Choosing Breeds for Production & Color

[CaptainCat]

Hi everyone!

I’m currently building a coop (4x8) with attached run (8x16) and will be placing an order for springtime chicks in 2024!

I am thinking (but convince me otherwise if you’d do it differently) that I will start with 6-8 baby chicks. I would like a colorful egg basket, and high productivity, so those two factors are most important to me. Additionally, I would enjoy, but not need, to have a variety of color in my flock in terms of feathering (a buff, lavendar, black, splash, brown, etc), though that would be just a bonus.

What are the top 6-8, must-have breeds if you were compiling a flock for egg color and productivity?

Thanks so much!!

 

[fluffycrow]

BCM, Ameraucana, EEs, legbars, Australorps and Speckled Sussex

 

[NatJ]

Maybe these:

3 very good layers (2 for brown eggs, 1 for white, all with different feather colors)
Red Sexlink (aka Gold Comet, Red Star, ISA Brown, various other names)
Black Sexlink or Blue Sexlink
White Leghorn

3-4 Easter Eggers of some kind (might be sold as "Americana" or "Whiting True Blue" or "Prairie Bluebell Egger" or "Olive Egger" or many other names.) You could get several of one kind, or some each of several kinds. They will often have multi-colored feathers, and not all the same as each other, so even if you get just one kind you could have some variety.

1-2 pretty chickens that lay brown or white eggs. Examples:
Silver Laced Wyandotte (lays brown eggs) or Silver Spangled Hamburg (lays white eggs)
Buff Orpington

 

[CaptainCat]

BCM, Ameraucana, EEs, legbars, Australorps and Speckled Sussex

Love this! Thank you so much!

 

[CaptainCat]

Maybe these:

3 very good layers (2 for brown eggs, 1 for white, all with different feather colors)
Red Sexlink (aka Gold Comet, Red Star, ISA Brown, various other names)
Black Sexlink or Blue Sexlink
White Leghorn

3-4 Easter Eggers of some kind (might be sold as "Americana" or "Whiting True Blue" or "Prairie Bluebell Egger" or "Olive Egger" or many other names.) You could get several of one kind, or some each of several kinds. They will often have multi-colored feathers, and not all the same as each other, so even if you get just one kind you could have some variety.

1-2 pretty chickens that lay brown or white eggs. Examples:
Silver Laced Wyandotte (lays brown eggs) or Silver Spangled Hamburg (lays white eggs)
Buff Orpington

This is so helpful! Thank you!

 

[Iluveggers]

Marans (dark eggs)
Welsummer (speckled brown eggs)
Olive Egger (green eggs)
Easter Egger (blue eggs)
Leghorn (white eggs, prolific layer)
ISA brown/cinnamon queen/other hybrid (medium brown egg, prolific layer)
Wyandotte (light brown eggs)
Plymouth Rock (light brown eggs)
Speckled Sussex (light brown eggs)

You may want to take a look at Mt Healthy in the spring, they have a great variety of feather pattern colors, especially wihh th Wyandotte and Marans. They allow small orders which is a bonus. Ideal Poultry has all of them also, and you might like an Ancona (cool pattern and white egg) instead of leghorn if you order from them. They have a small minimum order as well.

Good luck, hopefully you’ll update when you make your decision!

 

[CaptainCat]

Marans (dark eggs)
Welsummer (speckled brown eggs)
Olive Egger (green eggs)
Easter Egger (blue eggs)
Leghorn (white eggs, prolific layer)
ISA brown/cinnamon queen/other hybrid (medium brown egg, prolific layer)
Wyandotte (light brown eggs)
Plymouth Rock (light brown eggs)
Speckled Sussex (light brown eggs)

You may want to take a look at Mt Healthy in the spring, they have a great variety of feather pattern colors, especially wihh th Wyandotte and Marans. They allow small orders which is a bonus. Ideal Poultry has all of them also, and you might like an Ancona (cool pattern and white egg) instead of leghorn if you order from them. They have a small minimum order as well.

Good luck, hopefully you’ll update when you make your decision!

I’m loving this list! So far I have decided (based on all the great advice on this forum) on the following:

Black Copper Maran
Olive Egger
Plymouth Rock
Leghorn
Lavender Ameraucana

Then tentatively still deciding between:
Welsummer
Wyandotte
Australorp
Buff Orpington (mostly for the buff color, and golden-retriever style attitude)
Easter egger (in addition to the olive egger)

 

[Klutch]

Will you have a rooster and which color?

 

[CaptainCat]

Will you have a rooster and which color?

No, I'm not planning on having any roosters!

 

[CaptainCat]

Thank you everybody for your advice! My chicks arrive tomorrow (ordered through My Pet Chicken). I ended up ordering the following 8 chicks:

1. Easter Egger
2. Olive Egger
3. Lavender Ameraucana
4. French Black Copper Maran
5. Buff Orpington
6. Australorp
7. Leghorn
8. Welsummer