"...when the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another Heaven and another Earth must pass before such a one can be again."
-William Beebe

This article appeared in the May/June issue of the ALBC newsletter. ALBC members receive 6 bi-monthly newsletters that contain articles about the breeds of livestock and poultry that we work to conserve as well as the people involved in these efforts. Members also receive an annual breeders directory that provides contact information for ALBC members who have breeding stock available, as well a list of products from these breeds that they offer for sale.

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From the May/June 2008 ALBC Newsletter:

Passing “It” On
By Don Schrider

This is the third year that ALBC has worked on the conservation of Buckeye chickens as a part of the Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) grant. During the first two years of the project ALBC actively hatched and placed chicks in the hands of farmers, largely in the region near our office in North Carolina so that staff could physically appraise the growing birds, as a part of this pilot project to recover breed production characteristics of endangered poultry. The purpose of the project was to see if a rare breed of chicken could be brought back to historic levels of productivity using time-honored selection methods that have largely been lost. These guidelines are from well-established parameters developed by “old school” poultrymen, as documented in some of the early to mid-20th century poultry texts. This once commonplace knowledge and practice has become unknown to most modern chicken farmers due to the ready availability of chicks that can be purchased from large hatcheries.

The selection practices were a great success. In just two generations Buckeye chickens grew two weeks faster, weighed a pound heavier, noticeably improved in egg production, and better matched the published American Poultry Association standard for the breed. With this success, ALBC released a three chapter chicken assessment manual in the Fall of 2007 as a free download from the ALBC website; so that these concepts, which are applicable to most poultry breeds, could be utilized for the general improvement of the productivity of rare breed poultry.

One of the interesting points is that not only did the “ALBC Strain of Buckeyes” improve, but many of the farmers enjoyed the breed so much they decided to become breeders. During the course of the project 22 farmers became breeders and many have spread the strain further. Most have joined forces with other Buckeye breeders and are now working on the formation of a club for this unique old breed. But for this project to be a true success, more than just the stock must be passed along – the selection techniques and experiences gained must also be disseminated.

ALBC is now in the next phase of the RAFT chicken pilot project – that of supporting the new breeders and disseminating the techniques. Several training workshops were scheduled for the spring and fall of 2008 for the benefit of the project’s farmer participants. One of the goals added to this stage of the project is the inclusion of Delaware and Java breeders in training workshops, so that they may begin to utilize what ALBC has learned to help in the conservation of these breeds and to allow them to continue managing their flocks using sound selection principles.

These first few workshops focused on supporting the breeders of the ALBC strain of Buckeyes, with inclusion of some Delaware and Java breeders near the workshop locations. Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, VA, hosted the first of these workshops, while the Chatham County Extension hosted the meeting in Pittsboro, NC, the Center for Environmental Farming Systems hosted the workshop in Goldsboro, NC, and Garfield Farm Museum hosted a workshop in LaFox, IL. The Garfield Farm Museum meeting focused on Java chickens and included a breeder of Barred Hollands as well. ALBC will hold one more workshop this year, which will be hosted by Tillers International in Scotts, MI, as a part of our annual conference.

The workshops include a hands-on segment, but also go broader to support long-term conservation. ALBC has learned that providing useful information is valuable, but just as valuable is the opportunity to apply knowledge with someone of experience. So while most participants had had one or more seasons of selection with ALBC staff, all seemed to find the refresher course personally useful. For these workshops, ALBC devised additional supportive materials that give the breeders useful conservation tools. These additional tools include a toe-punch chart and materials that aid in networking and forming agreements – for cooperative hatching, grow-out, and marketing. (All of these materials are now available on the free downloads page of the ALBC website.) To say that these workshops were great successes is an understatement. The people attending all expressed great commitment to the breed and to its future. The active, roaming nature of Buckeye chickens and the breed’s natural inquisitiveness were the chief attributes that these breeders value. There was sharing of experiences and of individual intentions for breeding directions. Many felt that focus on the good egg-laying qualities of the breed offers the best long-term niche for conservation. More than a few exchanged contact information, with plans to work together to market or to periodically exchange stock. But one comment I heard expressed at each workshop, which was rewarding to hear, was, “a wonderful breed that deserves to survive.”

ALBC charged the workshop attendees with one very important task, which is to “pass it on.” It is important that new stewards acquire stock, but they must also acquire the knowledge to manage and breed that stock in order to be successful. ALBC has provided the materials and trained these breeders, now it is up to them to spread the animals and the knowledge further. We have no doubt that they will. To review the materials mentioned in this article, visit www.albc-usa.org and click on the “free downloads” button.

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