As far as I am concerned there is no secret to breeding good Jacobins. Firstly you must know what you want to produce, i.e., the ideal Jacobin. And you must know in your mind's eye exactly what this ideal Jacobin should look like.
To do this, you must become a student of the Jacobin, and you should know every characteristic of which this bird is composed. Study the standard and read the interpretation of the standard as written by Tom Reich. To help you understand further, attend the shows and listen to successful, experienced breeders. Ask questions and listen. There is no way you can understand everything in the beginning, but keep an open mind and you will learn as you go.
The reason I say this is because if you do not know exactly what you want in a finished product, how can you possibly produce it down to the finest detail. To me, a good Jacobin is a piece of genetic art, a living masterpiece. Now having said this, here is how I go about my matings.
I start by individually studying each Jacobin I own. Every opportunity I have, I pick up one of my birds, read its band number and set it down and study it. I look for its strengths and weaknesses, using the standard as a guideline. This process goes on for months, prior to the breeding season, until I know every Jacobin I own by heart. In the end, all I have to do is call up a band number and I will instantly see that Jacobin in my mind’s eye.
Now in my home or office, away from my birds, I make a list of all my hens which I plan to retain, along with a brief pedigree of each one. On the same paper {or computer screen if you wish}, but across from the hens, I make a similar list of all the cocks. If you want to, you may make a notation of each birds strengths and weaknesses. Then I procede to make my matings on paper. Never mate two birds together with the same fault!
My goal is to mate birds which will correct each other’s faults and produce youngsters that are closer to the ideal than either of the parents. I find that often, you may have to produce a number of youngsters from a pair until you finally get one that combines the desired qualities of each parent on one bird. Sometimes it never works the way you want.
As soon as I produce superior youngsters, I no longer keep the parents. My philosophy is to always move on with young birds, which is why each year I try to replace about 50 to 60% of my breeders with young birds of superior quality which I have raised. By breeding back to my old birds (unless there is a certain characteristic I am trying to draw out), I feel that I am all too often, taking a step backwards. I will often remate my birds a couple of times in a season to speed up my genetic advancement. Other helpful tips are:
(1.) In Jacobins, I find it is essential to have good hens. The breeder who has powerful hens will always be a force to reckon with. Once you have good hens, good cocks will just come naturally from them. It is my advice to pay special attention to the breeder who does a lot of winning with hens. This breeder will stay successful.
(2.) Cull all birds which are slow breeders; they will take you nowhere. Hens that are slow to lay, and cocks that are slow to fill have no place in my loft. I always keep extra hens and cocks during breeding season to replace slow breeders as soon as they appear. I maintain that if given an outstanding quality pair of jacobins which are slow to breed, versus a medium quality pair which are prolific, I will beat you with the medium quality pair over time, just due to genetic advancement. Whether you like it or not, a big part of being successful in this sport, is to breed lots of youngsters, increasing your chances of the best genetic combination. It is largely a numbers game.
(3.) I never breed from a bird to produce a characteristic which that bird doesn’t exhibit. In other words, if a bird doesn’t have a certain quality to look at, I immediately assume that bird will not breed that characteristic no matter what is in that bird’s pedigree. In saying this I am not refering to colour but rather feather structure and conformation.
Another pet peeve of mine is I never mate the same pair two years in a row, no matter how good thier offspring are. I always move on. These are only my own observations and practices which work for me. My hope is that someone might find something I have written here as helpful. All the best.
(Clint Robertson, Amaranth, Manitoba, Canada. ROH OBO. E-mail clint@jacobins.ca)
