Breda Fowl thread

[RFR of CA]

They lay well through summer here in CA. My oldest are about 2 yrs old now. They did shut down for about a month this December but are up and laying again with about 4 hours of additional lighting. The larger eggs are just about 2oz ea average. They are very slow to mature and egg size is smallish the first season, but they are supposed to lay and live longer. Time will tell. I am enjoying the breed. Below is a pic of one of my original hens from Greenfire. She actually came to me as a "filler" for the box. So glad she did

https://www.facebook.com/RareFeathersRanchofCA?ref=hl

 

[dutchbunny83]

I heard they start laying really late, when did you guys get your first egg from your pullets?

I hatched 6, but only keeping 1, so I need to downsize mine at the flock swap in Spring. They're like 4-5 months or so right now. I'd have to look up hatch date. My incubator was running nonstop June to December so I can't keep track of how old all my birds are in my head

 

[GaryDean26]

My first Breda Hatched on the first week of May 2012. I grow them out on 15% protein and they started laying early in December, so 31 weeks to the first egg.

My second group hatched in March of 2013. I grew them out on scratch grain and 24/7 free range. They didn't start laying until the middle of December so 38 weeks. I may try growing out the next group on 20% protein to see how they do.

If you are used to hens that start laying at 18-24 weeks, then the wait is going to drive you crazy.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Okay I can handle 30some weeks, someone had told me it took theirs a year and a half!!! That was unheard of to me.
I need to downsize mine that hatched in September, so about 5 months old. I wanted to be able to provide an estimate on when they could be laying (late Spring, summer, etc) I didn't want to tell them this year and then it not be until next!
Thank you!

 

[dutchbunny83]

Oh I have one more question!
I bought high quality breeder eggs that weren't cheap. By the time I paid for the eggs & the shipping divided by how many I was able to hatch, I had $10 into each live chick on hatch day. Then I have 6 I've been raising for 5 months so I could be sure on gender & buying quality feed.
I just raise backyard chickens for fun, I don't do it for profit or anything, but I have a lot of money into the Breda at this point and they are really nice birds.
I listed them as $15 each or $25 per breeding pair, which I thought was really reasonable as I'm taking quite a loss on them, just trying to recoop some of the money I've spent on feed the past 5 months. Plus I cut their wait time on eggs way down & they know for sure the gender they aren't straight run.

I've had quite a few people tell me that my pricing is crazy & offer me $25 for all 5 (2 pullets & 3 cockerals).

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....)

 

[dsfrango]

Oh I have one more question!
I bought high quality breeder eggs that weren't cheap.  By the time I paid for the eggs & the shipping divided by how many I was able to hatch, I had $10 into each live chick on hatch day.  Then I have 6 I've been raising for 5 months so I could be sure on gender & buying quality feed.
I just raise backyard chickens for fun, I don't do it for profit or anything, but I have a lot of money into the Breda at this point and they are really nice birds.
I listed them as $15 each or $25 per breeding pair, which I thought was really reasonable as I'm taking quite a loss on them, just trying to recoop some of the money I've spent on feed the past 5 months.  Plus I cut their wait time on eggs way down & they know for sure the gender they aren't straight run.

I've had quite a few people tell me that my pricing is crazy & offer me $25 for all 5 (2 pullets & 3 cockerals).

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....)

Yea for sexed pullets and breeding pairs of such a rare and EXPENSIVE breed I wouldn't charge less than 20$ a pullet/hen, 30$ a pair and 40$ for a breeding trio. Especially if your birds are of decent to SQ. If they low ball you on that then they don't know anything about bredas and they aren't the buyers you want.

 

[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.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Thank you both for the feedback.

Gary, that was very insightful & also very true, I didn't really think about all that. As much as I would love to be in the chicken business for fun, I'm only on a 1/3 acre lot in city limits, so no roosters or breeding for me, we are permitted up to 10 hens. Since I couldn't have a flock for breeding I did a lot of research on all the breeds to come up with an eclectic flock of pretty and unique birds that you don't see everyday that lay a variety of colors of eggs. I loved the look of the Breda, but couldn't find anyone selling pullets, so I bought mail order eggs from a breeder in California and hatched them myself last September. I had 6 hatch so I've been growing them out to know for sure the one that we kept was a girl. Lucky for me we ended up with 3 of each. I so wish I could keep a rooster. All of them have such pretty coloring & they're so different it was really hard to pick out just one. So I need to sell the remaining 5. I'm taking a loss on them, just trying to recover some of the cost of feeding them for 5 months, but I didn't want to have to sell them at $5. I REALLY hate having to sell any of my birds, I get so attached to them, and you never truly know what their next home is going to be like. But if I kept all 6 I'd be way over the city limit & with 3 roosters crowing I'm sure I'd get reported pretty quick. I bribe my neighbors with free eggs to not complain about me being over and having turkey, quail, & meat chickens (I'm sure the city counts these towards our 10 total, but if they're going to be eaten I don't...)

 

[GaryDean26]

Oh...I didn't realize that you couldn't keep roosters, that does drive the supply way..way..way down. Yes...I second what DSFRANGO said. There may not be a dozen people that are willing to pay what they are worth, but you should be able to find one.

Since you have more cockerels available than pullets you might have better lucky selling them as a group than breaking them up.

 

[DutchChicky]

Anybody on here interested in getting 'together' so to speak and see if we can this breed accepted as a recognized breed?
That means having/breeding/showing them for 5 years. We need 5 breeders and in the end have 50 birds together for a panel of APA judges. It will involve a lot of time , dedication and some money. Think it cost about $125 to get the judges to come out. Am not sure about all the details but think that is it in a nutshell.
Would love for this majestic bird to gain in popularity and see it in the book of Standard!