Official BYC Poll - What Breed Characteristic Is Most Important? - Page 3

They need to be smarter than the local coyotes!!!

One of the reasons people keep domestic fowl is because they help keep flies and ticks down on a farm or estate- Organically. Their capacity to do this keeps my family and herds safer. Selecting a breed that actually can do this -without ruining the garden- without getting eaten this is key.
-Outside of this capacity- the first attribute I look for will be the survivability- and evolutionary potential of the stock. If I order a dozen New Hampshire Reds in the year 2000 and no one else is all that interested in chickens- how many of the original founders will I still have by the year 2010? How many of chickens left on my farm will be descendants of the founders I purchased in the year 2000? The answer would probably be a very few because New Hampshires are not particularly good foragers. Their impact on invertebrate pests would be negligible compared to the damage the gardens would incur by their heavy feet and bills. Predators -foxes -and raccoons primarily- they will have eliminated any number of that original founder group within the first two years. They make lousy parents as well...

Now- if I maintained the flock as a true steward and insured that the predators never managed to strike- the birds were kept clear of the gardens-I fed them on the best ultrakibble and kept their enclosures free of poultry smut   I dutifully collected eggs and hatched them artificially, rearing the chicks with the mastery of a Peruvian peasant of Japanese extraction- I would still be maintaining some percentage of that flock.

But the question here is what was the feasibility involved in maintaining that breed stock? If I kicked the bucket suddenly would there be any value of the birds beyond being your run of the mill chickens? Would a new intern or employee manage that bloodstock responsibly- would they able to perpetuate that line with no little effort?


When a person or family is ready for a flock of chickens- i wish they would seriously consider the long term health and sustainability of that flock. But I implore them to think about keeping closed flocks- only selecting one or two easily managed flocks. That breed or breeds should be entirely cold and  heat tolerant for your latitude. I try and imagine a breed that will survive with the least intervention- that will self-perpetuate on their own.

-the gist of it for me- is that I want to select the appropriate founders of a small flock that can provide my family with eggs and potentially meat as well ( though its a bit better to just rear meat birds separately) - I want for that founder flock to be the last birds or very nearly the last birds I purchase for my farm or estate.

They will find a large percentage of their feed by free ranging.  They will self-select for mates and naturally rear their own chicks year after year.

Here is my list of referrals for the small farm that intends to set their birds loose for a good part of the year:

1. Cold latitudes- High altitudes- the good old Ameraucana aka North American Quechua and the Barnesvelder { incredibly hardy; long living, fantastic layers their entire lives-  wonderful aesthetic-quiet-friendly-
There are a few drawbacks- I don't like the hatchery stock males at all. Their typical crowing belies the level of genetic introgression from big industry commercial breeds. The hatchery stock also tends to be a bit heavy on the leg- their garden tending tends to be a bit more destructive than one might hope- but its not as bad as that of a typical commercial breed like the New Hampshire Red ( which is arguably a superior dual purpose breed on many points).

2. Hot latitudes- Low to moderate altitudes- the Langshan- and the Fayoumi- fantastic layers -great foragers- beautiful aesthetics- easy on the garden- especially Fayoumis-
Drawbacks- these white egg layers tend to be noisy. The Fayoumi tend to be a bit flighty when confined. They don't live to the great ages of some other breeds- again with the exception of the Fayoumi- and many people don't like white eggs.

3. Hot Summers Cold Winters- Araucana; Welsumer, Black Java

4. Muggy Summers Wet Winters- Spitzhauben; Black Sumatran, Marans

5. The experienced small farmer- work with a heritage or new heritage breed- and don't go for the mixed flock routine. Pick a breed and work with that breed.
If you have more than one breed keep them in separate installments within your farm- maintain them as separate flocks.
If you decide to have mixed flocks for eggs- and eye candy -so be it- but you probably wont be producing birds to lay eggs next year- the farmer I'm talking to is going to become her or his own hatchery- please don't read this as snarky-


My referral for the large estate with generations old flower gardens and picky neighbors:
These birds are maintained primarily for their tick and other invertebrate pest control; egg production and finally aesthetics. Predators tend to be even more prevalent in these situations than on the typical farm because of the high volume of easily accessible food made available for foxes, raccoons and opossums - hawks and owls-
Each of these breeds is intrinsically valuable for cultural importance.

1. Quechua Olmec
2. Japanese White Silky ( you'll need to house the birds carefully)
3. Rapanui
4. Crested Mapuche
5. Yokohama
6. Lakenvelder ( the Hebrew's chicken)
7. Lady Katherine ( Pitcairn hen)



My referrals for the Backyard Chicken Maven centre around practicality and economics.

Predator issues in the suburbs seem to come largely in the form of neighbors dogs. If you keep your birds locked up all the time- its a no brainer-
Silkies are easy to handle and maintain- they live a very long time and are relatively productive egg layers if fed appropriately. They are also hardy in a wide range of temperatures. However, if you build an enclosure that is not predator proof you will be heartbroken and so will your kids.
If you live in an area where having free ranging chickens in your yard is still considered 'normal'- and want to actually make a bit of money selling hatching eggs and young of the year- go for a more valuable breed- sell to the educated consumer-

For those of you in the suburbs that need to take your hobby into something with more economic value -
Create your own lines of show birds or work with something a bit more unusual. By and large, you want a quiet bird that is calm and long-lived that produces plenty of eggs.
I'm biased towards breeds that represent the new heritage of sustainable agriculture; breeds that are super rare- and breeds that are really neat-

1. Black Java
2. Buckeye
3. Iowa Blue
4. Ohiki
5. Penedesenca
6. Pyncheon
7.Barnevelders
8.Madagascar Game
9.Green Mountain Copper Scotch
10.Pekin
11. Old Egyptian Bigawi ( versus New Egyptian Fayoumi)
12. Serama

Our chickens are pets (despite my desire to name them Stock, Strips and Nugget), but we wanted eggs, with a nice disposition. Australorps fit the bill - the kids love them, they are friendly, and I like their black feathers with a prism-y hint of green.

I chose Heritage/Endangered, but a better classification would have been Rare/Unusual.  I still expect some good eatin' eggs, but I love oddities....the color of the Marans and Ameraucanas eggs, the crest and "horns" on the Brabanters.....

they got to look funny... meat and eggs are bonus.

Wow, I'm the only person to choose meat qualities? Wow. I think I was thinking about the question wrong. I selected breeds that were known for their cold hardiness first, so I guess climate would be my most important BREED characteristic. I also choose heritage/endangered breeds, so that would perhaps come second.

I guess I answered the question based on what I am currently selecting INDIVIDUALS of these breeds for. I've decided I want to build a solid, large, fast growing frame first, and will work on the other characteristics after I nail that. I think it comes with my work in other species. I know good type and meat qualities are the hardest things to get and the easiest to lose, so I try to always keep that at the forefront, even though my ultimate goal is an attractive dual-purpose bird.

Temperament and personality, followed by looks and aesthetics for me. But my birds are pets so I don't care how they lay (I get more than enough eggs as it is with how many birds I have!), and I'm a vegetarian so meat is not even a factor at all.

One thing you failed to notice is that the temperament selection didn't say what type of temperament was desired. Some breeds are supposed to be 'sweet', just as some breeds are supposed to be 'aggressive'. Just because so many people choose temperament, that doesn't mean they don't 'use' their birds as well

I clicked "Heritage/Endangered", which is close I guess.  It wasn't an option, but I would have picked Dual Purpose.  I am looking at Buckeyes for next year because I want respectable layers that also dress out well and will set occasionally.  My goal is to have a sustainable "homestead" flock for meat and eggs and not have to buy hatchery chicks all the time!

Rob,
It was a little hard for me choosing 1 trait, that I look for.
But these are the most important to me when looking at breeds.

  1.  Temperament and Personalty
  2.  Looks, I love chickens with strange/wacky looks!
  3.  Heritage or Endangered

Reasons for looking for those traits first.

1. I prefer docile birds that can be easily handled, a rooster trying his luck with me will be sent to freezer camp.
2. I was in-gulfed by the way Polishes looked the first time I saw them, wacky crests just attract me to a breed. I'm also very curios about 5 toed breeds. Especially partridge Silkies and Houdans.
3. I'm totally for Heritage/Endangered breeds! Most of these breeds have none or very little presence in the show ring thus genetic pools are small and problems frequently occur. Meaning these breeds get forgotten and lost.