And the result of Dave sending his flock to others is that most are now lost. Go check and see if that is right, you will not be able to locate most of his stock. Some that were commercially viable were picked up by Metzers, but most of those were sold off to others because there was not enough money to be made in hookbills and the like. A bunch of the rarer breeds were sent to Canada, where getting them back is expensive to impossible.
There is not an easy answer for this, anything, including doing nothing incurs risks. I have to hope that the people that care about these rare breeds will step up and maintain them long term - and (this is the piece that is usually missing) commit to redistributing them for modest costs.
This last part is why hookbills and golden cascades from Holderread are nearly impossible to obtain now. They are kept by some private individuals who keep only small flocks and sell a few eggs each year (for pretty high prices, considering the poor hatch rate that is typical for shipped eggs).
My conscience bothers me if I try to cash in on the rare breeds I possess, so I sell them for low prices, taking into consideration the effort to produce the offspring (Pilgrim goslings cost more than Genetic Hackle chicks, for example, though the Hackles are far more rare). My goal is to get rare breeds to other breeders so they can maintain them also. Sometimes that works, my Genetic Hackle are getting around the hobby some. Sometimes it fails despite my best efforts. I know that is the same policy/motivation that Glenn at Sand Hill has, we have talked about it and he has helped form my opinions.
