Ayam cemani and Naked Neck mixing (with some moral questions)

[Appalachickens]

Actually I think it is the purebred people that should be held morally accountable, breeding a dog with good herding abilities or sheep that don’t need shearing (hair sheep) or cows that give better milk is just fine, but when our own human preferences, fads, or pretensions interfere with an animal’s ability to simply survive, we need to stop and ask is this in the best interest of the animal or for my own benefit? When a dog can’t breathe (pugs) or give birth naturally (French bulldogs) or gets lymphoma at 5 years of age because of excessive inbreeding to simply produce more golden retrievers then we have issues or the breed standard for the show ring has no correlation with the animal’s ability to survive in normal surroundings for said species (dairy cows or halter quarter horses) we need to rethink things. Yes, breeds should have their uses, uniqueness, and enthusiasts but not at the cost of the animals health and well-being. By all means enjoy your crossbreeding as it will certainly not jeopardize the welfare of your critters!

I agree about breeding for deformities. It's why I like the landrace idea - you start with chickens that you think might be well adapted to your particular climate and you let natural selection help develop a bird that is hardy and able to survive on its own. Hybrid vigor at its finest.