I want ONE breed...DUMB???

[762]

Getting ready to find some new chicks and build a coop while they start to mature. Seems like it would be nearly impossible to prohibit interbreeding without a lot of work, I want to find the right breed of dual purpose bird. I don't want to cross-breed anything because I want the natural traits of the birds I choose to remain intact. We want brooders that produce a good amount of eggs but also, eventually meat.

I want one breed because I do not want to depend on a hatchery to provide brooders for my egg layers, etc. If I have more than one breed of rooster, there will be no way for me to know which rooster has fertilized which eggs, etc. My ideal is to buy chicks once, and create a sustainable flock from those chicks.

From what I've read, Orpingtons seem pretty perfect. Forage well, generally too big for hawks but relatively quick on the ground for their size, 4-5 large eggs per week, great brooders and mothers, and good size for eating. Still researching breeds, though.

Regardless of which breed I go with, am I naive in thinking this can be done?

 

[Aquira]

I know some people are pretty happy with Delaware's as dual purpose birds, maybe look into them?

 

[BlueBaby]

There's nothing wrong with wanting a flock of only one breed. I have chosen to do the same as what you are planning to do, but I also added being auto-sexing to what I wanted for mine. I currently have 2 of my 7 girl's that are being broody right now.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

You make a VERY good point. It seems there are more and more barnyard mutts because it's so tough to separate by breed when you have many. The only draw back is not being able to tell them apart really easily (like if you have kids that are hell bent on naming them.) I like where you're going with Orpingtons and you could get different color's of Orpington maybe..... They are very sweet, good layers and thought some people don't like the color Buff, they are usually very attractive!!

 

[PandaGirl]

I wanted the same thing, and I got Orpingtons and am very happy with them. 1 year old and already had a mama sit on 3 eggs and hatch them out. But, I got them from Murry McMurry and because they want to use good egg layers as there breeding flock and are less worried about how heavy they are, they are not as big as I though they were going to be. They have just had there heaviness breed out of them in the hatchery. They are still large, just not as big as they would be if you had gotten them from a breeder who is trying to get the birds to be a true dual purpose. But, I think I would still try them for meat. Maybe someone who has gotten them from both places can speak to this more.

 

[PandaGirl]

Also, we have 3 colors of Orpingtons.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

Nothing wrong with wanting one specific breed, especially since you want to breed your own replacements. I personally started with a mixed flock and, while I still want to keep some spare layers for egg sales, I intend to primarily breed my Blue Australorps because I absolutely fell in love with them.

Where, in general, are you? Climate matters, so if you put your location into your profile people can give you better-targeted advice.

For example, while chickens are, in general, hardy, adaptable animals, some breeds are more cold-tolerant, others more heat-tolerant, etc.

 

[Coops Dad]

No, that's excellent reasoning on your part. You'd need to keep track of breeding and add in fresh blood from time to time to avoid the British royalty inbreeding thing, at the same time selecting for the traits you're looking for.

Before the Anglophiles get their knickers twisted at the aspersions cast upon those who rule by birthright, my grandfather was a Welshman descended from a long and intricately woven tapestry of Welshmen. He left home in WWI to fly in the US Army Air Force and married a blonde-haired, blue eyed Italian woman from northern Italy. She was probably the meanest grandmother a child could have and I once asked him if she was like that when he married her. He said yes, she always had a wicked tongue. I asked, well why did you marry her then? He answered "some day, laddie, you'll understand there are bigger reasons to marry than love, fame or fortune. Sometimes you have to marry in new blood! If I didn't, you and your little brother might've had seven toes." No one had told him that I was born with 6 on one foot and 4 on the other but my folks had the supernumerary one from the one foot transplanted to address the deficit on the other so I APPEARED normal on the outside.

J/K

It was actually 7 and 3.

In spite of having a super hot second cousin, the whole "don't marry kin" thing freaked me out so bad that I married a Puerto Rican lady because no one in our clans had Latino or Hispanic surnames as far back as the records were kept.

 

[762]

Yes, I was just looking into Delawares as well. I read they are pretty disease-resistant, which is a plus. The downside is that they are really noisy, where Orpingtons are relatively quiet (for chickens I guess). I think we would get annoyed at birds constantly cackling and roosters constantly crowing. But that should be a minor point.

Also, I don't care about their appearance whatsoever. If they are ugly and they serve their purpose, so be it. I just don't want them to be mean. I like the idea of my kids being able to handle or just be around them without fear of getting spurred or pecked!

 

[762]

Sorry I am in central Virginia. We get ALL the weather, but our snow is pretty minimal. It can get in the teens but most winter days stay in the 40s. I'll adjust my profile!