Frank Mosca / 15 Oct 2010 00:55

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What is the difference between a "breed" or a "strain"?

This particular question is one with definite and no-definite answers all
mixed into one. Let's take Oriental Frills as an example. About 150 years
ago or so, the Brits brought some back from the mid-east (likely around
Turkey) and started to breed them. For years they pretty much stayed the
same as the birds that came into the company originally. No one doubted
they were the same "breed". A breed is basically an agreed upon type.
Agreed upon, that is, by the breeders of whatever animal we're discussing.
Is this agreement 100%, never. In one city the breeders might prefer
animals with a slightly larger build; a slightly smaller beak or slightly
larger eye cere, than is a different city, but overall the animal is
unmistakably part of that agreed upon type. It's a breed. The Brits got
more into shows and they began to be more conscious of particular markings,
colors, clearness of white in the shield and tail mirrors, etc. Some
fanciers specialized in certain colors. Since some fanciers had better
results or other breeders, for whatever reason, preferred the particular
"type" of the birds this fancier reared, we have the development of a
"strain". How does that come about? Well, the fact is simply that NO
breeder can have all the animals of a breed (unless it's an extremely rare
one) in his breeding pool. By default, he/she only has a certain percentage
of those animals. Also, the breeders own selection of what he/she wants
comes into play. No breeder breeds from all the animals he rears. Some are
bred from, some are sold, some are culled (simply means they are not allowed
to breed at all). Other breeders try to get animals from the "famous"
breeder (BTW this didn't and doesn't only happen in show pigeon areas, but
in all breeding areas and in all countries.) People are usually happy when
they get a bird from this famous or at-least highly desired breeder's loft.
Whatever that particular breeder has done with his animals that make others
want them is not usually set on a spiral upward effect. Let's say (again
staying with the Oriental Frills) that the desired breeder has birds that
show slightly more frontal than do most other birds of the breed. For
whatever reason, other breeders like this and try to either get a bird from
this person's loft and/or try to breed their own birds to be more like his.
A selection process takes place and this can very rapidly start the
formation of what could be considered a new "breed". We have a perfect
example of that with the Oriental Frills. Here it is about 150 years later,
we now have Oriental Frills coming in again from Turkey (these birds are in
every way similar if not identical to the original) however the birds in the
West are now VERY different in head shape and body type from the birds from
the east, they are now considered by most to be a different ""breed". In
fact, the new birds, which were the "original" birds -- as well as those
family lines of birds that were kept in the west for the past 150 years or
so by fanciers who didn't care about shows or even knowing other breeders --
are now termed "old-style" Oriental Frills or give the Turkish name, Hunkari
to distinguish them from the "modern", Oriental Frills. We now have two
"breeds" that will likely only get more different due to selective pressure
over time. THAT is the answer to all the questions. It's selection. It's
also a question of simple terminology and decision. For example: German
Shepherd (Alsatian) dogs. The breeders of that dog simply do not accept
white German Shepherds into the breed. They ARE German Shepherds. They have
the same confirmation, same intelligence, same skills, same everything
except they lack the pigment in their hair. That's enough for some breeders
(the standard ones) to say that this "breed" is lost in the whites. Same
with rollers. Lots of roller guys claim the "breed" is lost if someone adds
a color to it that they don't like or that they don't believe was
historically in the breed. Others say that the behavior of the animal is
more typical of what the breed is than is color. So if it's body type fits
what we believe to be the roller breed in question, then it IS that no
matter the pigment in its feather. Others believe that slight to medium
muffs are acceptable, some say it's not. What's right? There really is no
right or wrong, except as a generally agreed upon definition by a majority
of those that raise a particular type of animal. For some breeds it's a
written standard, and even that changes over time. Look at the Show Domestic
Flight. What you see today is VERY different from what you saw 40 or 50
years ago. Many would find it hard to believe that those birds of 40 yrs
ago are even the same "breed". Yes, a strain is considered to be something
within a breed. To answer your question as definitely as I can, if you
cross two "breeds" when would the "Breed" be lost? If the cross is just
made to cross, then I'd say in the first nest. Same as crossing a Dachshund
and a Cocker Spaniel. The baby is a "mutt" and neither one breed nor the
other. However, it can be bred back to one of the parent breeds for a
particular reason and within about four to eight backcrosses into the
original breed, to all intents and purposes it's no longer a "cross", but
simply part of the breed and its gene pool. Most crosses like this are done
for a very specific reason; to add a new color; pattern; ornament;
fertility; parental ability; docility, etc., and as such they are considered
a plus to the parent breed bred back into -- by most. Some still seem to
consider a breed something sacrosanct as if it was something that sprang
full blown onto the earth and wasn't a result of other breeders over time
sculpting it into its present mold. Or, and they may have good reason,
they feel the cross was done for no real reason and simply was done to do
it. However, again, it's all in the agreement of the majority of breeders.
If most like the cross and results, the breed moves in that direction. If
some don't, they either change breeds OR they continue in their own path -
normally with some acrimony between the two groups for a bit -- then at some
point the two selective processes have diverged enough that we now have two
breeds where there were once one, e.g., Show Racers and Racing Homers; Show
Rollers and Birmingham Rollers, Flying Tipplers and Show Tipplers, etc.


Submitted by Frank Mosca on 10/15/2010 12:48:55 AM