Critical breeds list

[greyfields]

I think it's always good to refer to this chart when planning your livestock. You will also notice that there is some cooperation between the ALBC and the "Slow Food" movement Ark of Taste. They are good resources when deciding what to do.

One thing I have noticed, though, as the really rare breeds seems like you only see them in bantams. Finding the heavy breed equivelant can be tough and can cost you plenty of $$ to get started in (if you can even find them).

 

[Crunchie]

This is an excellent thread...I've been mulling over adding another breed to the farm and when I do, I want it to be one off of the ALBC's critical list. I breed Polish and Marans now, and while Polish are on the ALBC "Watch" list (the Marans are not classified with the ALBC, I suppose because they have not been accepted by the APA) they are quite popular and certainly not "critical".

I want to add more of a "utility" breed, a good egg layer. But I can't decide...and of course, when I do decide, then there is the challenge of finding good quality stock.

The ALBC and Slow Food are great resources for anyone interested in preserving heritage breeds of any type of livestock.

 

[fowlafoot]

I raise Spangled Russian Orloffs and Aseels off the critical list. Two of my Aseel hens are broody and have been setting for the last week. I haven't wanted to disturb them to count the eggs but there is every reason to believe they will hatch. So far I only have a trio of Russian Orloffs and I wanted to add at least another unrelated trio before I started breeding them since the first three are from the same source and might be related. I started building a website dedicated to all my chickens, it isn't finished but I do have pics of my dark aseel trio, and my orloff rooster. My two broody aseels are a black and a spangled and they are in with a hen feathered rooster, he is pictured, I won't be able to add their pics until they are done setting. http://www.freewebs.com/fowlafoot

 

[Mrs MIA]

That's why we chose Dorkings - they're not on the critical list, but on the threatened list. They're dual purpose birds, wonderful personalities, and exTREMELY hard to come by! I have eggs in the bator now, but I'm on the waiting list for chicks - maybe sometime late May? The harder they are to find, the more determined I am to have them...

 

[NYREDS]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

That's why we chose Dorkings - they're not on the critical list, but on the threatened list. They're dual purpose birds, wonderful personalities, and exTREMELY hard to come by! I have eggs in the bator now, but I'm on the waiting list for chicks - maybe sometime late May? The harder they are to find, the more determined I am to have them...

And in my limited experience Dorkings are much more difficult to find than Andalusians which are on the critical list???
Not to denigrate the work the ALBC does but I have heard that their data gathering is based soley on self reporting. In other words I could have a flock of 1,000 Andalusians but if I didn't choose to tell the ALBC about them they'd still think the breed belonged on the critical list.​

 

[Mrs MIA]

Yep... I wondered about that. I've been lucky and have found a few private breeders that are willing to share eggs, but getting them here and them still being viable has been rough. Every chick I get is more precious than platinum! I have 12 eggs in the incubator right now, day 4, but I'm not seeing any veins yet. I'm losing hope that I'll have chicks this year at all.

 

[peeps7]

I have a pair of crevecouers that I'm working on getting babies from. They are in a pen of their own. I put 4 eggs in the bator but I don't think they were fertile.


Edited: You can see pics of my crevecouers on my website.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:
I have seen Buttercups, Houdans, Sumatras, Faverolles & Orloffs on eBay (as hatching eggs). I was wanting to get some Faverolles and some Crevecoeurs, but finding hatching eggs (in the "Standard size"), is proving more difficult than I thought it would be. Like you, I was also hoping to breed one or two of the “critical” breeds…

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Andalusian
(these are blues):
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-Blue-Andalusi...ryZ46532QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Buttercup
http://cgi.ebay.com/4-Buttercup-Chi...ryZ46532QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Chantecler
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-Rare-White-Ch...ryZ46532QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Crevecoeur (I found 25 chicks on eggbid)

Delaware
http://search.ebay.com/search/searc...trt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=32&fsoo=2

Faverolle
http://cgi.ebay.com/ONE-DOZEN-PLUS-...ryZ46532QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Houdan (these are bantams, though)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-Bantam-Mot...ryZ46532QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Nankin
http://cgi.ebay.com/Nankin-Hatching...ryZ46532QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Spanish (these are also bantams)
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-White-Faced-B...ryZ46532QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

I have Welsh Harlequin ducks, which are also on the critical list. Though not a chicken, it still comes from an egg.

And I'm looking for Buckeyes...