consistently
improved his strain. Getting down to "brass tacks",
a fair pair of good, pure-bred birds is sufficient for a start.
By careful and intelligent selection of the offspring of this
one pair an entire flock may be developed within five years that
will look like a "Million Dollars", compared with the
original pair, so again it gets back to the fact that in order
to get results you must work and visualize.
Fourth, mating-I place this fourth for the reason that mating
is useless unless you possess the other three. Inasmuch as I have
a national reputation for producing winners there must be a reason-what
it is I just don't know, but a "wise guy" once told
me it was in my matings; well, maybe he was right, but I put it
as fourth on my list of essentials. If my matings have been successful,
it is with pleasure I give you herewith a few pointers on how
the Ancona winners from my yards were produced.
I select from the available birds, the best as to type, color,
head points and leg color. I consider these vital points most
necessary in the order named. All things being equal, a bird of
nearest correct type must win. In selecting my breeders, they
must have vitality and substance or they have no place in my yards.
Our first prize Coliseum cockerel was close to one pound over
standard weight and the largest cockerel I have ever seen on display.
Together with fine feathers this is surely what you want.
I practice single mating only and aim to mate them as follows:
Pick a fairly dark male, the nearest to standard requirements,
but with one point in particular-it should be nicely mottled on
the breast, the finer the tipping the better. This is the strong
point in producing exhibition pullets. To have them well tipped
down the neck and on back and saddle is an added asset, but the
breast is most particular. Females I aim to split-one half fairly
dark, with neat combs, to produce pullets; the other half well
mottled, particularly down the neck, to produce cockerels. To
produce exhibition cockerels and pullets from a single pair is
the ideal mating, but so far has been difficult to accomplish,
although it is being brought closer and closer to reality each
year. Frankly speaking, by consistent selection each season of
your finest exhibition types in both males and females, and mating
them together each season, you will eventually bring about the
ideal situation of a continuous production of exhibition cockerels
and pullets from a single pair. Just a large word of warning-sacrifice
anything and everything to maintain vitality and substance.
