PrairieBaby Foundation Projects

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=140 BGCOLOR="#9966CC" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="00300a20ezthtv.png"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="0077d7d0.gif" border=0 width="125" height="125" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#9966CC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial Rounded MT Bold" ><A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: HOME"><U><IMG SRC="00f96140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></FONT><A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: The Maine Coon"><U><IMG SRC="01096140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Maine Origin Authentic"><U><IMG SRC="01196140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: F.A.Q."><U><IMG SRC="01296140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Our Goals"><U><IMG SRC="01396140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Health Info"><U><IMG SRC="01496140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Our Family"><U><IMG SRC="01596140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Our Males"><U><IMG SRC="01696140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Our Females"><U><IMG SRC="01796140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Nursery News"><U><IMG SRC="01896140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Kittens for Sale"><U><IMG SRC="01996140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Previous Kittens"><U><IMG SRC="01a96140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby: Contract"><U><IMG SRC="01b96140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PrairieBaby Foundation Projects"><U><IMG SRC="01c96140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PriairieBaby: Links"><U><IMG SRC="01d96140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><A HREF="http://guestbook.mycomputer.com/guest.html?u=prairiebaby&b=1" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://guestbook.mycomputer.com/guest.ht"><U><IMG SRC="01f96140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A><IMG SRC="02096140.gif" border=0 width="150" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=340 BGCOLOR="#CC99FF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> PrairieBaby<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Comic Sans MS" > Maine Coon Cats</FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>The Joy of Outcross- and Foundation Breeding</U></div> <div> <B>last update of articles: January 2005</B></div> <div> by: Judith Schulz</div> <div> Copyright April 21, 2001</div> <bR> <div> Note: The year of 2006 was most likely our last year of early foundation breeding. We will continue with our outcross breeding program on a smaller scale in 2007. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.prairiebaby.com/id96.htm " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.prairiebaby.com/id96.htm "><U><B>UPDATE </B></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>on our foundation breeding on </B>August 24, 2007</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <U><IMG SRC="199575020.jpg" border=0 width="373" height="258" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></div> <div> Yum Yum, F3 Maine Coon cat with ca. 75 % new Foundation Lines<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#666600" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> sire: PrairieBaby Gonna Be Worth It All! </div> <div> dam: PrairieBaby Grateful to Tati -Tan</div> <div> With Thanks to Tracy Pitre for providing this lovely picture!</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><U>The articles on this page have been written for public use. We don't mind if you refer people to our information pages or put a link on your homepage to our articles. However, </U></FONT><U>n</U><U>o information </U><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><U>from this homepage may be copied or translated without written authorization of the author. </U></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Introduction</U></div> <bR> <div> The term foundation is quite confusing, isn't it? Let's try to simplify: In the beginning of the Maine Coon breed there were several different foundation lines. Those were the lines our whole breed was founded on. Every owner of a first generation Maine Coon cat was a foundation breeder at one point in time.</div> <bR> <div> Nowadays, we call it foundation breeding, when people are creating new lines by introducing foundation cats into the general gene pool of the Maine Coon breed. When we speak of foundation lines, we mean newer bloodlines that are not yet present in nowadays common pedigrees. We presently only have very few foundation breeders in North America. They don't always share the same breeding practices, but most of them have one major thing in common: They are working hard to create valuable outcross for the breed on a continuous basis. </div> <bR> <div> We are very fortunate that the stud books for the Maine Coon are still open in the  American Cat Association. This allows us to broaden the effective population of our breed - a very important process to fight immune related and genetic problems. When looking at the present situation, every Cattery should consider to eventually add some new lines - while this is still possible. </div> <bR> <div> Foundation breeding usually happens behind closed doors until a reliable state is reached where kittens can be released to their new homes with a good conscience. Early generation foundation cats are often not great looking and need fix-up in type and size - which does not bring much glory to the Cattery.  Very few people have decided to make themselves vulnerable and make their foundation projects a public matter for the sake of the breed.  </div> <bR> <div> The aim is not to create mixed breed cats, but to introduce a little outcross blood into the Maine Coon breed. We bring in carefully selected Maine- and Canadian foundation cats to widen the gene pool and improve hybrid vigor. </div> <bR> <div> Please note that there are no formal guidelines to foundation breeding. The opinions and philosophies in these articles may be solely the ones of the author.</div> <div>  </div> <div> The following paragraph is from a breed article from the CFA website:</div> <bR> <div> <<Favoured varieties of today have been bred sire to daughter and cousin to cousin until their breeds are ruined [...] man's insistence on upon breeding in order to perpetuate features approved in the show ring has produced animals of weak constitution, prone to such conditions as skin troubles, lacking in intelligence, no longer mentally alert, eventually stupid; and at last breeding with difficulty: a state of affairs leading in the end to the sterility and death of the breed.">></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="general questions"><U>1. General Questions about Outcross- and Foundation Breeding</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id130.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="working with foundation"><U>2. Working with Newer Foundation </U></A></div> <bR> <div> 3<A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="becoming a foundation breeder"><U>. Becoming a Foundation Breeder</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> 4<A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="inbreeding tests in foundation cats"><U>. Inbreeding Tests in Foundation Cats</U></A></div> <div> revised on May 04, 2003!</div> <bR> <div> 5<A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="pictures of foundations"><U>. Pictures of Cats from Newer Foundation Lines</U></A></div> <div> New pictures as of May 2004</div> <bR> <div> 6<A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="foundation breeders"><U>. Links to Foundation Catteries</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> 7<A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="joining a foundation breeder list"><U>. Joining a Foundation Breeder List</U></A></div> <div> This is a private list for people working with foundation and part foundation. We are presently only accepting members who are actively working with newer foundation lines and who test for HCM and HD. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> 8<A HREF="mailto:MCfoundationphotos-subscribe@yahoogroups.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:MCfoundationphotos-subscribe@yaho"><U>. Joining the MCFoundationphoto list</U></A></div> <div> (This is a public list where people can post and view pictures of foundation/part foundation cats)</div> <bR> <bR> <div> 9<A HREF="id86.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="book foundatino breeding"><U>. Book on Outcross and Foundation Breeding</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> 10. <A HREF="id83.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="foundation projects"><U>PrairieBaby Foundation Projects </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="mailto:judithschulz@tbaytel.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:judithschulz@tbaytel.net"><U><IMG SRC="b2b49490.gif" border=0 width="73" height="73" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>