Opinions Wanted - best breed to save???

[herechickchick]

I personally like the Houdan. They are a nice dual purpose bird with an attractive mottled coloring pattern and a pretty crest. I know they were developed in Houdan, France which is in the northern part of the country and gets quite cold in the winter so they should do fine in your climate. But, as others have said choose a breed YOU love not a breed we love. Keep your numbers small (10-20 birds) and that will keep your costs down.

Good Luck

 

[Nava]

I am saving the NN's

 

[WallTenters]

Dominiques

Excellent dual purpose bird, very cold hardy, our pullets are laying right through winter. Good mothers, a true heritage breed and far too few quality birds available.

All the breeds listed are good choices, but not all are good for your climate. We live in Central/Eastern Oregon and the cold winters encouraged us to get Dominiques, now we LOVE them. They are superb foragers and just great birds.

 

[Omniskies]

That's a really good point. Climate plays a really important role in deciding what breeds to get. Or it -can- since someone in sub-zero temperatures could make a giant-combed Minorca work, someone in the rainiest area could make Silkies work, and someone in the hottest, most miserable place in America could find a way to keep cold-hardy Buckeyes. But it is easier to get a breed that works well in your area so you have to do less accomidating when the weather turns bad.

The easiest way to decide what breed to save would be to narrow down the breed that works best for you. Try to answer any/all of the following questions:

Does egg color matter? If so, what color(s)?

Do you need a breed that is cold hardy or can tolerate high heat?

Do you require a breed that can take care of itself, or will you allow special treatment (ie. breeds that are not disease-resistant, can't tolerate wet weather, etc)?

Do they need to be confined (and can handle confinement without going spastic)?

Do they need to be able to forage for their own food? Some breeds eat all day and starve if they don't still get their full feed. Others can forage for most of what they need.

Do you want a breed that will go broody and hatch out their own chicks?

Is meat important to you? If so, do you demand fast growth (Delawares), a more delicate flavor (real Houdans or Dorkings), or tastes great no matter the age (was it real Crevecoeurs that were rumored to always be tender?).

How much work, time, and money do you want to put into the breed? You can find really nice old Rhode Island Red eggs and start from there. But I can't think of anyone who has really nice Crevecoeurs, so you would be starting from scratch. If you are new don't pick a breed no one else has. Start with a breed that, while rare, has a lot of people working together so that you can share bloodlines and ask questions. More people will know how to fix a flaw in Buckeyes than in Swedish Flower Hens.

Once you have answered those questions (and anything else that you think might be important to you), go through the breeds and find ones that match up well with what you want. If it's a common breed - don't worry. There are common breeds and rare colors: I have only seen one Rosecomb Black Minorca and I'll be amazed if I ever see another (I finally gave up on acquiring them). Minorcas are "only" on the Watch list, but I can guarantee that Rosecomb Minorcas are Critical. Wyandottes are a very common breed, but it's still hard to find genuinely nice, large Wyandottes with big poofy bodies and large eggs.

No matter what you pick, I would recommend starting off very small and building up from there. Maybe a dozen eggs from two different sources to get started (which could easily be $100 right there. This weekend I spent $200 on three dozen eggs from three breeds - but I'll be getting what I want if they hatch

. If you start off small it's harder to be overwhelmed and if you decide you prefer a different breed over what you have selected you are not out as much money.

 

[k0r1nag]

Thanks so much for the info thus far. I had never heard of Icelandic chickens and have begun looking them up. I had been considering large fowl Faverolles and Dorkings. And Omniskies - what a great way to approach the choice of chicken (see my answers below).

I guess that I should have mentioned that I have had chickens for several years and have actually had some of every breed available through our local feed store (as well as numerous breeds of ducks and turkeys). I currently have a lovely bantam buff laced pair of Polish from SQ stock as well as a SQ pair of Mottled D'Uccles. I also have "accidentally" acquired a Pyncheon roo and am working to find him some pullets in order to keep a small flock. I have a large fowl Polish project as well as a myriad of other birds (mostly banties) that are just pets (including finches and button quail). And though every breed has truly had their own personalities and needs - I have really enjoyed them all.

I have gone through the raft of hatchery birds in order to learn about chickens and what it takes to raise healthy happy chickens where I live and I am now ready to start slowly acquiring some well bred birds. Which led me to posting this topic. In my experience, reading about a breed in a book or online is a very different experience than actually living with the birds. And as mentioned, many breeds or colors within breeds are not listed as endangered even though they should be. I am hoping to gain a great deal of knowledge from the posts here.

In answer to the questions posed by Omniskies:

Does egg color matter? Nope

Do you need a breed that is cold hardy or can tolerate high heat? We only have a week of 100 degree weather a year and it rarely stays in the high teens for more than a week at a time in the Winter. I do live at a higher elevation and we often have snow for several weeks at a time - with the temperature hovering around 30 degrees. Our last frost date is the first week in June (which makes gardening a bit of a bummer).

Do you require a breed that can take care of itself, or will you allow special treatment (ie. breeds that are not disease-resistant, can't tolerate wet weather, etc)? - Great question!!!! I like birds that don't require too much special treatment. And I live in Washington which means LOTS of wet weather.

Do they need to be confined (and can handle confinement without going spastic)? I have options for either. I have small breeder pens where I have been keeping pairs or trios and large fenced pastures where I keep small flocks of birds I am not breeding

Do they need to be able to forage for their own food? Some breeds eat all day and starve if they don't still get their full feed. Others can forage for most of what they need. I like birds that will forage somewhat, but they needn't find all of their own food.

Do you want a breed that will go broody and hatch out their own chicks? Either way. I have many banty cochin hens whose delight in life is to sit on whatever eggs they are given.

Is meat important to you? If so, do you demand fast growth (Delawares), a more delicate flavor (real Houdans or Dorkings), or tastes great no matter the age (was it real Crevecoeurs that were rumored to always be tender?). This is a good question. Currently my family does not raise and eat our own birds, but we are considering it. Where can I find the info on what birds are more flavorful? My books have the info on growth but not taste.

How much work, time, and money do you want to put into the breed? Believe it or not, I actually have a budget!! So I have given this quite a bit of thought. However, I need to be able to raise birds that will help defray the cost of upkeep. I don't plan on making money, I just aim to break even (or thereabouts).

Thanks again for all the input so far. I am really looking forward to hearing about more breeds that I might consider.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I find the Norwegian Jaerhon fascinating.
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry//CGD/Jaer/BRKJaerhone.html

I think they would not like to be penned up though. I hear they fly REALLY well.

 

[Omniskies]

If you are leaning toward Faverolles or Dorkings I would nudge you toward Dorkings. I've had Faverolles and they weren't as resilient as I wanted them to be, plus they free ranged for fun - not really to eat. However, that could have just been the strains I had and not a reflection of the whole breed. I wanted to get into Faverolles for awhile, but they ended up being bumped off of my list - it's just personal preference (as you've seen from everyone's recommendations).

I've had poor quality Dorkings in the past and really enjoyed them. I've been on a ridiculous quest for a couple of years to acquire more - this time from good stock - and it has been an exercise in frustration. This is the year I will finally get my official start in Dorkings: I can feel it

Both Faverolles and Dorkings are meat birds; the Dorking was used to make the Faverolle and both are supposed to be very fine-textured birds. I plan on finding out next year when I start hatching them like a crazy woman and dining on lots of culls.

Both also need a lot of help. Dorking come in more available (albeit, expensive) colors thanks to Sandhill Preservation. Faverolles are found in the states usually as one color, but Sandhill is offering them in a second, which will give you more color variety.

Both breeds are also semi-autosexing, which means you can sex the chicks at a young age depending on the _color_ you select. From what I know, both colors of Faverolles offered in the states can be sexed by two weeks of age by wing color (males are dark, females light). With Dorkings, Silver Greys can be sexed by head stripe (large and defined for a female, small and mottled for a male) at a day old. I'm not familiar enough with the other colors to know if they can be sexed early.

Double your budget and get both

You've been able to narrow it down to two breeds, which is better than a lot of us have managed. If nothing else, flip a coin or get the one that you can actually find, since both can be a bit tricky (Dorkings moreso than Faverolles).

 

[k0r1nag]

Quote:
Again, such wonderful information - anecdotal info is so useful!

In actual fact, I was planning on getting several chicks each of two or three breeds/colors that are endangered. That way I can learn more about the breeds first hand. And though I had been considering Faverolles and Dorkings, I was also considering several other breeds as well. Chickens are just too much fun to settle on only one breed! And of course there is always the issue of availability. I am having those problems with some of the banty breeds that I was hoping to keep.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

I second the Sultans-they need some help.