The Cornish Cross are really nasty stinky birds, I did them this spring & I just hated them. I was never so glad to get rid of birds as I was those. They stunk worse than anything I've ever smelled & honestly even my neighbors over on the other side of a huge hill could smell them. If you have neighbors close by you may want to rethink raising those. There are alternatives to that breed for meat, they may grow slower, but they're not so nasty & don't have the leg problems they have because they grow so fast. There are several varieties of chickens that are dual purpose. I used a hoop coop that is a permanent structure for housing mine in & then dug up the soil afterwards with a small tiller to get rid of the stink. Then I was able to use that coop for other birds now. I just don't think I want to repeat that experience again, I will raise something else if I decide to raise birds for meat again.
My very favorite birds just for laying are the Barred Rocks, they are laying machines. They lay through heat, cold, molt or bad weather & they lay big brown eggs. However, if you need something to show as well as lay the Orpingtons are pretty good layers of brown eggs & you can find them in various colors. They are a bigger bird if you get the exhibition type & are more expensive to buy as well as you will have to buy from a breeder, not a hatchery. I don't really know the rules as far as 4-H goes, some of the others may know better than me, but the person who is the expert has moved to Oklahoma & isn't on here any more. You may be able to get Orpingtons from the hatchery & still show them, I just don't know the rules, but I do know the better ones are obtained from breeders. Just make sure you get a recognized color for the rules of 4-H. There are other breeds that are pretty as well as fairly good layers. I have a big mixture of hens in my laying flock just because I like to see all the colors running around my yard. The Wyandottes come in silver laced & gold laced, both are pretty & lay nice brown eggs pretty regularly. The Australorps are also pretty good layers of brown eggs, the only thing about them is they tend to go broody pretty often, so if you don't want broody hens I don't recommend them. The Rhode Island Reds are very good layers, but the ones you get at the hatchery aren't really true to the breed, they're usually a mix & are more a production red to make them better layers. I like the Welsummers because they lay darker brown eggs & they're a pretty bird too. They're just not as regular of a layer as some of the other breeds. The Marans also lay dark eggs, but my experience with them is they don't lay as often as other breeds either. The eggs get lighter as they age as well. It just depends on how many eggs you expect to get & what you're looking for. There are very good layers such as the Leghorns that lay white eggs but they're quite flighty & not friendly at all. I do have some just for the big white eggs they lay but you can't get near them. I'm sure some of the others will tell you their favorites as well. I raise some rare breeds as well as have layers here & sell chicks in the spring. I do like the Salmon Faverolles because they're so friendly & they're pretty. They have an extra toe & feathered feet.
