Single Breed or Multi?

[NMF]

At the school where I teach they are ordering 30 eggs for incubation. Since I am the one who will be receiving most of the chic's I can order whatever birds I want. One company I can order from will send straight runs of one bird, while the other will sell "heavy breeds." When I contacted the "heavy breed" hatchery, they said this would the best dual bird packages, which is what I am looking for. What are thoughts? A little variety or one breed? If one breed for dual purpose what would be your recommendations?
Thanks for your input!

 

[Illia]

My thoughts are to always have different breeds, but I love chickens.

If you just want some dual purpose breeds for egg and meat production and not much more - I'd suggest one breed, but you can always have diversity for the looks, the personality, and the "sampling" of which has better qualities in what areas.

oh, and

 

[BlueEggs4Life]

I prefer multi breeds also but that's because they are pets for me and I love seeing the different personalities and easily naming them and telling them apart. I don't think there is a "best" one in my book but lots have had success with buff orphingtons as their dual purpose birds. They are big, pretty, good personality and lay well also.

 

[ozarkmomma]

I like multi breeds. I am addicted to chickens. I like having a multi colored flock as well as the different personalities and different egg colors.

 

[jeffro29]

You cant have just one breed it just aint right

You can try one breed but if you have room you will want more and more and more it never ends trust me

 

[rhoda_bruce]

30? That seems good to me. About 15 roosters.....14 meals and one to keep. And about 15 pullets. Assuming they all hatch.
I would say go with several breeds. Then you have the best of everything........meat, eggs, broodiness. Plus you can identify all your chickens and know who did what and be able to point your finger and say what she did yesterday. Then you can determine for yourself if you have a preference........personally I don't. I like them all for all the reasons each of them are good for.

 

[lemurchaser]

As many different breeds as possible is my plan. I love all the different looks, colors, personalities etc.

 

[Bettacreek]

I'm with everyone else when it comes to loving chickens. BUT, I think one breed is what you should go for. Do some research on the different dual purpose breeds and pick what suits you best. I went with australorps, they're black, beautiful dual purpose birds. They're supposed to go broody fairly often, but they're also supposed to lay LOTS of eggs and are supposed to be early maturing. I can let hens go broody and hatch out dinner for me.

But, if I could have found the same deal (free, basically) on some other breeds, I'd have gone with them as well, such as the salmon faverolles, delaware, new hampshire or speckled sussex. They're all early maturing, good laying meaties. Some are broodier than others, some mature a little faster, others are more cold tolerant, etc. You just have to look for yourself to see what you want.

Check this page as a quick guideline to help you narrow down some breeds: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html


Oh, and, the reason I say to go for one breed is because then later you can sell hatching eggs. Mixed breeds are harder to sell than pure breeds, and usually bring a lower price if you do find buyers. That'll help you bring in some feed money... purebred hatching eggs will almost always bring in more than mixed hatching eggs or edible eggs.

 

[Glitterik]

I can't keep a rooster where I live (3 miles from downtown!) and I am so OVER white eggs, that I decided to get hens that lay eggs in every color. So far, I have pink (a Turken) and medium brown (a black sex link). I plan to get blue eggs, chocolate brown, etc. down the road. It's very, very gratifying to have chickens that all look different and produce different colored eggs. For business purposes, I guess one breed makes sense, but for fun, a mixture is funner.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Since you make no mention of what the project is supposed to be actually teaching, I'll assume biology/science and good husbandry are the focus, ie, incubation, brooding, rearing, feeding and so on.
In situations where measurable results are key, it has always been recommended that a single breed be chosen. There is little point to deviate from time tested advice, if you ask me.

I used to be a teacher and found that where a lesson was to to be taught, it never hurt to keep it simple. Contrary to todays thinking on education, you dont always need a classroom carnival or dancing dinosaur to instill knowledge. You only need to decide what your objectives are and then teach to them.

Believe me, with chickens, there will be plenty of opportunities for fun!

Get Barred Rocks and learn, I say.

If you want a flock of raucous 'yard confetti,' on the other hand, then I say, "Go for it" - but I recommend you pursue that at home under conditions where there is less at stake.