or […]

The Fundamentals of Reproduction It is not my intention to discuss the entire, but diverse, field of genetics. However, in order to understand your breeding results, […]