Chicken
New Hampshire
Watch: Fewer than 5,000 breeding birds in the US with 10 or fewer primary breeding flocks
Origin: New Hampshire and Eastern United States
Producers: Frank Reese, Good Shepherd Ranch
History: The New Hampshire is a beautifully red-feathered and fast-growing breed that epitomizes American innovation and quality. Prized for its rapid early growth, heavier breast development, and solid egg-laying ability, this newer breed was able to dethrone the Plymouth Rock as America’s #1 chicken in the 1930s.
The many important traits that made the New Hampshire popular in the past still make it a highly marketable and critically important Standardbred specimen. While today, many industrial hybrids such as the “Red Ranger” are regularly confused with the New Hampshire, true quality stock from this breed is very hard to find.
Barred Rock
Threatened: A 100% authentic historic Barred Rock are almost impossible to find
Origin: New York State
Producers: Frank Reese, Good Shepherd Ranch
History: The Plymouth Rock, America’s first officially recognized breed of chicken, reigned as king of the United States’ broiler industry for over 100 years. Its reliability, adaptability, health, and quality kept it immensely popular until the rise of the Cornish cross hybrid in the mid-1900s.
While today, millions of striped birds in the United States are sold each year bearing the name of this iconic breed, true Plymouth Rocks are few and far between. This storied past and the many important traits the Plymouth Rock holds all make it crucially important to the future of Standardbred broiler production in the United States.
Jersey Giants
Watch: Fewer than 5,000 breeding birds in the US with 10 or fewer primary breeding flocks
Origin: New Jersey
Producers: Frank Reese, Good Shepherd Ranch
History: In the 1890’s the Black Brothers bred for a very large roasting chicken for the New York market. The Jersey Giant was created as a replacement for turkey that easily fit into a New York City oven. It is still the largest of all domesticated chickens.
Cornish Game (Old English Game)
Threatened: Fewer than 1,000 breeding birds in the US with 7 or fewer primary breeding flocks
Producers: Frank Reese, Good Shepherd Ranch
History: The Cornish is probably the most misunderstood and endangered of all the important breeds in the United States. Its true history is lost in time, but it is given credit for development in Cornwall, England.
Originally a fighting bird, its short, bulldog-like body eventually became prized for its meatiness, superior breast size, and flavor. While the modern-day “Cornish cross hybrid” and the so-called “Cornish game hen” (just a young Cornish cross) have some genes derived from the Cornish, they could not be more different from their partial ancestor.
The Cornish is a very slow-growing bird and a poor egg layer, which is not marketable in itself, but when crossed with other Standardbred birds, it helps to greatly improve the carcass quality and breast size of the resulting offspring. These crosses are healthy and highly marketable heritage birds, which can better compete against the industrially produced “Cornish cross” and “Freedom Ranger” F14 hybrids that dominate today’s broiler market.
Columbia Wyndotte
Threatened: A 100% authentic historic Columbia Wyndotte is almost impossible to find
Origin: New York
Producers: Frank Reese, Good Shepherd Ranch
History: Developed to live in upstate New York and in cold climates, this bird is known for its great amount of yellow fat, prized by chefs for its flavor. While there are Wyndottes that can be traced back 100s of years, the American Wyndotte was accepted into the American Poultry Association in the 1890’s. The breed comes in different colors including silver laced, white, and black.
Rhode Island Whites
Threatened: Fewer than 1,000 breeding birds in the US with 7 or fewer primary breeding flocks
Origin: Rhode Island
Producers: Frank Reese, Good Shepherd Ranch
History: Part of the movement to improve the quality of birds from 1910-1930, the Rhode Island White was originally developed to be raised as a hearty dual production bird in the cold climates like Maine and Vermont. They have small combs and small wattles making them less susceptible to frost bite. A very unique breed, they were recognized as a pure breed in the 1920’s.
Delaware Chicken
Watch: Fewer than 5,000 breeding birds in the US with 10 or fewer primary breeding flocks
Producers: Frank Reese, Good Shepherd Ranch
History: The Delaware is a cross between the New Hampshire and Barred Rock chickens resulting in a “Delaware pattern” which is a white feathered bird with black barring on the tail, neck, and flight feathers. The Delaware was created because farmers wanted a white feathered bird for the market that was also delicious: New Hampshires and Barred Rocks were the meat kings of the time.