Rare, unique breeds?

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
I agree. When I picked my 2nd breed to work on, I wanted something that first of all was not a fad. (never been a fad kinda gal) And I wanted a breed that is rare and that I felt I could hopefully contribute something to over time. I found the barnevelders and they were the perfect fit for me.

There are so many beautiful breeds out there to choose from - you just have to find what appeals to you.

 

[phasianidae]

Quote:
That would be Big Medicine.

 

[Gresh]

Well, here's my two cents on your questions:

Q1. What is the rarest breed?
A1. That's difficult to determine, and first off, a distinction must be made between a breed and a landrace fowl. Some people say that Icelandic chickens are the rarest "breed", but Icelandics are landrace fowl and do not breed entirely true. They are somewhat like the Easter Egger, only rarer and without the colored eggs and general beard and muffs.
In my opinion, the rarest breeds are the Kraienkoppe, Lamona, and Russian Orloff (that is to say, rarest in their pure form. There are many others but these three stand out.

Q2. What is the prettiest breed?
A2. That's entirely a matter of opinion. From my perspective, the Gamefowl breeds (American, Old English, Spanish, Kraienkoppe, etc.) are the prettiest. They all have very similar characteristics: namely, a regal, erect body carriage
with large, elegant tails and a beautiful variety of color types (especially Black-breasted Red or Morgan Whitehackle).

Q3. What is the most expensive breed?
A3. Unfortunately, I have no idea on this one. I would trust breeders and/or people who buy from breeders on this point. Although I hope to be both a buyer from and an actual breeder of Gamefowl someday, I currently am not
and don't know the fair prices of our wonderful world of poultry.

Great topic, by the way. It brings out a lot of information and opinions.

If you want to see some of the breeds I mentioned, search them in the forum. Not all of them are represented very well, but you should get a general idea.

 

[cherylcohen]

I'm currently breeding buff laced brahamas, heritage silver penciled plymouth rocks, mille fleur leghorns & coronation sussex - all pretty rare.

For 2012 I'm breeding Jubilee/Diamond Jubilee Orpingtons & Rhodebars from the UK and Blue Partridge Brahmas from Germany AND

Just found out today that I'll be getting Partridge Orpingtons to breed in 2012!

Here's a picture of the breed from the internet! These are not my parent stock, just a picture of the gorgeous birds in the UK As soon as I have a picture of the parent stock, I'll post it

Blue partridge Brahma hen

Jubilee Orpington hen

Rhodebar Roo

What can I say I like gorgeous Rare birds...

 

[joe17]

If I really love a certain breed or color I go for it regardless if its a fad, rare, or very common.

 

[Chris09]

Here are some things that we have to keep in mind when talking "Rare" in poultry terms,

1 - Are we talking "Rare" in the U.S. or "Rare" world wide?
2 - Just because a variety of a breed is rare does not make the breed rare.
(Example; I would not call Brahmas rare so a Barred variety of Brahmas would not be a "Rare Breed" although it would be a rare or new variety of that breed)
3 - There is a difference between NEW and RARE in both breed and variety.
(Example; If you would breed a Spangled variety of Buckeye then it would be a NEW and not RARE variety of Buckeye.)
4 - What are we using to determine "Rare", I would amuse it would be the number of birds in a particular area and not a number of breeders.


Chris

 

[Cattitude]

In the USA, LF Silkies are almost nonexistent. I don't see many Shamos when I do searches, tho for them beauty is *definitely* in the eye of the beholder. And Javas seem to be on the border of being critically endangered, which is sad since it is an American Class breed. It is reported that Lamonas are on the verge of extinction.

A chicken that is "rare" in the USA can be quite common in other parts of the world. If you want to raise a breed that needs help worldwide, you might contact one of the conservancy groups. Good luck!

 

[saladin]

Quote:
This gets to the heart of the matter. 'Rare' must be qualified. The newest import to our shores would naturally be the 'rarest.' Yet, that doesn't mean a thing if next to it is a breed that borders on extinction.

Also, folks can claim to have a breed, but if they are not breeding for improvement or it doesn't look like what it's suppose to be then thousands may have 'it' and that also means nothing.

In the Standard Bred AOSB Class (which includes all the Orientals), I would say that WITHOUT A DOUBT, the Standard Bred Malay is the rarest breed: among Orientals; and excluding the Lamona (a recent breed any way you look at it) the rarest Standard Bred fowl of all: the Malay, hands-down.

 

[Soaring Chicks]

This site has a list of what breeds need the most help.
Hope this helps you or anyone some.
http://albc-usa.org/heritagechicken/cpl_chickenbreeds.html

 

[Terri O]

Quote:
Now THAT is a bird that I would like on my farm! Terri O