Britannic rare breeds keenly breed and promote our native poultry breeds. We maintain the most diverse collection in the country and where possible aim to make these rare and traditional poultry easily available to all. Each of these breeds has its own character, vibrant colour or utility uses and many are highly regarded as excellent utility breeds’.
The Egg laying ability and table qualities of the White Sussex and Ixworth are hard to beat among any other breeds. Traditional light weight breeds such as the Marsh Daisy or Derbyshire Redcap may lack the egg laying ability and body weight of many but will still lay ample quantities of eggs for the average home. Their colours and external features make them especially attractive to look at and their energetic nature is enjoyable to watch. The perserverance of these breeds is astonishing but the decline in numbers followed by unscrupulous breeding and inbreeding has had it effects.
Today it is very hard to source good standard, reliable strains of traditional British breeds. To find a useful or hardy utility strain is even harder. Buying birds or eggs from experienced breeders is no guarantee, odd birds may still arise whether from accidental crossing or from the use of unproven stock. Unfortuately this is truly the nature of keeping and breeding traditional poultry today. Fortunately it not all doom and gloom and with a basic understanding of what you are looking for and careful selection of suppliers, problems can be avoided.
Many traditional poultry breeds have become little known and since the 1940’s, very uncommon in the wake of modern intensive breeding and farming methods. High quality, flavoursome poultry has fallen by the way side in favour of high yields and minimised feed consumption. Unfortunately, traditional breeds cannot compete with modern hybrids for intensive, low quality egg or meat production but they are favoured for niche ‘high quality’ orientated markets. They cannot be beaten for back garden and smallholder rearing as they have evolved for reliable free range rearing. Egg laying ability may reach 100 to 250 eggs per year so it is important for poultry keepers to recognise how many eggs they are likely to consume. An inconspicuous hybrid that lays more than 300 eggs a year may be an unnecessary extravagance. So a British breed that’s pleasing to the eye and friendly natured may be a better alternative for the relaxed and enthusiastic back garden poultry keeper.
