Old and Rare Breeds

[saladin]

For those of you interested in old and rare breeds of fowl: whether it be breeding, locating stock, or just an interesting read.

Many today refer to heritage or heirloom breeds of fowl. Nothing in the world wrong with those words; they are real eye-cathchers, but they are not well defined. Many times they are refering to Modern Breeds that have been created since 1900.

There are truly Ancient Breeds of fowl that are included in our APA Standard that need breeders across the country. These would include:

Asil
Dorkings
Malays
Old English (Large Fowl)
Nankins
Pyncheons

There are also many others that are not presently in the Standard.

Further, there are many Old Breeds which are excellent utility fowl that need help as well. These would include:

Creves
LaFleche
Houdan
Java
Polish
Red Caps
Shamo
Sussex

There are others too, but you get the pictures.

Some of the Modern Breeds that are in need of breeders include:

Cubalaya
Delaware
Holland


etc.

I'm in hopes that you'll write about the breed you keep or ask questions before you acquire stock.

Where a written standard for your breed of choice does not exist in the US, hopefully we will be able to provide you with one from the country of origin.

 

[kathyinmo]

What a great idea! So, people can submit what they have, what they are interested in, and contact information for breeders that have such stock. Correct?

Of the breeds you mentioned, I have Light Sussex and Delawares. My Dels are a work in progress, and I have not even started working on the Sussex..... just enjoying them for now. I also have a few Coronation Sussex, though I imagine those would not be included.

 

[tinychicky]

you forgot friesians! they are old and rare too!!!

 

[grendel]

I keep and will breed this spring Lafleche.good layers and foragers.

 

[hcammack]

Faverolles are a great utility bird and an old french breed. I am the vice president of the Faverolles Fanciers if anyone is interested in getting stock please contact me.

Henry

 

[saladin]

This is great.
Friesisans qualify too, of course!
Correct, Kathy.


There really are some great old breeds out there. I'd like to some post concerning problems that you may have encountered with the breeds you work with. I'm in hopes this thread can be a real help to folks who want old and rare breeds.

 

[Illia]

I have Shamos and am still working on getting more/different stock to improve and widen my bloodlines.

I am also looknig for if anyone has any good Houdans, or at least the better out there, with the biggest importance being the body weight and type. I'd LOVE to help get back the original dual purpose Houdan.

Same goes for Polish, however I am picky on colors, but I am indeed working not only on the rare Tolbunt color but also a meatier, heavier, and hardier type.

 

[saladin]

Illia,

I personally can't help with the Houdan or Polish, but I sure would like to know about your Shamo. What line(s) do you have? What colors (though color doesn't mean anything with an Oriental)?

 

[saladin]

Some advice for folks who are just getting into Old and Rare breeds:

When making a purchase from a breeder of a trio (always better to buy 2 trios if you can) you need to ask:

1. Are the birds related? If so, how close?

If you purchase a trio that are brother/sisters or even half brother/half sisters then you are going to need more genetic material in this mix to keep the size and health up. You'll be fine for a generation or two but then it is more than likely going to begin to go down hill.

 

[saladin]

Quote:
Henry,
I know you have a Faverolles thread going too (570+ pages: awesome!), but I appreciate you dropping in.

If a person wanted to try out Faverolles as a new addition to their flock where would you suggest they acquire stock?