Breeds of backyard chickens

[chickkrakidd]

Please everyone comment the breeds of chickens you have and which breeds are your favorites. I am wanting to see what breeds are favorites among everyday people so that I can look into& research probly the Top 10 favorite breeds. I want to start a flock of a couple of popular breeds to simply hatch out and sell to neighbors, friends, family, local small town feed stores, and of course BYC people!! Also for those that keeps ducks, turkeys& even geese, comments your favorite breeds of those as well. Thank you BYC neighbors!!

 

[BonRae67]

Not sure as to a favorite. I do like polish, silkie, EE, RIR. I like them all they all offer different personalities and traits so hard to choose.

 

[ShellyBear]

Mille fleur bantam, a lap and kid chicken. Sebrights bantam, a work of art, can be shy but if worked with will become friend. Cochin bantam roo, takes care of the girls and the cochin hens are adorable.

Turken girl, Featherless on neck are playful and friendly.

I Love, love, love, my sebrights, mille fleur's, cochins, turkens, ester eagers.

 

[ShellyBear]

OMG my computer totally messt up my post

Hope you can understand.

 

[HanwellChickens]

Oh my goodness, lets see... I have Rhode Island reds, Buff orpingtons, Astralorps, Easter eggers, Silver Laced wynadotte, Welsummers, Bantam Cochins, Barred Rock, Leghorns, Dominique, Russian Orloff & Chanteclors. It's really hard to pick a favorite because they all have their little quirks and funny personalities.

 

[blkjak]

I have silkies, cochins, french black copper marans, barred rocks, ameraucanas, chanteclers and mixed sussex/rirs. I love them all but for our cold winters the chanteclers are my favorite. Cold hardy, no combs to get frostbite, still lay in the winter, beautiful light yellow chicks, freindly and beautiful big white chickens.

 

[jeslewmazer]

For me American Game is my forever favorite. However, they do require a great deal more space and time. Now on the lines of regular poultry my favorite are Sussex. They are a gentle, and do make a good table bird. The hens are good layers and moms. A pit fall for me is the straight comb, because of the occasional freezes that can cause frost bite. Other Breeds that I have and like are EEs, Wyandotte, and OEGB (but so far I like all bantams). I have had Dorkings , and I love them, but they are very poor at predator evasion. So free range with caution. I will be trying some other breeds soon (I hope) Kraienkoppes and Sumatras.

 

[Michael OShay]

I've had dozens of different breeds and hybrids over the past 50 years, but I am currently down to 4 breeds (actually 2 breeds and 2 hybrids) in my flock; Black Australorps, Buff Orpingtons, Black Sex Links (Black Stars), and Easter Eggers (because my granddaughter, pictured in my avatar, loves their colored eggs). My favorite standard breed are Black Australorps. They are extremely hardy, calm and gentle (my children, and now my granddaughter, made lap pets of them, and our Orpingtons as well), and Australorps are the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds. However, my very favorite hens are Black Sex Links (Black Stars), which are hardy and friendly, egg laying machines. I've raised them for years, and they have been my best layers, consistently churning out more than 300 eggs per hen per year.

 

[ChristieB]

I have one each of light Sussex, buff Sussex, barnevelder blue laced gold Wyandotte, pekin, and bantam araucana (Australian standard)

From trolling here for years and from talking to others is say the most popular backyard breeds would be
Rhode Island Red
Isa browns
red and black sex links
Sussex of any kind
Wyandotte of any kind
Ameracana
Easter egger
Silkies (especially for kids who love the fluff)
Buff orpington
Australorps
And Barred rocks

Ofcourse then there are meat birds but for your average family the above seem to be what they go for

 

[Michael OShay]

From trolling here for years and from talking to others is say the most popular backyard breeds would be
Rhode Island Red
Isa browns
red and black sex links
Sussex of any kind
Wyandotte of any kind
Ameracana
Easter egger
Silkies (especially for kids who love the fluff)
Buff orpington
Australorps
And Barred rocks

This is a pretty accurate list and it can be condensed down even more. For example Isa Browns and Red Sex Links are essentially the same bird. Isa Brown is one of a number of labels under which some hatcheries market their Red Sex Links. Also, most Ameraucanas that people refer to in their posts and conversations are actually Easter Eggers, as true Ameraucanas are relatively rare and expensive. In fact, in terms of total sales Easter Eggers are now the most popular kind (they are actually hybrids and not a breed) in the US. Sex Links run a close second as they are purchased in large numbers by the laying houses, and Cornish cross are third because of their popularity as meat birds (virtually all of the chicken you buy in the grocery store and eat in restaurants is Cornish cross).