Why Do You Breed?????

I have many breeds that I sell chicks and eggs and started pairs from. I learned the hard way though- do your research. See what sells in your area. Yes, lavender ameraucanas are awesome, but in rural Tennessee- people just don't give a crap. They want hatchery pullets, already laying, and for $4 each.
Thank goodness I figured out a good way to ship hatching eggs- it covers a big chunk of my feed bill in the spring. Too hot for that now though.

 

I breed because I love the breed. I want to help keep this breed available to those who want it. Does that mean I breed for everyone else out there? No. I breed for myself. I breed to show. I want to make sure my birds are meeting the standard. It's fun! I still get an adrenaline rush when a judge is looking at my bird for that BB. It's also fun to "pre-pick" which birds will place where!

So, I suppose my all around reason is, because I love the breed I have!

 

Quote:Although I have not really bred any birds yet, the reasons listed above are some of the reasons why I'm starting.
Can't beat Buckeyes!

 

I breed mine for show and sell. I just started this endeavor. I also want to help preserve the colors and breeds. Plus I love to have fuzzy butts to play with and watch grow.

 

I haven't started a breeding program yet. We bought several breeds of hatchery stock to see which kind we like best, and we will be selling eggs too. I don't know any other chicken owners personally in my area, but I noticed last spring that Tractor Supply would get in several hundred chicks every week and most of them would be gone in just a few days. This went on for a couple months! Hard to say how many people actually kept on with their chicken endeavors. I'd say a bunch give it a try and then figure out it isn't for them. I seen a few ads on Craigs List lately where people are selling chickens they got in the spring.

Anyway, we are getting a handle on what we want to breed, and there are a couple different reasons for it. First off, we want to resupply our stock without having to buy from a hatchery as much. We love to eat eggs and chicken so some of what we breed will be for our own use. Also, it seems most people around here who buy chicks want them for egg production, and a few want them for meat also. Barred Rocks is probably going to be our main breed to furnish chicks for these type people although I want to also breed for some red and black sex links too. My wife has fallen in love with the Partridge Rocks, so we will breed them for the same reason. I don't know if they will be popular around here or not, but the eggs will be. Me, I have gone gaga over Speckled Sussex. I doubt there will be much of a market for them around here, but as a rare breed they will be my pet hobby to help bring the population up some and breed to SOP. IF I ever find any. Man, the show quality SS are hard to locate.

As to figuring out what sells best in your area, go to TSC and other feed stores that sell chicks and find out what they sell. Maybe you wouldn't want to sell exactly what they do, but something similar that people recognize when they see it. It seems most people wanting a backyard flock for personal use don't want any "weird" off beat breeds.

 

Im planning on breeding silkies for fun they would be show Qualty

 

1 ) Preservation. Without another breeder like myself, the breed or color variety would be lesser known and/or have a greater population of poor quality examples.

2) Self sufficiency. I want to raise my own, eat my own, breed my own.

3) The love of it, of course. I love certain breeds of chickens, and the best way to do that is to really get yourself into them. Have multiple males and females, learn their genetics, learn their behavior, their type, etc.

4) Similar to the preservation reason, but, endorsement. I want other people to get to know the breeds I love, and see why I love them so much, so they too can have such fascinating and useful breeds. Some people are looking for the ultimate free ranging, dual purpose, colorful, and rare bird, perhaps with colored eggs, well there they go. . . Or perhaps someone would love the ultimate "pet" chicken, who honestly also looks like a dinosaur, and is a walking piece of history.