If you breed gamefowl, do it well
If you want to breed gamefowl, breed it well.
If you want to do something, you should first understand what is it that you want to do. If you want to breed gamefowl, then you have to understand what is breeding and what is gamefowl.
What is breeding’ Breeding is producing the animal that you want, based on your breeding goals, and applying the principles of genetics. If you aim to produce the animal that you want, without clear cut breeding goals, and without knowing the principles of genetics, it is hit and miss. It is mating, not breeding.
The key is to know a little genetics, understand the animal that you bred and, then, set a realistic goal. If your goal is to create a good gamefowl, then you must first understand what is a gamefowl.
A gamefowl is chicken, domesticated for the purpose of fighting. So you aim for a gamefowl that can fight well. Therefore, you have to know what genetic traits will make a gamefowl fight well. Because this is the purpose for which gamefowl is domesticated.
A domesticated animal has a purpose. How to produce the animal that can serve the purpose is the breeder’ concern. This is what breeding is all about. If you are not doing this, then you are not breeding. You are just mating a rooster with a hen.
In deductive genetics, substance equals form, equals function. Substance is the genotype, form is the phenotype. Phenotype is the observable expression of the genotype. These are the traits that can be seen.
The breeder can achieve the function by aspiring for approproriate subtance and corresponding good form.
Substance dictates form, and the two together dictate function. In gamefowl the function is plain fighting ability, if talking of a battle fowl. For breeding materials the functions include not just good fighting ability but also prepotency. Prepotency is the capability of the brood fowl to pass the good qualities to the offspring.
Good substance results in good form. Good substance and good form result in gamefowl that will perform its function well.
Learning just a little genetics will make you understand all of these and breed the gamefowl you want at less time, money and effort.
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