“Until six years ago I was a complete novice and living in Melbourne. But my interest in heritage breeds was piqued by Backyard Poultry Naturally by Alana Moore. She advised all back yard poultry keepers to maintain a rare breed if they possibly could,” she said.
Carla said that since the 1900s we’ve lost half of our domesticated breeds. “For example, a silver fox rabbit breeder, said her rabbits were rarer than pandas”.
She said heritage poultry have been bred for their region to be hardy, great foragers, and have genetic lineage to resist diseases and parasites. Hence Toulouse geese, Sumatran and Spanish chooks.
However Carla said modern breeds designed for maximum production do not fare so well. She explained that the Broad Breasted White turkey, the one usually eaten for Thanksgiving in the US, cannot breed without assistance. Hence there are jobs available there for turkey milkers.
Isa Browns, Hylines and other commercial breeds too, inbred specifically to endlessly produce eggs, have many not addressed problems as a result, she said.
Carla said she chose her chickens for the colour of their feathers and their eggs. So she has blue, green, pink, white and brown egg producers.
When Carla's 'Molly Rose Heritage Eggs' are available she sells them at Fruits ‘n’ Fare for $8 a dozen. But one dozen blue eggs will sell in Melbourne for as much as $30 a dozen.
Carla also said she was attracted to the sustainability and organic concepts of permaculture and was applying its concepts on their farm. See www.designingpermaculture.com for general principles.
David Palmer