Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

Do you find yourself wishing Canada had access to many of the birds available worldwide? I do.

A good idea must be workable and not send anyone to the poorhouse.


If you could import any breed/colour from anywhere in the world, what would it be?
Where would it come from?

Lengthy comments and ideas welcome.

Working on an outside the box concept, more details to follow

I would want ocellated turkeys, but it would most definitely send me to the poorhouse. And probably to the nuthouse as well, as I suspect they'd be more fragile than domesticated turkeys.
I think it would be fun to maybe own some ayam ketawa someday...and, Polverara chickens have recently caught my eye... though I think I could recreate those fairly easily...maybe lol. I'd love to maybe get some European Jersey Giants, as I know their bloodlines would be pretty far removed from my own...and I really like the look of the U.K. standard Araucana as opposed to the American SOP birds...
Uh oh, you got my wheels churning.
I do not need more chickens. Well, maybe more Giants.

I always thought the Mearns Quail, Prairie chicken, or capercaille (giant Russian spruce grouse) would be great as domesticated birds.
Europe has massive numbers of breeds or colour varieties not seen here.

Imports from US or UK definitely not unachievable. Most people give up due to high costs and a lot for a single person to take on. Usually includes quarantine etc.

What if a group or committee attempted this regularly, using the same government/university vets, customs brokers/consultants etc.? Building a platform and applying it.
Foreign vets guided by university vets.

Maybe a crowd funding endeavor, a system to direct funds to specific breeds/colours. Hopefully sanctioned by breeder clubs.
Just the beginning of maybe a plan.

The reality is a situation of supply and demand. There are few "hobbyists" that take a breed and promote it and keep bloodlines healthy. To do it right is a lot of time and energy (and a bit of money) and who has time for that? Most folks want to try a bunch of different breeds (myself included) and most "breeds" are a result of landraces or clubs. The other issue is the population density of Europe, and rules that allow backyard birds, making it somewhat easier. Most breeds are a result of a dedicated breeder or group (a life's work) and then the breeder grows old and no one continues their work. Most breeds (or bloodlines) almost die out (and many do) before being rediscovered and revived by some new folk. There's a dozen breeds already here that need a few dedicated folk to improve them. (And some existing breeds could certainly use some "new" European blood).

If I could go back in time I would see Jim Cybulski of Renfrew (long deceased) and get some of his dark cornish (he imported birds from England in the early 1980's). I was a teenager then and when I got back into birds (8 years ago) his birds are long gone. I'd read about standard Brahma's from the late 1800's (some birds were close to 20 lbs!), or original White Chanteclers or Albertans (partridge chanteclers) or some original black Javas or Scots Dumpy or Buckeyes or Light Sussex (they were meat birds; I undersand True North Farms has great Sussex). Mottled Houdans are also described as meat birds (I've never had any but doubt they meet that description today).
Murray McMurray's catalog has Lakenvelders as a "small meat bird" (I bought some from them and they didn't meet that description).

Some of the black rosecombs I had as a teen would also float my boat (30 years have passed and I still think of them). Or the pair of standard white Old English Games (I never did hatch a chick from them; the hen had one eye that was a real "snake" eye), or the Giant Tenant Pigeons (I had no luck with them either). I've never seen an example of either of those birds in 30 years and numerous google searches have proven fruitless.

Heck I saw some gorgeous blue bantam Wyandottes at a bird sale three years ago and they haunt me still. (My uncle in Germany had some gorgeous white bantams in the mid 1980's and they haunt me as well.)
Maybe my memory has elevated these birds to a level higher than they were, but I would like to see and hold them again.

The moral of the story: share your passion for birds with others...especially teens; and pass your birds' "progeny" along as well.

Love the grey jungle fowl and there are some in BC but I'd want a nice heated aviary to show them to best advantage.
I suspect Columbian Wyandottes would be on the list too.

Some Doms from the old lines. Most of what is around today have been bred up from cackle or mcmurry stock...good lines but to have some that were known to come from the old Voter or Hyman lines of the 70s, that can be traced back breeder to breeder to the 1820's would be fantastic.

Some Red Dorkings from Dick Horstman in Pennsylvania

I would import Ga Dong Cao. Some countries in Europe have a few but there rarely seen outside Vietnam. if you start a group or are doing some imports let me know im in.