we bred a showed poultry for years. Mostly Hamburgs, Phoenix and sumatra. We made about 13-14 shows a year from Maryland to ojklahoma. Only time I came close to breaking even was when we sold hatching eggs @ 25 bucks per 12 and shipped birds all over the USA. We only have a trio of black large fowl Cochins now along with a couple peafowl and Amherst pheasants.
The Gail Damerow book on poultry is maybe the best general chicken book. They are easy to keep, the fresh eggs are pretty darn good.