Donald Shaver search widely for diversified breeding stock. Local breeders, knowing his reputation were reluctant to sell to him for fear of competition. In 1946, there were 256 registered chicken breeders in Canada. Shaver Poultry became the 257th. By 1958, only Shaver remained, along with seven other major poultry breeders worldwide. The principle of hybrid vigour had been well established for corn, but the costs and time required to test chicken crosses were higher. Small breeders (as Shaver was at the time) could not afford permanent scientific staff, so Shaver obtained assistance from geneticists conducting research at universities and government institutions. Shaver
Donald Shaver Donald Shaver Donald McQueen Shaver (born August 12, 1920) was a Canadian pioneer in the poultry industry, who founded a breeding company that achieved worldwide prominence. At its peak Shaver Poultry Breeding Farms was the world's largest, being one of only two "world class foundation breeding" companies in Canada. Shaver died in 2018 of age related causes. Born in Galt Ontario (today part of Cambridge) he attended Galt Primary School and the Galt Collegiate Institute, graduating 1937. His mother's family was of Scottish descent, while his father's side was Hessian, settling in Canada around 1840. The family name was originally