NH Homesteader
Sustainability Master
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This coming week is International Heritage Breeds week. From the email I received from the Livestock Conservancy...
"Several factors have contributed to the demise of these rare or “Heritage” breeds, but the leading cause is an increasing reliance on only a few highly specialized breeds in modern agriculture. “The priority over the past century has been to increase farm animal productivity – producing more meat, milk, eggs, etc. – in the shortest amount of time possible” said Martin. “We’ve made incredible advances in production through selective breeding, but when we focus on only one trait like growth rate, we lose genetics that influence other qualities like parasite resistance, drought tolerance, mothering abilities, or flavor.” Heritage breeds tend to have more well-rounded traits and are often quite hardy, which makes them perfect choices for small to medium sized farms or backyards, especially those looking for a less intensive style of farming"
My husband and I raise heritage turkeys and chickens, and buy our heritage pigs from a local farmer.
We have found that our heritage breed birds are much more successful with less management, are more intelligent than a lot of the modern utility breeds (I'm thinking cornish x and broad breasted turkeys here). Our Dominiques don't lay an egg every day but they lay for years. Out 3 year old still lays every other day.
Who else is raising heritage breed livestock?
"Several factors have contributed to the demise of these rare or “Heritage” breeds, but the leading cause is an increasing reliance on only a few highly specialized breeds in modern agriculture. “The priority over the past century has been to increase farm animal productivity – producing more meat, milk, eggs, etc. – in the shortest amount of time possible” said Martin. “We’ve made incredible advances in production through selective breeding, but when we focus on only one trait like growth rate, we lose genetics that influence other qualities like parasite resistance, drought tolerance, mothering abilities, or flavor.” Heritage breeds tend to have more well-rounded traits and are often quite hardy, which makes them perfect choices for small to medium sized farms or backyards, especially those looking for a less intensive style of farming"
My husband and I raise heritage turkeys and chickens, and buy our heritage pigs from a local farmer.
We have found that our heritage breed birds are much more successful with less management, are more intelligent than a lot of the modern utility breeds (I'm thinking cornish x and broad breasted turkeys here). Our Dominiques don't lay an egg every day but they lay for years. Out 3 year old still lays every other day.
Who else is raising heritage breed livestock?
They are fairly quiet and the roo's make a good carcass. They're not huge, but I like the fact that they are tight feathered because they butcher cleaner than the loose feather breeds.
Quite lean, too. 
