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 will talk about how some believe they are breeders, but don’t know how to breed properly. We will talk about the 4 types of breeders that exist today, and how they affect the breed as a whole, this includes: Master breeders, Apprentice breeders, and the 85 percenters. You can decide which one you are.

We will also talk about the other 20 percent, who are not breeders, but do produce fowl unintentionally or by accident, and the effects these breeders have on the breed as a whole. Furthermore, we will talk about ways of improving the 85 Percentors, and what they should know, and why some will succeed and others will fail. Then we will break down the 85 Percentors into 4 separate categories, such as: The Ignorant Breeder, The Neglectful Breeder, The Mixer and Crossbreeders, and, the Accidental Breeder.

We will conclude by discussing where you might fit it the overall scheme of things, and where you to can improve.

I hope this episode of Bred to Perfection was inspiring and motivating, and helps you in becoming a true breeder.

Join us at the Breeders Academy, and make sure to listen to future podcasts of “Bred to Perfection.”

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.

Improving fertility, hatchability and the quality of your chicks

Bred to Perfection Live - Ep4

Bred to Perfection Live welcomes back Poultry Nutritionist Jeff Mattocks

We had such a good time a couple of weeks ago, we thought, let’s do it again. In this episode we talk about “Breeding Feeds.” If you ever wondered why your fertility or hatch rate was low, this show is for you. We will be talking about what formulates as a good breeder feed. And, how to improve your strains' hatchability and improve the quality of your chicks. 

There are many struggling beginners, who are having difficulty getting good, reliable and factual information. This includes, husbandry practices, health care and disease prevention, breeding, and yes, feeding and nutrition. 

I know you will enjoy this episode, and learn a lot too.

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.

Let me tell you, I was very excited about interviewing Jack Dodd. I’ve known him for many years, and in many ways, I look at him as one of my mentors. He’s always had some of the best fowl, especially with his Old English Game Bantams. And, he has a great understanding of breeding that all of us should emulate.

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. 

I happy to announce that we have a new member of our team. Many of you already know him or have heard of him, and have listened to his teaching for years. And that is Peter Brown, also known as “The Chicken Doctor.” We have created a new series that we call, “Healthy Practices for Healthier Fowl,” and have a number of topics that I know you will like. In this episode, we talk about the Most Common Mistakes make by Backyard Breeders. This is a great episode for beginners and veterans alike.