This was a wonderful reply. I will be producing eggs mostly for food, but some for hatching. Really hatching eggs would be just for me as I develop my lines. My long term goal is food production though, as I run a market garden and meat operation. What breeds would you suggest for me then when it comes to a lighter but still brown or tinted egg color? I prefer dual purpose because I eat my birds and I like working on breeds that don't get enough attention. I also prefer a small comb. I've looked through just about every breed google and the major hatcheries will offer, and I just can't find what im looking for. What do you think of Dominique's? Speckled Sussex?
Oh! Also, eggs in my area go for around $4.00 per dozen and I grow the majority of my own feed. I ferment feed and use chicken powered compost (which ends up being a major part of their diets). I also use maggot farms which the chickens self harvest from for protein. Free feed egg shell and oyster shell is provided for calcium. Feed costs arnt a huge issue for me, the issue is just not cheating myself whilst being reasonable haha.
Thoughts on your goals, and breed choices. It sounds like you want to offer a colorful egg basket to your customers, prefer a small combed bird, want good productivity and a decent carcass for the table.
Rose comb leg horn would be a great white egg layer while retaining the small comb. They come in a variety of colors.
Dominique is a great ranger, I've found their eggs to be a nice lt. brown, or even have a pinkish tint. But, their egg size is a bit smaller than what your market customers might prefer.
Ameraucana will give you the guaranteed blue egg gene you are looking for, while EE are more apt to carry blue AND brown genes. You could get blue, aqua, olive, green, or no blue egg genes at all. I prefer the productivity and personality of the EE over the Ameraucana.
Buck Eye: I added those last spring. Found them to be slow to grow out and come on line to produce, but they are very mellow in temperament, and I love their deep mahogany color.
Pioneer aka Dixie Rainbow: Marketed as a free range style meat bird which grows out in 12 weeks, but also makes a decent layer. My experience is: they make GREAT layers. I held one Pioneer back from the freezer several years ago. She was my first pullet to start laying that season, and was my most prolific layer. Her eggs were huge. But, given their size, the shell quality was not as good as what you typically find in a smaller egg. Her feather quality was not the best, either. Most likely b/c she put so much of her protein reserves into those eggs! Her genes are still present in my flock.
I'm sure you know that Pea comb and rose comb are dominant over single comb. And Pea x Rose = Walnut. I love the tiny little walnuts on my girls.
As you breed forward with your flock, you might want to breed to produce sex links. Put a good Buck Eye, EE or Am over a barred hen, and you will get a fine crop of black sex links which will have a small comb and produce Aqua, blue, green, olive, or brown eggs, depending on what roo you choose. You can also produce your own red sex links by choosing different hens. For more info, read the "sex linked information" thread. There are some great tables in the first post.
