You should be able to breed Bresse or Dixie Rangers as a sustainable flock. However, in order to keep the carcass size up, you will need to keep them from crossing with other breeds. I do believe that DR are a hybrid. But, my experience said that the size remained good for the first generation, even when putting a EE roo over a DR hen. So, it's my opinion that you would do ok for several generations if you kept a DR cockerel and a couple DR pullets. Those DR roos grow massive, so I would not want to keep one as a breeder in a standard layer flock.
@Beekissed really likes White Rocks. She says the carcass size is good, the egg production is good, and the breed is very hardy. A lot depends on how many people you are feeding, how much meat you tend to eat. And, whether you can free range without feeding the local predators. Could be that you will produce enough meat with a modest sized DP flock. Most flock keepers hatch a few chicks every year to replace the older hens. This provides a lot of cockerels, plus older hens to cull every year.
My suggestions: Try a number of different breeds. Keep a closed flock. I either: hatch my own chicks from my own flock, or buy day old chicks. I will sell some of my birds, but will never allow anything other than egg or day old chick to enter my property. The risk of bringing a "forever" disease onto my property/into my flock is too great to allow older birds to come here from someone else's property.
