Survey: What breeds to import first? Need your help deciding!

[V Comb]

Blue Houdan, White Crevecouer, Black Sultan, Wheaten Silkies, Polverara ...so many...

Here is some pictures from a Dutch poultry website.

Houdan

Crevecouer

Sultan

Silkie

Polverara

 

[greathorse]

From what I see the Brits are way ahead of us in some of the varieties of orpingtons. I would look for a breed that is desired that has a chance to win in our shows that is a varieity that is hard to get here. I have seen some photo's of some awesome orpingtons that we cannot begin to match as far as I have seen. I am not an orpington breeder but could sure get there if there were some really great birds

 

[justuschickens59]

I would say Orps. There are some English Orps here that have been imported...a couple of us here at BYC have imported BBS Orps and there is another lady here that has imported Lemon Cuckoo Orps. I would love to see any English Orps imported - Crele, GL, Jubilee, Buff, Chocolate. Anything Orp works for me.

Here is a photo of my pair of English Blue Orps. The US version just does not even compare.

 

[nzpouter]

paint silkies....

 

[cochin123]

Quote:
x 2

 

[leahthor]

Quote:
Same here. Oh but in Canada as opposed to the US. We don't have a lot of breeders here either. My eggs are due to hatch in a week and I'll have to wait a while to see how the colour is.

Please dark and clear lacing

 

[TurkeyMountainChickens]

Quote:
Ooooo - Croad Langshans! I was sooo disappointed when I first discovered that the US Langshans don't lay the plum colored egg. I'd love to see some that do!

 

[ultasol]

if you import silkies be aware that they will not resemble the american silkies in the amount of fluff, and I believe most UK silkies are also non-bearded.

 

[Sparklee]

#1
What breeds need help? (ie are so inbred because of limited gene pools)

French Marans could use some more depth as long as you're sure that you don't get Black Coppers that have recessive Wheaten in them. It does look like Black Coppers could get into the APA soon.

#2
What breeds/colors are already popular, but they aren't here yet in the US?

#3
Over all, what breed and color do you want the most?

I want some White Chanteclers. Looks like I will be waiting for about 16 months from the time I sent my money in until the day we get the birds. At least that long. Nothing is sure. Very disheartening. Of course, not life threatening or that big of deal in the grand scope of things, but in the realm of how long one should have to wait for birds, this is beyond the pale.

Rose Comb Color Dorking, again paid my money and now I sit around and wait and wait and wait. (I live in a clime where it's easier to just get smaller combs than worry about and deal with the possibility and sometimes the inevitability of frostbite.) When winter comes, everyone in the north is running around trying to figure out how to avoid frostbite not realizing that pea combs and walnuts are the way to go. Sure it's limiting, but it's much easier than worrying about and dealing with frostbite.

Other non-straight comb varieties/breeds.

Edit portion: Purple egg-laying Croad Langshans?! Yes! Purple eggs ... who can resist that possibility?



#4 (optional)
If you feel the need to, then
-insert opinions / creepy stalker comments / anything else here-

Since it seems like you're doing market research, here's some freebie opinions.

If you charge $399 for a pair of juvenile birds as Greenfire Farms does, then there's no way I'll buy. I don't care how nice they are. I'll wait until the dust settles and get some from people you sell to in a few years, after they've bred some more birds. Frankly, you should just get some excellent birds imported and then mass produce or get others to raise birds for you also to sell. Sometimes it's about turnover. Turnover. Turnover. McMurray knows all about turnover. I'm not saying they're the end all and be all and I know lots of people sneer at the big guys, but they are successful because they are doing some things exactly right. Figure out which of those things you can ethically feel good about doing and do those right things.

I have admired the Cream Legbar and those other autosexing birds by the same guy over there in the UK. And I admire Greenfire for going over and getting us some; I'm quite excited that maybe 5 years from now I can get a couple. It would be great if someone would invest the money in getting some Cream Legbars, which are a dime a dozen over there from what I understand, and then sell them cheap over here by going to volume. With a bird like this with a colored egg and exotic looking plumage, they would sell like hotcakes and a good businessperson could make their investment back through volume if they can quickly go big. And they might as well try to go big fast because otherwise all one of the big hatcheries has to do is let you do the importing and then buy a few of your Cream Legbars and then sell them on the cheap themselves. They are in it to make a living after all. As far as we all know, that's their plan already with the birds that Greenfire Farms imported. The Black Copper Marans that a couple of the big hatcheries sold this year sold out quick enough to make my head spin! Wow! It would be the same with a number of imports like the Swedish Flower Hens, Coronation Sussex, or Cream Legbars.

$15 + s&h a dozen hatching eggs is about the highest I want to go anymore. In the long run, it's not worth it to me to pay $12 for a bird that isn't an excellent layer. I've got $12 each Marans and 3 of them are cocks and 3 are layers. One of the layers is a Mossy and shouldn't be bred. A 4th cock has been eaten already as he was also a Mossy and quite the attack bird. They lay rather infrequently. 8-12 a month right now, and it's not about how I feed them or take care of them. They were bred for egg color and often that leads to fewer eggs. It's a well-known problem in Black Copper Marans circles, though some don't want to admit it to outsiders. (I bought a bunch of eggs and 7 hatched out of about 22, I then divided what I paid for them by the number that hatched to get my price of $12 per bird.) So I have 3 layers for $84, though I do have the option to breed more. I'm not ever paying that much again. It was a mistake and I do regret paying that and spending the time I spent hatching those two sets of eggs. However, I'm not getting rid of my birds. I have a very fine specimen in one of the males. He's super. And they are so big it's surprising. Really impressive males.

I'd be happy to pay about $7 a chick if you'd send me 10 of a variety/breed I really want or think I need. And the market is growing by leaps and bounds.

Do import egg layers. Though part of my interest in Rose Comb Colored Dorkings is that they are an ancient breed (at least back 2000 yrs) and known as good table birds. And if anyone has any of these eggs to sell, let me know by PM, if they're purebred only.

And I am one of those that just wants to have chickens for my own enjoyment. I don't have to breed them to sell, and I don't. Please don't discount those of us out here that want chickens for enjoyment (and meat and eggs) only. We are the bread and butter to the large hatcheries. Those breeders that specialize to the extreme and worry about folks breeding the birds they sell are doing themselves a disservice. Ideal and Cackle are making money hand over fist from me and others because we just want some fun birds that lay fairly well to buy each year. Once we see what we like, many of us discover that we want to start breeding that bird ourselves and then we seek out the breeders for good stock. Breeders need to build some interest in their birds by selling "hatchery quality" or at least less expensively to us folks just wanting fun birds, then more folks who buy special quality birds, will materialize very naturally.

Okay, that's my 2 cents/pence/pittance. Remember, that saying implies that my opinion is not worth much and so will not be defending it should anyone care to disagree with me. Tomorrow I will disagree with me and want to argue another side. This is nothing new. If we were together right now, you could get me to agree with you quite easily.