Ok. Here's my experince. New to chickens right? Right.
I have reached out to clubs in my area (2 to be specific) and I'll leave their names out because this is public. In each club I contacted at least 2 top members. No response. I get people are busy, but not a single response. So I contacted a member who was breed specific, further down the contact list. He did emailed me back, asked a few questions, one was which club do you belong too and the other was do you show? I didn't belong to a club and I don't show. I didn't hear back. Like WTF! End of communication.
Now I do talk on a social level to a member in one of these clubs and although she apologizes for their lack and knows it's a repetitive problem, but I let her know to pass on it's perceived as a snub to someone who doesn't know as much or have as much. It's like they have their own family and they are content. I don't think they are considering the longevity of their club and/or they have no need or desire for diversity. Now if I won first place and was offered a membership with either of these clubs it would be a simple
you and the chicken you rode in on.
Then you can go to a show like I did in Simcoe. What I witnessed is a very tight knit community that would be hard to penetrate as an outsider. If you don't know anyone in the 'clubs' you are not going to know anyone unless you bulldoze your way in and most people aren't welcoming of that either lol. If that was me there, I would of approached pretty much everyone who walked in to the freezing cold barn and chatted them up. Actually, I pretty much did chat anyone up, except the obvious ones that had a crunchy prickly aurora around them. But that's me. If I was part of a club.
When I go to the auction, which is such a crazy diverse group I have the absolute best time. People are chatty, I've met some great people and that's the kind of environment I thought I would find in a club. Up until that point, not my experience.
However, I recently went to a club meeting, locally, invited by a member on here. It was great!! They are looking to expand and share their knowledge and experience, although they are an established club with bonded members it still had a welcoming tone. I don't plan to show, but I also didn't plan Josh hahahahahah! But I will continue to go to club meetings because it was very informative, friendly and some common interests. Meeting times are attainable, once a month and after dinner but not too late. That's the difference between wanting diversity with longevity and not.
So my point is. There is clearly a difference in clubs. Open, welcoming and closed off groups. I think if you are a part of a club and you are a contact, your response is representative of every member in that club. If you're too busy to respond then hand the torche over. I don't care if you volunteer or not, if your role is communication and you don't, you aren't volunteering, you're taking up space and causing damage to your club. Unless it's the clubs mandate to not welcome and respond to enquiries. I really don't have much tolerance for excuses.
Maybe a groups lack of being public or found, means exactly that. They aren't looking for more people.
I don't have much experience in poultry but some things remain the same for all despite the environment. Anything with life needs fresh blood. If a group does not evolve with times the group with be subject to natural selection. I see a lot of collapsing going on for many in the near and distant future. But I also see clubs that value youth, welcome youth and the younger ones like myself (haha) a positive impact in the struggling poultry world.
Let's face it, less and less people are homesteaders, fanciers etc. Many breeds are threatened, endangered and even extinct. Those who care about the future will evolve and open doors, but If the mind set isn't there to keep it alive, it will die.
So simple. Logical.