Dual purpose- but where to buy them?

[AinaWGSD]

Have you tried finding a breeder directory on the websites of the breed clubs for the breeds you're looking for? Finding a breeder is challenging these days. I'm looking to get back into buckeyes after losing my flock a few years ago and it took a while for me to track down breeders. The breeder we got our start from no longer breeds buckeyes and more than half the breeders on the breed club directories also no longer have buckeyes, but eventually I managed to get a few leads and am looking forward to setting eggs next month!

 

[AGeese]

That's a thing?!
That's cool.
I wonder if that's how I could send out my birds after the USPS induced trauma I experienced.

Yep there's a few of these services out there. I used this particular service when I bought from @ProbablyChickenRelated

Heather runs Hawton Home Farm and is very nice. Now understand to provide this service they coordinate orders with other farms/breeders so they can follow a route. This allows them to make money and be affordable.

That said if you're not concerned about your birds being transported with other birds then definitely give her a call.

 

[Amer]

Yep there's a few of these services out there. I used this particular service when I bought from @ProbablyChickenRelated

Heather runs Hawton Home Farm and is very nice. Now understand to provide this service they coordinate orders with other farms/breeders so they can follow a route. This allows them to make money and be affordable.

That said if you're not concerned about your birds being transported with other birds then definitely give her a call.

I love biosecurity. However, I also show my birds... so there's a balance.

 

[Rynoranch]

Didn't know that's what you were looking for. Most breeders sell adult birds because they want to keep all the eggs and chicks to pick from. They expect folks to hatch from the pairs themselves.
(Some people do sell hatching eggs though. I cannot because my hatch rates are really horrendous and I don't want to sell a bunch of dud eggs.)

I didn’t think to ask about buying grown birds.

 

[Rynoranch]

Have you tried finding a breeder directory on the websites of the breed clubs for the breeds you're looking for? Finding a breeder is challenging these days. I'm looking to get back into buckeyes after losing my flock a few years ago and it took a while for me to track down breeders. The breeder we got our start from no longer breeds buckeyes and more than half the breeders on the breed club directories also no longer have buckeyes, but eventually I managed to get a few leads and am looking forward to setting eggs next month!

Yes I have! That is the tricky part, right? A lot of people I’ve reached out to no longer raise chickens or they raise a different breed. I started to use the NPIP website and found quite a few breeders I never saw before. BUT let you tell ya, my eyeballs were about to fall out of my head. I was ready to stop staring at a screen for a few hours! Lol

 

[Miss_Lavransdatter]

Somebody farther up recommended Emmett Wilder for Dominiques, I'm going to second him! I'm on the east coast but if I'd been farther west I would have tried to buy from him.

Here is the Dominique Club of America breeder's directory: https://dominiqueclub.org/breeders-directory/. When I was looking for Doms I emailed everyone with large fowl close enough to my area and found someone in Ohio that way.

Another great resource is the Livestock Conservancy site. They have a breeder's directory too, you can search for any endangered breed (of the breeds you listed, only Dominiques are on that list). Here is the link: https://livestockconservancy.org/heritage-breeds/breeders-directory/.

Finally, if your goal is a sustainable flock that you can continually keep up without having to buy new birds all the time, I would highly recommend getting only one breed and learning a little about breeding. Too many breeds get hard to keep up, you need too many pens, cocks, etc, and honestly I think the only benefit to multiple breeds for the same purpose is fun or aesthetics. Which if that's what you're after, great! Do that. But if your goal is sustainability, get one breed and do it well. Best of luck to you!