I want ONE breed...DUMB???

[Shadrach]

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?

Not at all naive. Single breed chicken keeping doesn't seem to be that popular in the US but it's quite common with serious chicken enthusiasts elsewhere.
You have already identified some of the advantages. You are likely to find more as you develop a sustainable flock which I won't go into here.

I wouldn't worry much about cold or heat tolerance. It's bit of a nonsense when you look at what little evidence there is. Within the temerature range you wrote most breeds will cope.

A few points I feel are worthwhile pointing out.
There is no chicken too big for hawks. The hawk risk depends on the type of hawks you have in your area.

To preserve the natural traits of a breed they need to be there in the first place. This will be a major problem if you buy chicks from a hatchery. You would be better off finding a reputable breeder, paying them a visit to see how they keep their chickens and make your own assesment of the breeders flock health.
What many people I know who are aiming for long term sustainable closed flock keeping is to buy a breeding pair. or two at around one year old. At a year old you can tell a lot more about the bird than you can when they are chicks and hopefully the chick type health problems will have already killed of those who fell sick.

What you don't write is how you intend to keep them and this is far more important when trying to decide on a breed.
If you are planning on any type of free ranging then foraging skills and predator awareness are more important than egg laying ability. Dead hens don't lay eggs.
If you're going to free range then the getting a breeding pairs from a breeder who free ranges their birds and broody hatches is really important. Yep, good breeders still do this rather than use an incubator. An incubator hatched chick and human reared doesn't know any of the things a mother hen teaches a chick and the probability is you will get more losses while they learn, if they learn.
I would consider some of the less common breeds.

 

[762]

Not at all naive. Single breed chicken keeping doesn't seem to be that popular in the US but it's quite common with serious chicken enthusiasts elsewhere.
You have already identified some of the advantages. You are likely to find more as you develop a sustainable flock which I won't go into here.

I wouldn't worry much about cold or heat tolerance. It's bit of a nonsense when you look at what little evidence there is. Within the temerature range you wrote most breeds will cope.

A few points I feel are worthwhile pointing out.
There is no chicken too big for hawks. The hawk risk depends on the type of hawks you have in your area.

To preserve the natural traits of a breed they need to be there in the first place. This will be a major problem if you buy chicks from a hatchery. You would be better off finding a reputable breeder, paying them a visit to see how they keep their chickens and make your own assesment of the breeders flock health.
What many people I know who are aiming for long term sustainable closed flock keeping is to buy a breeding pair. or two at around one year old. At a year old you can tell a lot more about the bird than you can when they are chicks and hopefully the chick type health problems will have already killed of those who fell sick.

What you don't write is how you intend to keep them and this is far more important when trying to decide on a breed.
If you are planning on any type of free ranging then foraging skills and predator awareness are more important than egg laying ability. Dead hens don't lay eggs.
If you're going to free range then the getting a breeding pairs from a breeder who free ranges their birds and broody hatches is really important. Yep, good breeders still do this rather than use an incubator. An incubator hatched chick and human reared doesn't know any of the things a mother hen teaches a chick and the probability is you will get more losses while they learn, if they learn.
I would consider some of the less common breeds.

Well, crap. Most if not all of the local breeders I have found are not offering chickens now. Your points are well taken. However, if I order 20 chickens and half or more get picked off, is it not logical to think that the ones that remain are the fittest and most wary, and when they brood new chicks, will pass those lessons on to them? It seems like either way, it will take time to build a flock.

This is something I wanted to do years ago, but circumstances in my life got in the way. I feel like things are going south quickly in this country, and there really seems to be a war on the simple life. I'm feeling like the time to pull the trigger on chickens is now and not wait until spring.

We live on 5 acres. We have about 2/3 of an acre fenced in the back yard (chainlink averaging almost 4 feet high). Will be building a coop, etc starting immediately as the chicks mature. I hunt a lot on my property and have only seen coyotes once, one regular raccoon, and no foxes. I'm sure there are opossums. I have no problem baiting predators in and shooting them.

 

[Shadrach]

Well, crap. Most if not all of the local breeders I have found are not offering chickens now. Your points are well taken. However, if I order 20 chickens and half or more get picked off, is it not logical to think that the ones that remain are the fittest and most wary, and when they brood new chicks, will pass those lessons on to them? It seems like either way, it will take time to build a flock.

This is something I wanted to do years ago, but circumstances in my life got in the way. I feel like things are going south quickly in this country, and there really seems to be a war on the simple life. I'm feeling like the time to pull the trigger on chickens is now and not wait until spring.

We live on 5 acres. We have about 2/3 of an acre fenced in the back yard (chainlink averaging almost 4 feet high). Will be building a coop, etc starting immediately as the chicks mature. I hunt a lot on my property and have only seen coyotes once, one regular raccoon, and no foxes. I'm sure there are opossums. I have no problem baiting predators in and shooting them.

Easy to write I'll grant you but a lifetime project deserves major effort and long term planning.
I've been caring for closed flock free rangers for over 20 years. I would rather pull up at a local farm and haggle for a pair of promising looking free range chickens than buy a hatchery bird. Barnyard mutts often have far better genetics because the weak have been weeded out of the flock through neglect, experience, predation and the environment.
So called heritage breeds are fine if you can source them from their countries of origin. Once they been "imported" and bred and bred from limited stock what you get is something that looks like the original breed if you're lucky.
It strikes me that you are after qualities that have little to do with how the bird looks so heritage breeds may not be your best option.
One doesn't shop at Wallmart for something one expects to last a lifetime. At least not in the countries I've visited.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Hoover is only of the only places still selling Orpingtons. There are lavender that hatch the same day as some Australorps. I have to order chicks with a minimum of 15 total and 5 per sex/breed. If I get 5 of each breed female and 5 of each unsexed, I could end up with quite a few roosters. Will the excess of roosters become a problem before they are old/big enough to be butchered?

Have you looked into My Pet Chicken? My girls are from there

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

https://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Baby-Chicks/Day-Old-Chicks-Buff-Orpington-p229.aspx
I have Marans and you can't beat a huge dark brown egg and friendly girls.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I'd recommend Javas, Orpingtons (English), and Black Australorps as dual-purpose.

 

[Percheron chick]

Nothing wrong with starting with hatchery birds. 95%, being conservative, of us will experience loss starting out with chickens. I'd much rather learn on a $5 hatchery bird then a $50 one.
You are going to get chickens that will have glaring faults. Hatcheries can't control pairings and do not cull like a small breeder will. Use this as a learning experience. No one starts out with perfect SOP stock.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

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?

@Pampered chicken girl

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Orpingtons are perfect for what you need, also barred rocks are good but I'm not sure about broodiness. You're not naive to think about only getting one breed. It's a good plan especially if you ever want to sell chicks or hatching eggs because you can be sure that they are pure.

 

[762]

Easy to write I'll grant you but a lifetime project deserves major effort and long term planning.
I've been caring for closed flock free rangers for over 20 years. I would rather pull up at a local farm and haggle for a pair of promising looking free range chickens than buy a hatchery bird. Barnyard mutts often have far better genetics because the weak have been weeded out of the flock through neglect, experience, predation and the environment.
So called heritage breeds are fine if you can source them from their countries of origin. Once they been "imported" and bred and bred from limited stock what you get is something that looks like the original breed if you're lucky.
It strikes me that you are after qualities that have little to do with how the bird looks so heritage breeds may not be your best option.
One doesn't shop at Wallmart for something one expects to last a lifetime. At least not in the countries I've visited.

No, don’t care whatsoever what they look like. I care about the traits of the birds. And I get what you are saying about Walmart shopping…I live by that rule almost always. However, right now I don’t see anything available locally. Are you saying it’s impossible to accomplish what I want with hatchery birds? Like why can’t I cull from 20 hatchery birds? Are you saying all 20 will be garbage?

And if I were able to find a good local pair of free ranging birds, there no guarantee the hen will remain broody with the change of environment or either won’t get picked off by a predator. This approach really does sound like putting all my eggs in one basket.