-When starting out in poultry do your research, build your pens, and gather all your supplies before setting out to pick up your first birds.
-Take any advice a person is willing to give you into consideration.
-Just because a bird has a well known name/bloodline in its backgroud, doesn't necessarily mean it is a good bird.
-When showing bird, don't expect instant results. Conditioning, breeding, and raising a show winner doesn't happen in a year.
-Beginner's will often go out and buy many breeds and varieties. I've been there and it's not the way to go. Choose a few breeds or varieties and buy the best birds you can find from well known breeders.
-Hatch as many chicks as you have room, time, and interest to care for. This will insure you have plenty of birds to choose your keepers from. Remember you will hatch many more that can hurt your breeding program than help it.
-Cull a bird that you don't personally feel can help your breed.
-Help a junior out. Not only provide them with good birds for a good price but do all you can to help them in breeding and raising them.
-Don't make having poultry a job. I hear endless times through papers and people that they have made it a job, spending hours a day caring for their birds.
-Buy the best incubator you have money for. Some people have luck with foam incubators but I tried for three years and luck wasn't on my side!
