I am busy now sorting chickens and creating the breeding pens for 2026. I wanted to write down some thoughts about how I go about doing this.
Chickens have a relatively short productive lifespan. I have had some hens lay well for 5 years or longer, most notably my Cream Legbars, but most breeds see a significant drop in egg production much sooner than that. Cocks often have even shorter productive lives than the hens. This all means that you need to select replacement breeders fairly often.
What are your breeding goals?
The first consideration is to understand your goals in running a breeding program. Breeding goals can vary a lot, it is not always to breed toward the SOP. I have a clear goal (or goals) in mind for every breed I maintain. Here are some examples of breeding goals:
- Showbird Standard of Perfection (SOP)
- Darkest possible eggs
- Definitive chick sexability
- Genetic diversity for long term gene pool maintenance
Culling from the growout pool
So, you have a lot more chicks growing out than you need for the next breeding pen, when can you start culling the ones you want to sell or give away? Again, it depends. Some breeds and some goals require that you wait until they are close to breeding age. An example from my pens are the Welbars. I have been selecting against crooked toes that are obviously genetic (not found in other breeds). The problem is that the chicks do not show any crooked toes until they are at least 4 months old, so early selection is a bad idea. The counterpoint is selecting for the best crests in Legbars. Legbars show their best crests before their combs get large, so you can pick the best crests when the chicks are about 6 weeks old, allowing you to remove the poor examples early. Decide what traits are most important to select for and start looking for those traits early. You will learn about each of your lines as you raise more generations.
Genetic Testing
This is new and exciting! There are a number of companies offering genetic tests, you should familiarize yourself with the current state of these tests. The technology is advancing rapidly, so check for interesting gene tests often. I use sexing tests for geese, and will consider them in other cases as the prices drop. Even more useful are the tests for the blue egg gene. This test is more expensive, but well worth it as it can replace a lot of test breeding or just ambiguity.