Well, it's been a very busy month in our household! I changed jobs (yet again), my wife spent two traumatic weeks in hospital with an infected hernia and possible lymph cancer, my fourteen year old daughter broke up with her "boyfriend" and my dog had a fight with the neighbour's trespassing border collies (yep, she beat 'em both too).

The weather in eastern Australia has been cold and wet, not very pleasant for spending time outside with the birds. This time of year is exciting though because it means another breeding season is just around the corner. It is also the busiest time for showing poultry, with all the really important shows being held over the winter months. Speaking of shows, June saw the biggest show in Australian poultry history held in Canberra over three days. Some 5,200 entries were benched with exhibitors coming from nearly all states and territories of Australia to compete. Some birds travelled thousands of kilometres to take part. Unfortunately, after entering nine birds, I was unable to compete due to the above-mentioned problems with my wife. Oh well, maybe next time.

Anyway, now that winter is halfway through, attention turns to deciding how best to set up the breeding pens to get next seasons champions. Now breeding chooks is a bit of an art, with some fanciers taking the scientific line while others choose their matings more from the heart. I used to be strictly of the former school, selecting pairings to compensate for this fault and to improve that fault and based on keeping written records on each bird. Over the years however, I have grown a little lazy on my record-keeping and tend to select my breeders more from simple observation and common-sense. I have know many old poultrymen over the years who never wrote a single record about their birds, yet bred champions year after year after year. Oh that I could be so successful!

My observations on this ability to pick the right matings, lead me to believe that breeding champion birds isn't necessarily a science at all, but rather comes from careful observation, knowing the bloodlines of the birds and having a rigidly fixed idea about how the birds should be. Over the years, I have seen the passing of many wonderful and great poultry breeders and have seen marked decline in the breeds they kept. Some strains have died out completely within a few short years after the death of their progenitors. This is nothing short of tragic, with some breeds becoming virtually extinct. Now, why should this be? What knowledge did those folks have that the ones following behind do not? Well, that question is simple to answer. It was the knowledge that they did not pass on before their deaths. For whatever reasons, many breeders refuse to sell quality birds, refuse to impart simple tips to the less experienced and in the long term, refuse to ensure the survival of their very own breeds.

Now I realise that for some, showing poultry is more than a hobby, but more a fixation. I also realise that in all competition the endeavour is to win. But too often we see men and women who, in their zeal to be the most successful with their chosen breed actually destroy the competition by having birds so good, that nobody else bothers to compete against them. They then go to great pains to make sure that nobody else can get any of their birds or their knowledge. What kudos is there in winning under such circumstances? To me, there is none. I would much prefer to lose against strong competition, than to win against no competition. Those breeders invariably are forgotten as soon as they pass on and their birds are dispersed to the four winds, never to be seen again. In fact I knew one bitter old man who, upon his death, willed that all his birds be destroyed, lest they fall into the hands of someone else! What a selfish attitude... and that is exactly how he is remembered when his name is mentioned in conversation to this day.

So what is the answer? Simple! As experienced breeders and showmen (I use this term to describe both genders), we should always be willing to encourage newcomers, to set them up with the best possible breeding stock they can afford (and give them birds for free, if they cannot afford anything), to freely give advice and be mentors for those really keen novices. It is in taking this magnanamous line, that we will be remembered long after we are gone. Our years of hard work and endeavour will be carried on as will our own particular strains of birds. I know that I would much prefer to be remembered for the help I gave others, than to be the unknown guy who had great birds way back when.