Those chickens that don't compete well, genetically, are dealt out of the next generation. Breeder companies that don't compete well are dealt out of the chicken breeding business. There are fewer than 20 large breeder organizations in the world at present, and some are lost or merge with others every year. With genetic uniformity as a production goal, there's less variability at each breeder organization every year. This all simmers down to the fact that unless a conscious effort is made to save what we have had in the past, a potential crisis exists in terms of limited genetic variability.
Genetic variability is important for a number of reasons.
Besides the ethical questions about our role in reducing the planet's biodiversity, there's the real danger that as birds become more homogeneous, they may develop traits that limit their viability. If our modern chickens were no longer viable, we would have no way of going back to recreate them. The stocks were formerly maintained at the University of Saskatchewan by Dr. Roy D. Crawford. This retired poultry geneticist is considered by many to be the godfather of the poultry conservation movement in Canada. One objective of the U of A program is to make the stocks available to other conservation programs.