Heritage Breeds

[rhoda_bruce]

Okay.....if at a later time I decide to replace my current egg layers with heritage chickens, what positive things would I benefit from? How would I obtain them? Would the cost be worth it to me? In short.....why did you do it and what do you feel you got out of it?

 

[RM44]

I got a Dominique as a trade and loved her. Even though she was smaller, her body was compact and she had a cool coloring and rose comb. Her eggs were shaped like bullets too! It was pretty interesting. My mother said that her mother always kept Dominiques on the farm. So when I ordered my baby chicks this time, I got 25% Dominiques. I just like them. The one I had laid consistently, although not as frequently as the RIRs. I think the Dom laid about 3-4 eggs a week when the RIRs were 6-7. But they only laid for a few weeks before I had to put them down, so I have no idea how it will work out in the long run. I'm looking forward to finding out though!

 

[juliawitt]

I have 4 Dominiques and I love them!!!! Got them at <24 hours old and I have handled them ever since. I handled all my peeps which were also Wyandottes, silver and gold, but the Doms were just instantly tame. I have some video of them running in the brooder to come to me. They would jump into my hands, and then when they got feathers they would fly into my hands. They were the first to start laying and they are still gentle and sweet. Very well mannered and beautiful eggs. I can not recommend them enough. My wyandottes are beautiful and everyone raves about their colors as they are stoking and holding the Doms. They may not be as showy as other breeds, but they get my vote, hands down on their fabulous temperment, their egg production, and they have been very easy to raise. Notice the little Dom sitting in my hand.......

I love Doms

 

[hen-thusiast]

Hmmm.... this must be the I love dominiques thread.

As for the cost/benefit thing, it probably depends on where you get yours, but ours didn't really cost anything more. I like knowing that we are helping save a really cool, endangered breed of bird and that we are helping keep genetic variability alive in the chicken world. We got ours from Meyer Hatchery, if you don't want hatchery stock, I'm sure someone on here can help you find hatching egg.

We have two dominiques and we have fallen head over heels for them. If we could only have one breed it would be them. They are the friendliest, sweetest birds... to the point where they are pests. They always hang out under your feet and come running when they see you. As soon as one could learn how to fly she would always try to fly out of the brooder so we could hold her and the other one always cooed to us. We love them so much that we've decided if we break down and get a rooster that we would love a dominique one. They aren't the flashiest or prettiest birds we have, but like I said, we're nuts for them.

 

[HEChicken]

For me it is about doing things more naturally. At first I was interested in egg production, so ordered chicks who would produce, not realizing how it all really works. I like my little Red Star (RSL) who at 4 months old hasn't even started laying yet, but once I realized she had been bred specifically to produce eggs, and that that breeding makes her more likely to become egg-bound, and to "burn out" early, I felt a little guilty and decided I will not get another. I also have two Buff Orpingtons and if/when they go broody, my plan is to get some Java hatching eggs for them to hatch out.

It is a lot like dog breeds, I think. Dogs have been bred for one quality or another but often that breeding causes them to have other inherent health problems. A Shar Pei puppy is cute with all those wrinkles but is prone to skin disease because of the wrinkles. Some of the large-breed dogs are bred for size but that makes them more prone to have problems with their hips. Chihuahua's are bred to be small but that makes them more prone to have problems delivering their own pups. I guess I am just against breeding for a quality that is going to make them more prone to a problem and in the case of sex links or Cornish X, their breeding makes them more prone to health problems so I choose not to have them.

 

[BuckeyeDave]

I'm partial to buckeyes.... but that's just me.... Bawwwk!

 

[jenjscott]

I'm a Buckeye gal too. The main advantage to a heritage breed in general is that they are a true dual purpose bird. You will not get as many eggs as with a layer type bird, but the roosters will be much more worth processing. I don't know what kind of RIR you got, but a lot of them are "production reds" and have been selected for eggs, and are not the same as the standard bred RIR. My buckeyes I got from BuckeyeDave lay nice large eggs with a large yolk. I actually started out with red stars and was very pleased with the egg production, but decided since it was really just a hobby and my living didn't depend on how many eggs I got, I could take the chance on the heritage breed, and I am happy I did.

 

[NYREDS]

If all you want is some hens for eggs you don't have anything to gain by switching to a heritage breed other than possibly enjoying their appearance. They won't lay as well as the hybrid laying strains do.
I raise a heritage breed, Dominiques, for a couple of reasons. Partly for their history. They are the first of the true American breeds. I also raise them to help maintain their genetics. We are in danger of losing a number of the older breeds of livestock so I think preservation efforts are important.

 

[speckledhen]

I agree completely with NYReds. And I like the idea of preserving them and trying to raise good examples of the breed, not just propagating them. However, if you just want egglayers, most hatchery birds do well.

 

[Gonzo]

They have Dom. at the Indy Zoo. They are really pretty birds! We've been thinking about adding some since our trip to the zoo.