Reviews by dtimoth

I originally got two Australorps when we lived in an HOA subdivision, because after searching for the 'quietest breed', I was informed these were the quietest. We now live on a small farm, and I no longer have to hide my chickens from the neighbors and HOA hounds, luckily. I'm not sure if the Australorps are indeed the quietest of hens, but they are beautiful, productive and very sweet. They are definitely one of the best brown egg layers, and by far my favorite brown layer. We have had many, many Australorp roosters, and not a single one of them has been aggressive. They are extremely sweet to their girls and to us. They are quite tolerant of our excessive Phoenix summer heat (although I have lost a couple in past years to heat stroke) and produce all summer and winter long. I will always have Australorps on my little hobby farm!

I really love the Appenzeller Spitzhaubens. I got this breed because of personal heritage reasons; my great-grandfather came from the Appenzeller region of Switzerland. I'm glad I got them, as they are among the best birds I've ever had. Despite the excessive summer heat here in the Phoenix area, these alpine chickens do remarkably well with fresh water and afternoon shade--better than some of the more notoriously heat-tolerant breeds. My original stock is already over three years old, and they lay nearly every day. They are great foragers and very lovely to look at. I will continue breeding the Spitzhaubens for years to come! They have replaced Black Minorcas as my favorite white layers.