I view my involvement with chickens primarily as a source of food and the joy of raising beautiful, friendly birds a benefit. I never intend to show my chickens for ribbons but I will go to those shows looking for great roosters that will boost my hens ability to create great dual purpose chicks. Please search out great threads on BYC and recommend them here if it will aid me in being self sufficient. Recommend great breeders of quality dual purpose chickens that are members of BYC and will ship roosters to those of us that want to improve our flocks with birds that are near the standard but not show quality. Give your reasons for selecting a particular breed or breeds as it/they pertain(s) to producing food. Off the grid ideas are welcomed since loss of "layer ration" or "hen scratch" is a possibility by those that frequently visit this thread and we might be required to grow our own feed. Also, off the grid means not being able to incubate and must have hens that will be successful mothers.