Well I DID have Buff Ameraucanas, Duckwing Araucanas, project Ameraucanas, Cuckoo Araucanas, Blue Wheaten Marans, Tolbunt Polish, Shamos, and Olive Eggers but now it's just Buff Am's, Shamos, and Polish.
Did the Araucanas because they're such hardy birds, very rare and unique, lay blue eggs, very good foragers and moms, and make excellent dual purpose birds who don't eat much but still fill out nicely.
Did the Ameraucanas for the same reasons (
minus the uniqueness, and they're more common, and not as good of foragers honestly), but in a different bird, one with a tail and less fertility issues plus there's the beard/muffs, also, they come in Buff which is an awesome color in serious need of more breeders.
Did the Polish because they are awesome, and come in some amazing colors like Tolbunt and Silver Laced (which is different from the lacing found on Wyandottes) plus they're super foragers, great layers of honestly rare white eggs, they don't eat much, they're very friendly, and at least mine are very smart and tough too.
Did the Shamos because they're an amazingly shaped very old and rare breed with super intelligence, foraging ability that is unbeatable, a very tough nature one can't mess with, but also they are THE most reliably friendly, non-aggressive out there, and they're also so neat to look at and make some good dual purpose crosses with heavy breeds.
My random crosses and Olive Egger hybrids are for dual purpose (sell the pullets, eat the cockerels) as well as neat experiments and education. I learn so much in color genetics and the sort when crossing birds here, plus I have quite a few neat crosses I find surprising good uses for. And most of my mutts are one-of-a-kind that you likely won't find elsewhere.
