# Let's talk rare/heritage breeds. Worth it?



## Shayanna (Sep 25, 2013)

In my constant day dream of having a hobby animal that breeds well and sells well, and provides for my family well, I think I have settled on chickens.
They are such wonderful creatures, with personality, and independence and I'm in love with the silly things. They are beautiful, and there is just something about watching the flock interact amongst themselves that is awe-inspiring.

Day dreaming: I would like to keep a small heritage flock or two. Maybe 4 or 5 hens with one roo, and would tractor them around the yard. 

I would like a breed that goes broody, and raises chicks well with little intervention. Something rare, but pretty, and not so unique as to be undesireable. I like the heavier bodied, dual purpose breeds (So its worth it to butcher them when they pass their laying years), that forage well. Not something super flighty.

I have been doing alot of strategic googling and in one of my dream flocks, I think I really like the Silver Dorkings. I am also thinking, in another dream flock, of Speckled Sussex.

I would like to mostly use eggs for personal use and sell some on the side, and sell chicks as well whenever hens go broody. Do any of yall make any profit off of selling chicks and eggs? Even if its just breaking even?


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## RickaRae (Aug 12, 2013)

I have no advice yet, but that's my dream, too! I LOVE my chickens, too! I'm now the "Crazy Chicken Lady" (I'm up to about 60+/- birds, but seriously, who's counting???).


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## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

We have done well, but we incubate. I have several of my own breeds, and for other breed I like, but don't have Roos for, I work with other farms around and buy fertile eggs from them. I tracked my last 3 batches of abot 80 eggs. After the cost of food, litter, buying some eggs, and such, I found a profit of around $300 over about 6 months. This is selling mostly Straight Run. Now, $300 sounds good, but, if I account for the time I spend, and the electric on the incubator and brooder heat lams and all it to mention the brooder boxes, growing pens, and such, I am probably loosing money. I like to not add that, so at least I feel like I sustain my hobby. We also sell eggs, although out of 40 +/- hens, we only have about 13 laying right now. Selling at 4 a doz, and spending $30 for 50 lb feed, we loose about $150 or mor a month right now on eggs. So, selling chicks kinda supplements that until these new ladies mature!


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## BuckeyeChickens (Jul 11, 2012)

Shayanna said:


> Day dreaming: I would like to keep a small heritage flock or two. Maybe 4 or 5 hens with one roo, and would tractor them around the yard.
> 
> I would like a breed that goes broody, and raises chicks well with little intervention. Something rare, but pretty, and not so unique as to be undesireable.
> 
> ...


Welcome Shayanna! I have been keeping and breeding Buckeyes since 2002 (they are a Heritage breed but not as rare as they were 10 years ago) and I sell hatching eggs and day old chicks. The short answer to your question about making a profit doing this is...."Very little if any"!!! Most of us do this out of love for a breed and it takes several years to build a reputation as a reputable breeder. Sure, if you get an extremely rare breed you can ask a fortune for eggs....look at Greenfire Farm for example but that doesn't guarantee you will sell at those high prices for years to come! If you are new to poultry it can take years to establish a flock of QUALITY breeders unless you find a good honest mentor who can help you get started. I see far too many people go off and buy "rare" hatching eggs on ebay one year and next year they are in business selling their hatching eggs from a highly inbred flock that may not look like the breed they think it is!

My advice to you is once you select a breed you want start searching for a breeder who has been at it longer than 1-3 years with that breed! Breed clubs can be a good place to start and poultry shows are another....stay away from ebay & BYC! The breeder you find might be on the other side of the country but that's okay, don't worry about that. Learn ALL you can about the breed and how to breed it properly before jumping into buying fowl. Pay for a good breeding pair or Trio....don't buy chicks or hatching eggs! Finally, get a current copy of the APA's Standard of Perfection and compare your breeding stock to the standard for that breed. Breed to the standard for at least 2-3 years before you sell a single chick or hatching egg just so you can verify your birds meet the Standard!


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I'll throw oppositional opinion in the mix...there is one thread on BYC that is a must when discussing heritage fowl breeding and has some of the top breeders in the nation, bar none. Some of the main contributors are the men that are judging at those national poultry shows....and they have been breeding heritage fowl for decades,not merely years.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/400344/heritage-large-fowl-thread


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