My suggestion is to find out what breeds are available to you locally. There is nothing more frustrating than to research dozens of breeds, worry over your five favorite, narrow it down to two, then one, just to find that they are not available anywhere within hundreds of miles. Contact your local poultry club, or go to the closest show you can find and seek out local breeders and exhibitors. Another way is to talk to the local feed store and see is they know the local breeders. You can often get really nice dual purpose heritage birds very reasonably if you are not going to breed and show. They will be the ones that are not quite perfect enough to breed or show, but should live long productive lives and make nice coop decorations.
