Developing Your Own Strain of Iowa Blue

As I study the history of the Iowa Blue, one particular truth about the breed that really jumps out to me as a red flag is the lack of various lines or strains within the breed population. Our club leadership has as one of its goals to help assist our members and their flocks in developing strains that are individual and unique to various breeders. This is particularly important for a number of reasons, but not limited to the following;

• The Iowa Blue has experienced a couple of “genetic bottlenecks” where the breed was maintained by a single flock for a number of years by two individuals (first by Ransome Bolson, then later by Glenn Drowns). The genetic variability became diminished as the stock was continually bred to close relatives. Line-breeding and Inbreeding aren’t bad in and of themselves, but without the ability to occasionally breed to members outside of the core family, inbreeding depression begins to set in. As a result, Glenn was forced to use outside breeds to preserve the Iowa Blue. This is something we never want to have happen again as it has taken much work and study to eliminate the genes that aren’t supposed to be in the breed.
  
  
• To create a secure overall breeding population where inbreeding depression no longer presents itself as a threat to the breed.
  
  
• By having multiple breeders developing their own unique lines, genetic diversity begins to grow as flocks are selected by the selection pressures of the flock owner. As these slight diversities develop, the breed is in a better condition to not only survive, but to thrive as these lines can be interbred should the need arise.
  
  

I am aware at the time of this writing, that there are many mixed views when it comes to breed purity and line/strain development. The scope of poultry breeding can at times become a heated discussion, and in light of that, I will do my best to present information that is based on fact and any information that is based on my opinion will be stated as such.

Before we get started, we should first gain a better understanding of what exactly a breed or strain is defined as. According to Phil Sponenberg (DVM, PhD. Professor Pathology/Genetics Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology at the University of Virginia Tech, and head of Breeding & Genetics for the ALBC) states that all breeds consist of at least 3 specific elements and in many breeds sometimes a 4th element exists. These elements are as follows;

• Foundation (what goes into the original mix)
  
  
• Isolation (so the mix is not further jumbled or changed along the way by outside stock)
  
  
• Selection (which specific animals breeders choose to keep, and which they choose to reject)
  
  
• Politics (in most cases a fourth dimension is piled on here, which is that the whole result is functioning in a specific environment, along with people, for the purposes of production)
  
  

Now that we have a basic understanding of what is required for the creation of a breed, we can now look deeper into the breed and study what exactly makes up an individual stain within a breed. According to the Standard of Perfection, a stain is defined as “fowl of any breed or variety that have been line-bred for a number of years, and which reproduce uniform characteristics with marked regularity.” What ends up happening when breeders work on their flocks and select their breeders every year, is that they read the Standard and form their own “vision” of what that Standard looks like to them. Their interpretation of the Standard is different from each and every breeder, it’s unique to them, and in every way their selection to the Standard becomes a work of art; blending their flock to their interpretation via selection, and removing various expressions via culling. Over the course of time, after many years of selection and culling, their flock begins to take on traits that are slightly different from other flocks within the same breed. A couple of examples within the Iowa Blue breed jump out to me. Dark Horse Acres's Silver strain has hens with a marked uniformity of color. There is some variation still, but every generation brings with it a unique uniformity. The Dark Horse Acres strain also expresses a shape that is different from say, Denny Johnston’s strain. Both shapes fit within the Standard, yet both are different expressions of the breeder’s work. The Johnston strain hens have a head shape that is unique to his strain and his hens also possess some light colored shafting on some of their back and side feathers, something that is almost always missing in the Dark Horse Acres strain. Again, both lines fit within the Standard, but have unique differences that define them as separate stains.

So, how does a breeder go about developing their own strain? The simplest answer can be gained from the turkey sector. In 1953 the delegates to the National Plans Conference defined a “strain” as breeding stock that bears a given name produced by a breeder through at least five generations of closed flock breeding (Frank Reese). This definition clearly specifies when a turkey breeder may designate stock as his or her own strain. In my opinion, it would seem logical that if this pattern were good enough for the renowned turkey breeders, such a pattern would be good enough for the chicken breeders as well. At this point I must issue a word of caution; simply breeding a closed flock of Iowa Blues for 5 generations does not “make” the flock a new strain, but rather, 5 generations of intense selection by a breeder is the minimum needed to create the signature uniqueness of a breeder’s flock. And depending on which strain an individual gets their start from, it could take a lifetime of intense selection to develop a strain that is unique from the strain it originated from.

Now that we have a solid understanding of what defines a strain. What actions must a breeder take to fully develop their own strain? Well, in all reality, each separate strain is like a separate “breed” within a breed. And in some cases, the differences between strains can appear as diverse as separate breeds! A few paragraphs ago, we looked at what defined a breed. The three primary elements were foundation, isolation, selection. So, that is exactly where a breeder will start when looking to develop their own unique strain within a breed.

• As foundation suggests, the beginning of a new strain must have its start somewhere. There are two main ways a breeder can approach the foundation element. 1) A breeder could obtain all their foundation stock from one strain or 2) A breeder could obtain foundation stock from multiple strains.
  
  
• Once the foundation stock has been obtained, the next step in the process of strain development is isolation of the flock. By isolation, I mean that no outside blood will enter the breeding group until the strain has been firmly established. And if outside blood is entered after the strain has been developed, it is entered in small doses that will not disrupt the established traits the strain is known for. This can become a challenging step for new breeders due to the various line-breeding/inbreeding options that exist for closed flock breeding. As a result of the various options, there will be a follow up article to this one describing in detail these breeding patterns. As stated earlier, the isolation period can vary greatly depending on multiple factors; however, the rule of thumb is at least 5 generations of intense selection. And this leads us to our last primary element to strain development, selection.
  
  
• Now that your flock is isolated from outside blood, your next steps are to hatch large numbers of chicks, and then cull heavy and aggressively! This statement cannot be reiterated enough!! Isolation and selection go hand in hand. Without isolation, selection is relatively futile, and without selection, isolation will yield nothing to a breeder. The key here is to hatch out large numbers of chicks, raise them up to maturity or near maturity and start selecting the traits you like based on your interpretation of the Standard. It is the selection process that gives the breeder the opportunity to take their vision of the Standard and turn it into reality. It’s where the flock meets the artistic nature of the flock keeper. Over time, and multiple generations of selection and isolation, your flock will begin to take on characteristics that are specific to your flock and your flock’s breeding. Other breeders will look at your flock characteristics and will be able to instantly recognize them as yours. When you attend shows, judges will be able to tell which birds originated from your stock. Once this has been accomplished, you have come to the culmination of strain development.
  
  

But strain development does not end there. Once you have created this unique strain, you must be diligent to preserve the nature of the characteristics specific to your strain. Strains do shift slightly over decades of breeding in the hands of the strain originator as the breeder is constantly working to obtain “perfection” and the whole strain will be subject to his/her interpretation of what the Standard calls for.

Another question that often comes up is; when does the foundation stock cease to be a strain during my isolation process? Again, the National Plans Conference declared under the plan rule of 1954 that a strain name may be applied to the first generation progeny of stock originating from eggs or chicks produced under the direct supervision of the breeder. Subsequent generations may be so designated only when specific authority for the use of the strain name has been given by the originator of the strain (Frank Reese). In a simpler example, if I bought all my foundation Iowa Blues from Sandhill Preservation Center, than all the chicks I obtained from Sandhill and the first generation that is bred from those chicks can be called Sandhill strain birds. Once a second generation comes into play, I can say that my birds originated from the Sandhill strain, but the second generation, and beyond, is not the Sandhill strain themselves. That does not mean that the second generation becomes my strain, that won’t happen for at least another 3 generations of intense selection. It means that I can’t claim a group of birds to be of a particular strain that has been placed under selection pressures by me.

In the poultry world today, there are very few purebred strains to be found, even if all the breed strains were added together. A hundred years ago, when poultry breeding dominated the lives of nearly every American, you didn’t just buy Barred Rocks, or White Wyandottes. You bought a specific strain within those breeds. Breeders typically didn’t heavily promote their flocks until they had established their own unique strain to offer the world. As strain development has drastically diminished, so too has the quality of most of our purebred breeds. I firmly believe that if we are to create the quality of our breeds that used to exist in the days gone by, we must actively pursue the creation and development of individual breeder strains. It creates a depth of genetic strength and vitality that will ensure the breed’s genetic safety and excellence for generations to come.

Currently (December 2013) the Silver Iowa Blue exists in three distinct strains;

• Sandhill Strain (established by Glenn Drowns of Sandhill Preservation Center in the early 1990’s)
  
  
• Dark Horse Acres Strain (established by Kari McKay-Widdel in late 2012)
  
  
• Johnston Strain (established by Denny Johnston in late 2013)
  
  

I encourage any member up to the challenge to achieve the high standard of establishing their own individual strain. Not only does such work fine tune a breeder and sharpen his/her skills as a breeder, but it adds a valuable resource to a breed once forgotten and helps to shape and direct the future of this amazing breed.



Curt Burroughs
President, Iowa Blue Chicken Club
December 2013