*Raises hand* Me! Up here in the Great White North! I've been working with Mahogany Faverolles for a few years now, both with production characteristics in mind and to preserve this variety, they are almost extinct.
I've found that their carcass is wider at the breast than most heritage...
Yeah, that's a huge downside to buying chicks through the mail from any breeder; I haven't seen any yet that ship small numbers, and few that are willing to sex. I'm shopping for an incubator myself, because hatching eggs are so much cheaper than chicks and you can get just a few.
cmohlin89 any luck finding LF silkies? I am looking too, with limited success. Myers Poultry in PA has a line of white silkies that they sell as specialty meat production birds, but the weight they list for them is only 2-3 lbs, not the 3-4 lb of the British LF silkies. Still looking!