Circle Pond Farm

"Preserving Traditional and Rare Domestic Farm Breeds"

Why choose a heritage bird over a hybrid from a commercial hatchery?

1) More than half of the 70 breeds of heritage chickens in the United States and Canada are in danger of disappearing. (aka extinction) By buying a heritage breed you are actually helping to preserve rare breeds of poultry. To find out more about rare and endangered poultry try The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

2) Commercial cross breeds are not bred to maintain important traits, such as ability to forage for their own food in your backyard; eating earwigs, ticks and other nuisance insects.

3) Another trait not common in commercial layers or meat birds is tolerance to extreme cold or heat.  As these birds have been bred to survive under man-made conditions.  At Circle Pond Farm we do not heat our barns at all during the winter and have never incurred any losses due to the cold. 

4) In a backyard flock the natural instinct to avoid predators is always a plus.  Commercial birds don't always have this instinct and often fall victim to the neighbours dog or a hen hawk. 

5) If you are thinking of hatching your own chicks down the road and wish to forego the cost of an incubator, broodiness; the ability to set and hatch new chicks is an important trait.  In a commercial layer the poultry farmer does not want a bird that's taking time out from laying eggs to be a mother.  If you plan to raise chickens, you are much more likely to find this valuable quality in a heritage chicken breed.

6) Heritage breeds often have a higher resistance to disease than do commercial layers and meat birds.