If you are considering getting farm animals, you may have heard some breeds described as heritage and others described as hybrid.  Simply put, a heritage breed is from original stock and can date back to long before industrial agriculture took over much of the breeding of these farm animals.  Today, many of the heritage breeds pioneers raised have gone extinct, and many more are on the way toward eradication.  For this reason, many urban homesteaders and small farms are choosing to raise heritage breeds to help preserve these pieces of our history.

Hybrid breeds are a combination of two or more breeds, designed to maximize production in an industrial setting.  Hybrids will not breed true to type because they are from two breeds.  For example, the Black Star chicken breed can only be produced by crossing a Barred Rock with either a New Hampshire Red or Rhode Island Red.

Industrialized breeds such as Holstein cows, Angus cows, Suffolk sheep, Leghorn chickens and New Zealand rabbits are all bred specifically for increasing productivity, sometimes at the cost of health and vigor.  For a typical backyard farmer, heritage breeds will prove hardy, adaptable and easy to care for while producing quality meat, eggs and dairy.

If you are considering owning these farm animals, look for the strength and longevity of a heritage breed and know that you will be helping to preserve a rich part of our food history.  In the coming weeks, we will talk about specific heritage breeds in each animal group, so stay tuned for more heritage breed information.