Do I want another breed?

[gritsar]

I need to make up my mind pretty quickly if I am going to call Ideal back today.
My SO has told me to go ahead and add 10 more chicks to my order of light, dark, and buff brahmas to have an order of 25 (including the 2 (other breeds) I'm ordering for someone else).

I initally picked brahmas because they fit my criteria of:
>decent personality (not flighty or anti-human)
>a decent size egg....I don't necessarily have to have giant eggs, but I don't want tiny ones either
>the fact that they are both cold and heat tolerant
>the fact that they are a heritage breed is important to me too

I also thought it would be a good idea to stick with one breed so if by chance I should have any hatch later on they would be purebred brahmas; without having to seperate the breeds.

Some of the other breeds seem so nice from y'all descriptions, but would they meet my above criteria? I have such a hard time with decision making, so someone please help! Brahmamama?

 

[tiki244]

1.Being in Arkansas I dont think you get that cold so I wouldnt be too worried about cold resistance

2.You will still have to seperate colors if you want purebreds-but you can do that just when you are in the breeding season

3.Its important to get the breed you like-no matter whos advise you get

4.too many males will fight

5.I am not sure what you mean by "heritage breed"

 

[gritsar]

While we rarely get sub-zero temps here, we do get plenty of cold overcast winter days where the thermometer doesn't get above 30. It just so happens we have had a mild winter this year.

If I am going to have a total of 23 hens, I think 2 roos is in order (my original order was for 13 pullets and 1 cockerel). I know I don't need a roo at all.

I may have been incorrect when I used the word "heritage" to describe the brahmas, I'm not sure. What I was referring to is that they are an old fashioned breed; one of the few breeds originally recognized by the APA in 1874. They are also listed on the watch list of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, due to the relative rarity of breeding flocks.

 

[speckledhen]

You know me, I love the Barred Plymouth Rock. Great layers of extra large to jumbo eggs (after pullet egg stage, of course), calm personality, curious, friendly, funny, just the perfect all-round backyard flock chicken. My next choice would be the Buff Orpington.

 

[Wildsky]

You sound like my LIBRA sister - can't make up her mind either

Wish I could help - but I pick my breeds for egg color

over everything else!

 

[Chirpy]

Wildsky - that's funny you pick by egg color. I was talking with my 18 yr. old son this morning about our chicks we will be getting this spring and he didn't care what they were as long as we had all the potential egg colors covered. He wants a 'rainbow' of eggs when we go out to the nest boxes.

He was hoping there was a chicken that laid orange eggs!!

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:

I have 8 standards and only the two RIR lay the same color and size - the others are ALL different and its really pretty! (I do have one that lays purple eggs

)

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Wildsky! You're not helping matters!

I just called Ideal back and ordered 10 more brahmas....3 more pullets of each color variety, buff, lt., and dark, plus another roo, a dark one this time. Can you tell I have OCD?, everything has to be in equal proportion. Which really means I should have ordered another roo, a light one, hmmmmm

Plus the JG and the cochin for hooligan equals 25. By the way, the lady at Ideal corrected me on my pronounciation of cochin, after she picked herself up off the floor from laughing.

Did you say PURPLE eggs?!?! My favorite color!

 

[herechickchick]

I would go with the Speckled Sussex! Very sweet and very pretty. They are on the threatened list with the ALBC.

 

[tiki244]

I think Brahmas are pretty-and you definitely dont have to worry about their combs freezing


I think of my poor Albert(Buff Orpington Bantam) - my heater went out in my chicken coop and it was -25 --5 for days. I put them in cages and little lightbulbs and put towels around the cages. the 2 Orps were loose but in a corner so i put a cardboard piece there and a lightbulb-when I went out at night to give water the hen's comb was bloody so I broyght her in-well in the night Albert got out of his corner and froze his comb so now he will be deformed for life!!!!!

I think you will do fine with Brahmas