I saw this on Facebook from a Dairy Farm (Foggy Bottom). Thought it was interesting and worth sharing:
"We used to be a heritage breed proponents but now we are not.
Conceptually the idea of heritage breeds have always been enjoyed as we
see value in their novelty, potential as commercial outcrosses and the
preservation of traditional agricultural practices. Unfortunately the
term heritage seems to have become a marketing ploy to place value on
low quality animals by claiming they conform to an "old standard". True
livestock breeders seek to improve and progress their breed. To
raise them to new heights and greater achievements and never do they
seek stagnation. To turn back to these old types and scorn what the
breed has become is to scorn generations of farmers life's work and the
art in genetics they brought to life. Certainly each should breed what
they like. With thousands of livestock breeds there is something for
everyone and regional differences will exist even within a breed but
that doesn't mean taking gigantic steps backward in type and production
under the banner of "heritage". Preserving a rare breed is a noble task,
proliferating animals with type faults and low economic value under the
label of heritage is not!"
What do you think? I used to be 100% in with heritage breeds, but these days after all of my personal experiences, not so much. If you look at CL on any given day, heritage breeds listed for a high price tag do not usually look like animals with quality type, and some look downright unhealthy. I just saw iffy Silver Fox listed for $75/rabbit that appeared to have a mandolin body type like an English Lop. People can and should do what makes them happy, but a mandolin-shaped Silver Fox is no Silver Fox at all in my book.
Harlequins currently fall under the labels of rare, endangered, heritage, etc., but as you know, most Harlequins I see bred today have so much emphasis on markings that everything else has fallen to the wayside. This makes them almost exclusively a fancy breed, although they were originally multi-purpose for meat, fur, and exhibition and are supposed to have commercial type. I hope, for my own lines, that we are able to develop a Harlequin that has decent markings, but that also retains the traits they were originally developed for. Pipe dream? Maybe, but it can't hurt to try. :)
I still like heritage breeds. But, the breeder needs to be working toward improvements. They should have goals and reflect on those goals often. You can't be afraid to say "this animal should not be bred". I also think it is a bit the buyer's responsibility to be doing research and seek out the best stock they can.
ReplyDeleteWhen I had chickens, I allowed them to free range. They were fed little commercial feed. I tried both heritage and popular commercial breeds. Heritage always did better for me. They grew more slowly but I'm patient and I had very little money in them. The eggs and meat were delicious.
In rabbits, I don't think the difference is as noticeable. Typically, rabbits are all kept the same way: cage, pellets, water. Characteristics like I found in my chickens are not apparent. I also think people buy a book like "Storey's Guide to Rabbits" and expect that they can make money selling rabbits. They have little regard for the quality of the rabbits they have, they just want to breed to line their pockets.
Ultimately, right now the "heritage" label is for marketing. If we could step back and realize that heritage does not automatically make the animal better, I think a lot of breeding programs could improve.
Thanks for the thoughtful post! I like heritage breeds, too. But overall I think that generally these rabbits are being bred when they probably shouldn't be these days as more of a fad. At least that's what it seems like when I see classified ads. I know that isn't true for everyone and it makes me happy when I see well-bred old-school breeds, but most of the time they don't look like the SOP calls for around here.
DeleteI agree with you about the money thing and about the labels for marketing. When I first got into rabbits back in 2009 I believe, it was so different. There were few rabbits around, but most of what I saw listed was either pet mutts or show breeders with decent purebreds. I'm sure there were some in-between, but truly it seemed like there was a much bigger gap then there is now if that makes any sense.
I agree with some of their points, but I don't agree with a blanket statement that all heritage breeds are basically worthless, in this day and age.
ReplyDeleteAs was already touched on, any breed or line of animal is only as good as its breeding program, or the willingness of the breeder to cull undesirable traits.
It is true that many modern breeds have been bred to fit into modern management practices, involving the liberal use of antibiotics, wormers and a largely grain/soy-based diet.
I do agree that people have kind of run with the "heritage" label, however - just like any kind of trend, and individual breeds have suffered from their popularity. So it is certainly up to the individual buyer to research and really get to know the breeding goals and practices the breeder has in place before they invest in stock.
Interesting read.
I think the original poster would agree with you. Not so much that heritage breeds are worthless, but that a lot of people have jumped on the bandwagon and are producing these "rare" niche breeds without any kind of concern over quality. A lot of people don't really seem to cull at all- they sell the ones they aren't keeping as "breeding or show quality," even though there is no way that every rabbit in the whole litter is high quality enough for these purposes. I see it every time in my litters- there is a runt, one that has cow-hocks, or one that has a hidden white nail, etc. It would be sad to sell inferior stock like this that I inevitably produce to someone unsuspecting.. and then they do the same thing with the next generation because they don't know any better, you know?
DeleteI'd love to see some folks raising heritage rabbits with commercial breeds in a less .. cagey? situation. If we have the space down the road, I'd totally volunteer. I'm curious to see if a heritage breed would thrive on pasture compared to something like a Cali or NZ, but I can't experiment quite yet. :)
I've seen where some breeders have had better success with Heritage breeds (like Americans) in a forage-based operation, but then again, I wonder if this has more to do with rigorous culling practices.
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