The Critical list has been designed to give an indication to new hobbyist that some breeds are more or less common than others. In this way the list acts as a guide so that you can, if you wish choose to source a breed/variety that requires more support than another. Unfortunately, many new hobbyists are choosing to purchase ex battery hens, due to the publicity they recieve on TV rather than a useful and rare traditional breed.Therefore the battery hen (a commercial throwaway) has in effect flooded the market. Meaning that many traditional breeds and varieties are not necessarily growing in numbers.
The data for the critical list has been compiled from the use of breeders directory, especially the information gathered by Poultry Shop and Britannic Rare Breeds and from personal experience. You will not truely learn of the rarity of a breed until you try to source it. By trying to find breeders, checking directories, phoning around, visiting breeders all over the country, comparing stock and comparing the variation that can occur. You will learn more than is written in any book and truely appreciate the numbers of stock in existence. However, all figures are an estimate and it is possible with all breeds and varieties for there to be a hidden flock of say 100 or more birds yet to be recognised, that could alter the list.
Despite the potential discrepancy. The critical list is quite possibly the most comprehensive and accurate poultry watchlist going.
Chickens
| <50 | <100 | <200 | <400 | <600 | <1000 | 1000+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buff Marsh Daisy | White Dorking | White Sussex | Black Scots Dumpy | Ixworth | Silver Grey Dorking | Traditional Light Sussex |
| Cuckoo Dorking | Brown Marsh Daisy | Red Sussex | Scots Grey | Dark Indian Game | Speckled Sussex | Buff Orpington |
| Black Hamburgh | Jubilee Indian Game | Red Dorking | Old English Pheasant Fowl | Silver Sussex | ||
| Brown Sussex | Spanish | Lincolnshire Buff | Carlisle Old English Game | Buff Sussex | ||
| Blue Laced Indian Game | Rhodebar | Cuckoo Scots Dumpy | Silver Spangled Hamburgh | Cream Legbar | ||
| Coronation Sussex | Oxford Old English Game | Dark Dorking | Sebright | Derbyshire Redcap | ||
| Brussbar | Legbar | Minorca | Rosecomb | |||
| Wybar | Andalusian | Norfolk Grey | ||||
| Wheaten Marsh Daisy | Welbar | |||||
| White Scots Dumpy | Modern Game |
Ducks
| <50 | <100 | <200 | <400 | <600 | <1000 | 1000+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanbridge | Traditional Aylesbury | Abacot Ranger | Silver Appleyard | Khaki Campbell | Aylesbury Cross | |
| White Ancona | Welsh Harlequin | Buff Orpington | ||||
| Blue Orpington | Dark Campbell | Magpie | ||||
| White Campbell | Silver Bantam | |||||
| Shetland | Miniature Silver Appleyard |
Geese
| <50 | <100 | <200 | <400 | <600 | <1000 | 1000+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shetland | West Of England | |||||
| Brecon Buff |
NB:- Most breeders and exhibitors maintain only small flocks of perhaps 10 birds or less of each breed. The above estimations may be optimistic as good quality true to type birds of some breeds or varieties are very few and far between. Some breeders may claim to sell in excess of the number stated above each year. What has to be considered is that not all birds sold will survive, 50% are cockerels and all the time old breeding stock is dieing off or being culled. Furthermore most of these traditional british rare breeds in particular the harder to find ones are maintained purely by old generations of retired poultry keepers that are now downsizing their flocks.
