Breda Fowl thread

[chicken danz]

I have to share a little with people I know. I finally found out an article was published in the new June /July issue of Backyard Poultry Magazine. It's about Breda fowl and features a couple pictures from my flock and a quote from me. If you don't buy the magazine you can read the article by going to https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com
You have to sign up, which doesn't cost anything or obligate you in any way. Once you get signed up and signed in you go to the Members only area, and click on Magazines. Then you can read that current issue. The article starts on page 74. It's supposed to be on the Countryside network site as well but it isn't there yet.

 

[chicken danz]

Yes they are quite unique. I have learned that their personalities definitely come from the La Fleche. They are so much like them. And they love to talk, jut like my Breda's do.

 

[welasharon]

Not very good pics but I now have 5 breda chicks. I guess three blue and two black. Surrogate mom killed one before I could stop her. The colors are way off. I will take some more this week in natural light. I got these quite by chance and thought it odd that when I searched to find a thread on this breed I found where I had posted before. Odd that I wound up getting some of these.

 

[JK]

Here are some pics of my Breda's (or Kraaikoppen as we call them in The Netherlands). They're from the new colour black mottled and I've bought them this year. Though familiair with the breed I never had any beore, but I just fell in love with this colour. One of the well known breeders had to cut down and as a member of the breed club I could get his own last breeding trio and a young rooster. A great opportunity and I would be a fool to say no (but had to get rid of the Marans unfortunately). According to him this is as good as they come here in The Netherlands (pehaps he was a little bit subjective, but why doubt him?). So I look forward to a nice breeding season with a lot of chicks!
Compared to my Brabanters they're quite majestic in their movements, relaxed (but alert) and not so very clever. But they do well together and I can have the two rooster together with the flock. So that's a nice temperament too (can do that with my Brabanters too, but never with the Marans). I've got them one month and I'm still sort of "in love" with them.

 

[RhodeRunner]

I took a few more photos today. It sure is hard to get good pictures of these birds, they are so much prettier in real life!



​

 

[GaryDean26]

For those of you that have bought/sold/etc you don't think I'm being too high on my price do you???? I've seen people selling standard POL pullets for $20 (barred rock, RIR, etc....)

You have no market for the Breda locally, because no one has heard of them or knows how awesome they are. Two thing govern the price 1) Supply, 2) Demand.

Yes, the supply is very low, so normally that would drive the price up and you would get more for a rare breed than you would for a standard breed with a much higher availability like the Barred Rock or RIR. The problems is that the local demand is so low for Breda that people would rather buy a $6 RIR pullet or $10 Barred Rock Breeding pair than pay more than twice that for a breed that they don't think is going to give then any more eggs, any more meat, or any enjoyment as an owner.

There are a number of things that you can do in your community to promote the breed. Start small and build, and remember some of them will take time to see results.

Last year I sold Breda chicks for $6 each because I felt that everyone that took home a Breda to put in their flock with their hatchery RIR or Hatchery Barred Rock would be back the following year with 2-3 of their envious neighbors to get more for their flock. You can donate hatching eggs to a silent auction at a Poultry Show, Donate a cockerel to a 4H project for someone to use as their show bird, you can do breed displays at the local poultry club meetings, etc.

I was one of those people that didn't want a Breda, The rumors of them not laying until they are 18+ months old, laying tiny eggs, being fiercely aggressive, being inbreed, etc. didn't make me want to get them at any price. I however won an assortment of hatching eggs at an auction and ended up hatching a great pair from unrelated GFF breeding groups. Two and half year later my only regret is that I don't have the time or space to keep a big Breda flock, because they are good lays, The egg size is respectable, they are gentle and graceful, and my the funniest personalities of any of my breeds.

My splash hen will run across the pasture to me any time I open the yard gate to go out to the field. Then she will stand right by my feet. If I move she moves. If I stay still she stays still. If I take I big step, she will hop trying to cover the same distance as my step. Some time is will take long slow stride across the yard to play with her and she will do a series of flapping hopping movement to mimic me. She cracks me up.

So...is $15 too much for a hen like that? No not at all. Should you cheapen the breed buy selling it for less than its worth? No, but you should find a way to promote it. This is one those breed that you have to see to understand. Once people in your area understand the breed, people will be coming to you year after year to get Breda for their flock.

 

[GaryDean26]

I have both Breda Gueldre and White Leghorn that are laying so maybe I can help. Below are eggs collected Wednesday from a Breda pullet in her first laying season and a White Leghorn in her forth laying season.



Note: Commercial White Leghorns have the "white egg" gene that will block all brown egg pigments (even if the hen is carrying the genes for brown pigment). This tends to give the egg of Leghorns an almost florescent white. The Breda does not have the "white egg" gene and if they are carrying any genes for a brown bloom it will show on the shell. Some days the difference in color is enough that I can see a noticeably different color between the Breda eggs and the Leghorn eggs, but as shown most days (9 out of 10) the Breda egg is just as white as a Leghorn.

Note: The Breda egg was 63 grams, the Leghorn egg was quite small only coming in at 60 grams yesterday (they may be because the Breda free ranges about 30 hours a week and the Leghorn only about 5 hours a weeks).

 

[RFR of CA]

My Cuckoos all grown up. I added a few black hens since I only ended up with one pullet.

 

[Sylvester017]

That is actually an Andalusian Hen. Here is the Andalusian Rooster.




They are very similar in color to the Blue Breda, but they could never be confused because they lack the feathered legs, lack vulture hocks, lack the cavernous nostril, lack the tassel cresting and of course have a comb. Below is the Breda Cockbird that I was breeding before I went to a single breed flock.

As gorgeous as the Andalusians are I have become enraptured with the Blue Bredas. We were mis-sent a Blue Breda cockerel that we fell in love with but re-homed him with a friend because we are not zoned for roos. Then I quickly found another breeder who sent us a Blue Breda pullet and we absolutely adored her also. This is an amazing breed and after going through 13 chicken breeds in 5 years I have found a lovely-temperament medium LF that is a great flockmate in my mixed flock of Silkies and Ameraucana. This is an amazing breed all-round for my smaller backyard flock!!! Our hen is an amazing bright white egg layer also which surprised me for a 4-lb girl. I will take the good-tempered Breda for white eggs over any of the assertive Mediterranean class breeds. It's been difficult for me to find a good white layer breed that would get along with docile breeds - our Breda has been a prolific layer.

The 4-month-old cockerel we re-homed - outgoing, curious, unafraid, friendly. His new owners say he welcomes himself into their house and sometimes takes over the dog bed for his nightly roosts. They rescue roosters and battery hens and say they've never had such a friendly and lovely rooster before!



The 4-month-old pullet we got after re-homing the cockerel - she is also outgoing, curious, unafraid, and pesty-friendly. The fluffy feet feathers lose length once the Bredas are outdoors and foraging but the fluff wears down to a manageable length for them.


Thank you @GaryDean26 for all your help when I was first looking into this lovely breed. Your input along with a couple other owners gave me the boost I needed to try this feather-footed beauty that I otherwise might've missed. There are many colors to choose from with this breed but we get the most complements from visitors on the Blue Breda.

 

[boskelli1571]

That's sad but doesn't surprise me. @RhodeRunner was the one that alerted me that her snowy soggy climate was not conducive to feather-legged Breda and she gave me valuable input to help me decide on acquiring our Breda which we LUV. The Breda has been fine for us because our climate is mostly dry with very few episodes of rainfall to muck-up feathered feet. Our summers are humid but the Breda and our feather-legged Silkies do fine. Our Blue Wheaten Ameraucana on the other hand hates the heatwaves and thrives in the wet and soggy days around here!

Well, we live in upstate NY, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for success! The ground where the chickens are are pretty solid even after rain. I got my 1st two ladies today, so I need to go and get them a husband and some other ladies.
Rhoderunner gave me a name to contact for more Bredas so I will be pursuing that very soon.