>>963577It depends. Are you raising the animal to sell live, processing for meat, or selling their products? How good of a salesman are you?
Heritage breeds tend to have a certain disposition. Noisy, docile, aggressive, curious, it often runs in the bloodlines. They may take to your climate better. They may not put on as much meat as their commercial compatriots or take longer to do so.
The question is, can you get a higher per pound price for them? Does the meat taste better? Does the breed have a history in your region or is it just rare?
If you are selling live, yes. Generally you can find buyers who will pay more for a specific breed.
If you are selling their product, like eggs from chickens, ducks, geese, turkey, quails, etc, it depends. A mix is sometimes best. If the rarer bird does not produce as frequently as a more generic breed, than the generic can be the very reliable layer, while the rarer might have different colored eggs or something else to support the higher price. You already have a mark up for raising your flock in more humane conditions than a factory. Remember to consider: is there justification to charging more for a unique egg? (Taste, color, appeal to uniqueness, etc.)
If you are selling pheasant live to hunters, they will pay higher for a rarer breed.
If you are raising to process for meat it again depends. Can you get that higher price per pound? Go to farmer's markets, local meat auctions, etc, and see if they are selling. A cow has one calf. A sow has a whole litter of piglets. Are you buying feed, grazing on your own land, or supplementing with what you grow? If you are buying feed, a steer takes a certain time to get to butcher weight. A rarer breed may take longer, and thus cost more in feed. If you are grazing on your own land this is less of a problem. Are you butchering yourself? If you are outsourcing the butchering I would say no.
tl;dr it depends. Do your homework and look at things critically. Then decide.
