See, I think that showy breeder birds are almost as bad as overly hybrid production birds, and I feel this way about ALL animals (my brother-in-law raises show pigs...). What is the point of raising beautiful overpriced animals that don't necessarily do what they're supposed to do- meaning either produce offspring/eggs well and in reasonable abundance, or produce good meat (again, in reasonable abundance, and by reasonable I mean that I don't expect broiler amounts of meat). I don't get it. It defies my pragmatic nature. When I look for chickens I look for a well rounded bird- lays to breed standard (that standard is at least useful), meaty, and generally healthy and well tempered. So if you're looking for production and not interested into getting into show birds you may NOT want to go with a breeder, unless you find one that breeds for either production OR a true dual purpose bird (ie reasonable production coupled with decent meat on the bird). Because some show birds don't lay that well. And are you looking to breed yourself, or just replace birds as needed? Because if you're not looking to breed, the lineage doesn't matter as much. Even heritage breeds are going to taper off their laying after a few years, and you are still going to be overrun with chickens that don't lay very many eggs.
