Breed Recommendations!!

[Peaches Lee]

Hello, we are new to the forums, so you will be seeing a lot of questions as we are new to chickens too--don't have any yet, so looking for advice.

We are trying to figure out which breed of chicken is right for us, so here we hope to get some expert opinions from people with experience.

What we would like/need: Winter Hardy, Good forager (they will be kept free range), Non-setter, good egg producer, not aggressive and a bigger bird as we have big cats, bad dogs and predators.

From research we have come up with the Jersey Giant, Welsummer, Wyandotte, and Sumatra (but don't think they produce enough eggs--which stinks cause I really like this breed).

I like the Jersey Giant due to its size and winter hardiness, the Welsummer for its beautiful plumage and gentle demeanor and the same for the Wyandotte (love the silver laced).

However, could you let me know which is the LEAST broody? Or the best candidate for our needs?

Feel free to ask more questions if I have not provided enough info for you to make a suggestion. Thank you to all!!!

 

[CluckyChuckCrazy]

we have a gold laced wyandotte we have only had her a year and she was a fab brooder she hatched some hatching eggs for us. she has only been broody twice this year she is a good layer aswell

Hope i have helped a little

 

[carrlr]

My personal favorites are Buff Orpintons, Barred Rocks, and Red Sex-linked. Not sure of your location. These all do fine through the Illinois winters.

Have you checked out the Breeds section of this forum?

 

[punky rooster]

RIR or buckeye seems to fit

 

[AllCoop'dUp]

I would check out the Beeds list here at BYC. Also, My Pet Chicken has a handy little Breed Selection Tool that lets you choose breeds based on a small list of questions. It's fun and informative and gives you some ideas on breeds that you might not have otherwise considered.
http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken...&r=0,1&b=0,1&c=2,3,4,5,6,8,9&d=0,1&l=6&page=1

Good Luck and Welcome!

 

[Peaches Lee]

Thanks for the info....

No I haven't checked out the breed section yet. The reason (I forgot to add) that we don't want broody hens is because my mom feels really bad about taking away an egg that a hen loves. We would prefer a breed that says "take the thing, I don't care"

Also we don't want to hatch out chicks because we have a problem getting rid of our animals (ex. we have 15 cats-all rescues) and there is NO WAY we would butcher our chickens--we just can't handle it, plus you really need to know what you are doing with that. Anyway, we are looking for egg producers, so will be collecting eggs daily. Thanks so much for your suggestions!! I will consider and study up on those breeds more!

 

[hcammack]

For sweet personality, all year laying, winter hardiness, and non broodiness I think Faverolles can't be beat! They are the best chickens I have ever owned and are beautiful to.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'd suggest you look at the sex links. These are not a breed but a cross of two breeds that you can tell whether they are male of female at hatch due to color. Different hatcheries call them different names. Usually if they call them something with "Star" in the name, they are a sex link. Some other common names are Cinnamon Queen or Golden Comet, but there can be others. Since you can easily tell them apart at hatch, you are almost guaranteed to get pullets. Most hatchery sex links are excellent egg layers, don't usually go broody (although any hen might regardless of breed tendencies), and are pretty cold and heat hardy.

They are called sex links because chickens have some sex linked genes that the mother passes to her sons but not her daughters. If the sex linked genes the mother passes to her sons are dominant over the genes that the son gets from his father, you can tell the chicks apart by sex.

 

[carrlr]

AllCoop'dUp :

I would check out the Beeds list here at BYC. Also, My Pet Chicken has a handy little Breed Selection Tool that lets you choose breeds based on a small list of questions. It's fun and informative and gives you some ideas on breeds that you might not have otherwise considered.
http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken...&r=0,1&b=0,1&c=2,3,4,5,6,8,9&d=0,1&l=6&page=1

Good Luck and Welcome!

Have you used the "Chicken Breed Search Tool" on this site? It can be helpful.​

 

[Katy]

My wyandottes are very broody, but they're very winter hardy.