Hah I like exotic livestock so I'm more interested in preserving breeds of animals... I think livestock history is fascinating and I'm huge into heritage animals and heirloom crops..
Westminster does say that breed standards are supposed to elevate performance in the field, and most of those dogs are champ workers too... Then there's the non sporting and toy where it's just like "okay, you're here..... Now go over there... Away.." xD Though the non sporters have historic significance and I do appreciate them too. Posted via Mobile Device
Too bad those "standards" affect long term health and the overall genetics from the line. Take Rhodesian Ridgbacks for instance. The ridge is actually a spine deformation. Healthy puppies without a ridge are culled, the deformed puppies keep the breed standard. German shepherds are made to stand the way they do, which leads to complicated back and leg issues. Umm.. These are the only two I can think of atm, the most prominent for working class. For toys and non-sporting, the shorter the muzzle the more prized they are. It's discusting how the winner last year, a pekinese, could not even breathe.
Sakura, to me the varied diet they get sounds fine to me. I will ask my sister in the morning what might stunt the growth on ratties. Her females are petite compared to the males, either you had a higher expectation of their size or yours might be genetically stunted.
Olympia, COME TO NL and help save the Newfoundland Pony!!
Laki, thank you. I probably have a different expectation because I saw the full grown males and was like, "That's huge."
I love working breed dogs, especially herding dogs. I have to agree with Laki, I am saddened by the standards for some breeds. Same as with cats, like the Persians and the uber-skinny Siamese. I have read that breed standards for both are different and more humane in the UK than in North America.
I also do not like some of the artificial shoeing in harness horses to produce elevated action.
EDIT: Laki, I'll take two ponies! Start a breeding program to preserve them.
Hmm I see what you mean... This is a problem with livestock too, the broiler chicken that is the most common meat bird, slaughter at 8 weeks, if you let them live much past it their bones start breaking because their frames cannot support the amount of meat they've been bred to develop..
That's why we have Chanteclair chickens, canadienne cattle, Newfie ponies, and Canadian horses. All Canadian breeds, winter hardy as heck. While the modern farm animal is designed to live in a large heated barn, safe from common parasites, the heritage animal is built to survive in it's homeland.. Crops are a little more ignored (especially due to the fact that no ones screaming about inbred/cloned crops) but just as interesting.. Take the Queen Anne pocket melon, an extremely fragrant melon that was carried by ladies in their pockets to ward off bad smells (back when everything was smelly and no one bathed). Really rare today, not much to the taste if I remember, but it's got a pretty cool story behind it. xD Posted via Mobile Device
i've been on this forum for a year, so yesterday was my fishiversary, since i got Swish Feb 11, 2012. i feel like a different person now. it's kinda cool.
CONGRATS BEKAH!!!! And Happy Fishday to you both!
I know Olympia, it's sad that the minority groups taking action against GM foods and crops are silenced by the overwhelming majority who choose to ignore. Capitalism at its finest. Heritage animals are great :) Doesn't every province have its own heritage chicken!?? lol that's cute. I don't know what ours is. Or yours. Or Yuuie's... Or... Anyone's.
Factory hens are .. it's a sin. Live to be 8 weeks. dead again. That also keeps up production and keeps costs low. They have this muscelly bull in Germany or somewhere which looks like its on steroids. Such a sin.
That's why I hunt and fish because the wild stuff tastes better.
When it comes down to it capitalism is best. Would you rather pay $10 per chicken or $50? Or better yet would you prefer to raise your own and not only foot the cost but also have to slaughter it? Don't question what manufacturers do for profit but enjoy the money they save you because either way the animals are raised for slaughter and trust me you don't want to see a slaughterhouse! O_O
Hmm, I wouldn't know that, actually. A lot of heritage stuff is more based on US stuff than Canadian stuff.
Ahh, the classic Belgian blues.. It's a pretty old breed, a natural mutation for the "double muscle" trait.. I don't think it produces much discomfort... Most cows need C-sections though, it's like the bulldog of the cow world, and I don't know how many people can afford meat that needed a C-section.. There is another random mountain breed I think that carries these genes but other than in the blues it isn't very common.. The farms that raise them look more like science labs with all the stuff going on.. Needless to say I'd rather be one of those in Belgium than an American dairy cow any day, at least Europeans take care of their livestock, no matter how freaky... You can YouTube "nat geo Belgian blue cow" but they do demo the A.I. so I won't post the video. xD I find them interesting cause I'm a scientific person and I naturally gravitate to the weird things, but no on a classic farm that sort of thing has no place, no matter if it's totally natural or not.
Brings you to another point of classic old style heritage... No help needed from people in the reproduction department.
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