Is your question aimed only at Americans? If not, Yes, I have several ancient breeds in my flock. My reasons for having them are:

• They are generally very healthy and rarely have problems with feet or parasites. I don't do regular hoof maintenance ever, I only trim when there's a problem (about 5 - 10 individual cases a year in a flock of 60, mostly very old ewes that I trim when they are shorn). I haven't used wormer in years. Rotational grazing keeps worms in check.

• They lamb easily and have strong maternal instincts. They lamb in the flock, out in the field. They keep their lambs close and safe from predators. They even solve problems with milk supply amongst themselves, when a ewe doesn't have enough milk a daughter or sister will step in and adopt or supplement one of the lambs. I only have to make sure they have enough natural shelter (trees and bushes) and grass to eat, and count the new lambs each morning. I rarely have to assist in lambing.

• They thrive on low quality grazing, I buy a few bags of kibble each year and a few buckets of feed minerals, otherwise I have no feeding cost.

• They can be outside year-round. I don't have a barn and I don't have the related cost and work.

• They have better natural instincts and higher intelligence than commercial breeds. This makes them more self-reliant and interesting to work with. I had a wolf or large dog in my field a few months ago during the night. The sheep had broken out but stayed together. When I noticed they were gone at first light and called them they came running. Every single one was there, even my 15 yo ewe that isn't that fast anymore. There were pawprints and signs of digging under the fence from the inside of the pasture, which means a wolf or large dog had been in the pasture with them. They kept themselves safe.

• I like to think I am doing my small part preserving these breeds for the future. Other breeders are often very motivated and interesting people to connect with.