It's been a long time since my last blog entry. Between work, breeding and family, it's getting to be a challenge finding time for my blog entries for this site. But I was finally able to squeeze it in today, and what I am about to write serves as a reminder for me too.
For most breeders, the ideal is being able to hit the magic formula-- that perfect "nick" that enables our fowls to dominate derbies and hackfights. This does not necessarily mean that we aim to win in all our fights. It's the mindset of every breeder to create fighters that slug it out until the end, that give us pride and pleasure in dying an honorable death despite having lost the battle. And it is part of our psyche, too, to breed these warriors in the shortest possible time.
However, we all know for a fact that this is rarely the case. Unless you are uniquely gifted, we all know from experience that breeding takes time-- lots of it. It takes patience, too. And lots of grit and willpower to keep on working at it. It takes a lot of courage too. For as we continue to breed and fight our breeds, we are going to experience losses along the way. Even in the early stages of hatching, death is inevitable. Every breeder needs to have the heart of a lion if you even wish to arrive at a fraction of where you want your breeding program to be.
That is why this is a timely reminder for all of us breeders and cockfighting afficionados to take time out and smell the roses. Every stage in the breeding process has its own little joys and minute pleasures that need to be fully experienced. From hatching to ranging to cording to fighting, we all have to learn to relax and sit back and enjoy the view, so to speak.
Have you ever experienced helping a chick break through the shell-- that you had to literally dissect it so it has a chance at survival? I have, and the feeling is out-of-this world. Have you ever experienced restoring to health a very sick, near- death chicken? The moment it crows, you know that you have done one hell of a job. On the other end of spectrum, have you ever experienced your favorite cock-- the one that you take extra time to care for and feed, the one that you saved so long for just to be able to acquire it-- scorched to death by the hot sun because it got tangled in the teepee, and just for that 30-minute interval you were out buying feeds for them? You know how heartbreaking that can be.
The whole process of breeding has its pros and cons, its happy moments and its down times. You have to singularly experience each one of these if you ever wish to make your time in it worthwhile. It's just like being in love to the girl you have married. You know the song that says "I'd rather have bad times with you than good times with someone else"? This mirrors how it is with the breeder and his fowls. Through all the good and bad, the key to optimum enjoyment is to simply smell the roses.
However, we all know for a fact that this is rarely the case. Unless you are uniquely gifted, we all know from experience that breeding takes time-- lots of it. It takes patience, too. And lots of grit and willpower to keep on working at it. It takes a lot of courage too. For as we continue to breed and fight our breeds, we are going to experience losses along the way. Even in the early stages of hatching, death is inevitable. Every breeder needs to have the heart of a lion if you even wish to arrive at a fraction of where you want your breeding program to be.
That is why this is a timely reminder for all of us breeders and cockfighting afficionados to take time out and smell the roses. Every stage in the breeding process has its own little joys and minute pleasures that need to be fully experienced. From hatching to ranging to cording to fighting, we all have to learn to relax and sit back and enjoy the view, so to speak.
Have you ever experienced helping a chick break through the shell-- that you had to literally dissect it so it has a chance at survival? I have, and the feeling is out-of-this world. Have you ever experienced restoring to health a very sick, near- death chicken? The moment it crows, you know that you have done one hell of a job. On the other end of spectrum, have you ever experienced your favorite cock-- the one that you take extra time to care for and feed, the one that you saved so long for just to be able to acquire it-- scorched to death by the hot sun because it got tangled in the teepee, and just for that 30-minute interval you were out buying feeds for them? You know how heartbreaking that can be.
The whole process of breeding has its pros and cons, its happy moments and its down times. You have to singularly experience each one of these if you ever wish to make your time in it worthwhile. It's just like being in love to the girl you have married. You know the song that says "I'd rather have bad times with you than good times with someone else"? This mirrors how it is with the breeder and his fowls. Through all the good and bad, the key to optimum enjoyment is to simply smell the roses.
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