Cold hardy AND broody choices?

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Tnic

Tnic

Songster
10 Years
Feb 28, 2014
94
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Hey folks,

A thousand pardons if this has been raised before, I did look some.

I'm doing my due diligence and researching which breeds will best suit my goal of self sufficiency.

The big question is...Which common (and readily available) dual purpose breeds (eggs AND meat) are cold hardy and good brooders?

I'll be settling in coastal Maine, near the CA border, in Ag zone 5 in a semi rural area. Its my desire to propagate my flock naturally without any need for incubators and all the associated trappings there of. My plan is to go the B2E garden route with a healthy dose of Joel Salatin & Geoff Lawton philosophy, letting allowing the chickens do the bulk of the work. Or to borrow a Salatin phrase, celebrate the "chickenness" of the chicken.

I should also add that the flock will be maintained in a secure run or electric netted pasture rather than out running willy-nilly so predation will be of small concern. Plus we'll have a dog around too.

I'm looking at RiRs, Blk Australorps, Buff Orpingtons (I hear they get broody a lot), Barred Rocks, etc so far. I see Wyandots in a local sell n swap too. All great breeds and I'm sure there are others.

If you had to choose just one breed that will fit the criteria of dual purpose, cold hardy and broody, which would you choose?

Thoughts from the collective wisdom of the forum are greatly appreciated.

TIA!!

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Quote:
Tnic said:
I'm looking at RiRs, Blk Australorps, Buff Orpingtons (I hear they get broody a lot), Barred Rocks, etc so far. I see Wyandots in a local sell n swap too.
I you wanted to choose just one breed that will fit the criteria of dual purpose, cold hardy and broody, which would you choose?
Click to expand...
Welcome to BYC! As you have stated, there are a number of good breeds that will fit your criteria and it would take a while to mention them all (there are lists on the internet that you can check out at http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/breed-list.aspx, http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html, and http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chick_selector.html), so I will stick to the ones that you have mentioned. I have had all five of these breeds (still have Black Australorps and Buff Orpingtons) and they are all dual purpose breeds that are cold hardy. I raised Black Australorps where the temperature reached 30 below zero F one winter, and in their dry, draft free coop, they did just fine. The Buff Orpingtons are the broodiest breed on your list, followed by the Black Australorps (both breeds raised a number of broods for us). The RIRs were very seldom broody, and the Barred Rocks and Wyandottes fell between the Australorps and the RIRs. If egg laying rate is at all an issue for you, the Black Australorps were the best layers (5 eggs per week average per hen, sometimes 6), followed closely by the RIRs (4-5 eggs per week per hen). The Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, and Wyandottes were all about the same (3-4 eggs per week per hen). If temperament is a concern for you, the Buff Orpingtons and Black Australorps have the best temperament (I never had an aggressive bird in either breed) on your list. The Barred Rocks probably had the next best temperament. The Wyandottes were generally about the same as the Barred Rocks, but a couple of times, I had aggressive individuals that I had to cull from the flock. The most aggressive breed on your list were the RIRs. Normally they did okay around other chickens, but on occasion, I would get an aggressive hen that had to be culled from the flock, and the roosters in particular could be very aggressive. I would suggest that you check out these breeds on your own (a good place to start is BYC's Breeds icon), but whatever breeds you decide to get, good luck with your flock.
 
Thanks very much for your detailed response Michael.

Still have plenty researching to do, but you've pretty much narrowed it down to the Blk Aussies and the BOs. I like both and may just start up a mixed flock with those two.

Egg counts aren't too much of an issue, but don't want to waste feed on too low of a count either. 3-5 per week would suit our needs with plenty of excess to share. I'm seriously considering starting out with a straight run of 50 so plenty of roos to send to freezer camp with a choice for a couple solid stud/guardians. With 20-30 hens alayin even at 2-3/wk we'd be hip deep in eggs in no time.

And of course the influx of naturally mama hen raised chicks each year would sustain a good flock and maybe even a little cash on the side selling small starter flocks of chicks locally. The Wyandottes I saw the ad for were $3 each for day old chicks.

I found the BO thread here earlier and they do sound like a great choice, especially if there's kiddies about.

I don't think I'll be launching the ranch before next Spring so plenty of time to check things out and when we get to Maine we can go visit local breeders and get a more hands & eyes on look at things.
 
BAs and BOs will coexist great together in a mixed flock. I've had them in mixed flocks for years, and aside from the usual pecking order which happens with all breeds, I've not had any problems with either breed in mixed company.
 
I have been raising dual purpose breeds for 7 years...... tried lots of them. BO's have raised lots of chicks for me right in the flock, which means zero integration issues. Pretty close to zero work too. I am a believer in a broody hen.

Couple of points of my experience, dual purpose birds are heavier than just egg laying birds..... but not like the true meat birds. And they take considerably longer to make weight so to speak. The best dual purpose breed that I have tried is not on your list, but the Delaware is a good solid egg layer, and a much thicker, meatier than most dual purpose birds. They lay well through the winter.

Truly, you can have several different breeds in a flock, they don't care, and that way you can have all your needs met. Currently I only have one BO, but she is raising 13 chicks for me.

With an electric fence, I am assuming electricity at the coop, which I don't have..... however, it is my experience that my broody hen nearly always goes broody the last week of May - the first week of June..... which is kind of late, as then the new chicks don't go to laying till after January. However, if you could add light in the spring, I think they would go broody earlier. I think it is daylength that triggers the response.



Mrs K
 
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Consider some Brahmas, I have a few and they are bulletproof in -30f without heat in a dry coop, and they lay fairly well and will also brood chicks for you.
 
Look at the Bielefelder - it is not super common yet but becoming more popular and they are bred to be super winter layers. They are also HUGE dual purpose birds and are fast growing. They also go broody and are super docile and sweet. Roosters can get up to 13 lbs and are not at all aggressive.

 
Chentechlers may be another good option for you. They're a Canadian breed, so they handle the cold very well. Mine were good layers, broodies and eating. They're a little harder to find than the BAs and BOs you're considering, but worth searching for! Good luck!
 
I did a ton of research on that very subject.....

Went to my local breeder and his chickens "acted" somewhat different than the "generalized" behavior..... I was asking for Buff Orps. and Brahmas.....
His breeds of choice for me were...... Sagittas.... lots of eggs and not broody.... His Wyandottes were his best broody hens....

Soooo, I opted for Sagittas, hens and roos.... and Wyandottes for brooders.... So I'm suggesting check with the party you will be getting your birds from.... Could be different with each breeder.......
 
Chanteclares are a good choice.

May I also suggest Dominiques? Dominiques are the oldest "American" chicken breed, and are VERY hardy. Good layers and excellent foragers and dual purpose. The hens are madium sized, and lay a medium - large egg. The cockerels are larger, and mine usually dress out at 4-5 lbs each when processed. These chickens eat less than any other breed I know of and will lay throughout the winter without any supplimental lighting or heat. They will slow during the winter, but that is to be expected. Another bonus is that a fantastic Dominique breeder is somewhat near you, in New Hampshire! I have some of his stock in my flock and they are very good.

Dominiques will also go broody, but not all of them.
 

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