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
George Washington Shaver George Washington Shaver George Washington Shaver (March 2, 1832 – October 26, 1900) was an Oregon pioneer, and, with his sons, a founder of Shaver Transportation Company. He is typically referred to as George W. Shaver or G.W. Shaver. George Washington Shaver was born in Campbell County, Kentucky on March 2, 1832. George W. Shaver arrived in Oregon 1850. Shaver had first gone overland to California for the 1849 gold rush. Shaver settled briefly in Waldo, Oregon, in Josephine County, where he tried gold mining again. This did not prove successful, so he relocated to Portland, Oregon, arriving there on