If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Really?
There’s a saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Meaning, if a system or method or something works well there is no reason to change it.
Really?
Well, in 2014-2015 RB Sugbo bloodlines, Blakliz and Sugbo Lemon propelled Jimmy Camposano to the Breeder of the Year awards of both the Federation of International Gamefowl Breeders Association (FIGBA formerly NFGB) and the Eastern Visayas Gamefowl Breeders Association (EVGBA). Yet, in 2015 we came up with a couple of lines designed as improvement to the Blakliz, the Perubliz and the Shuffler Blakliz.
The saying is true most of the time. Even in cockfighting you always hear the advice not to change what works well for you. However, in game fowl breeding, there are logical reasons why you might need to improve a good bloodline even if it ain’t broke yet. Yes, we at RB Sugbo try to improve our bloodlines while they are still at their prime, not when they are already on the decline.
One reason is that the competition keeps on improving. You can’t presume that if your bloodline scores well this year it will still score as well the next. Granting that the year after your bloodline can maintain its standards, you still can’t take for granted that the opposition will not improve and overtake your bloodline. The other compelling reason why we fix our bloodlines while they are still performing well is that in improving bloodlines you will have to use individuals belonging to these bloodlines as breeders, therefore, when fixing while the bloodline is still good you will then be using as brood fowls individuals that are still good. If you wait till a particular bloodline has already deteriorated, then you will be using as breeders individuals that are then less desirable.
Again why improve something that works? Well, no bloodline is perfect. No matter how good it is, there is always room for improvement. There will be little defects or shortcomings that could still be corrected. The risk here is you might, in the process, ruin rather than improve the good bloodline. That’s a risk you have to take. And that risk can be mitigated if you know what you are doing. Besides, if something goes wrong, you can always go back to your old bloodline’s composition because it is still good.
The common mistake that unmade many erstwhile successful breeders was that they acted too late. They tried to fix their bloodline when it was already beyond repair. And, they could not revert to its then current composition either, obviously, because it had already become garbage.
In our case, we came up with the Perubliz and the Shuffler Blakliz and, yes, there’s still no telling yet if they would really turn out as improvement to the Blakliz. So far, however, so good. Nonetheless, if we turn out wrong, then we can always revert to the current Blakliz which is excellent as it is.
You can take the old advice: Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke. Or you can be dynamic and always try to improve even your best. Fix it before it’s broke.
