I really found all those qualities in my White Rocks and New Hampshires, with the Black Aussies coming in a real tight second along with the NHs. The BAs were by far the sweetest of the three breeds but they all lay like crazy, still go broody on occasion and make excellent mothers, have nice meaty frames, thrifty on feed, forage well and are hardy to the max.
These three breeds are my top of the line favorites for dual purpose, self-sustaining type flocks~those chickens for the person who wants to hatch their own replacements without involving an incubator, likes to save money on feed but still have the meatiest retired hen carcass one can get, plus just plain outright longevity of lay. I bought a bunch of chicks containing these breeds 5 years ago, culled my flock hard for egg laying and these three breeds have never made the cull list...not once.