Getting back into chickens help with deciding on breed?

[agold23]

-Barred Plymouth Rock
-Orpington

I currently have 1 Lavender orpington named Dori (we call her fat Dori because she’s so huge) she’s a gorgeous girl who lays medium sized eggs every day! Orpingtons are meat and layers, my Dori I would say is in the middle of the weight range for her breed.

My grandma had barred rocks with rhode island reds years ago, I remember chasing them around in the yard trying to catch them. Good layers but from what I remember they’re a bit harder to tame (granted it’s been a while so my memory isn’t that good)

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Your list is great, I am partial myself to the Wyandottes and Orpingtons. Marans might also be a good choice. They are cold hardy dual purpose, and lay gorgeous eggs.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Maybe some Bielefelder's? Have you looked into those?

https://cs-tf.com/bielefelder-chicken/

No I have not I have actually never even heard of them so I definitely will look into them now

 

[STACEYH]

You said personality first so I'm guessing that is most important. I love RIR's but I got a Sapphire gem (my avatar), her personality is so sweet. She is a new hybrid I know she is mixed with RIR. She is dual purpose , cold tolerate .no leg feathers and heat tolerate. She has nice brown large eggs. Can't wait to see what all you pick.

 

[Momofcutechicks]

How about Sussex? I adore mine.

 

[Iluveggers]

I was thinking of the breeds on your list & them I saw your list! Lol.

could also add Australorps. They lay well, very friendly, large birds, great in the snow.

 

[Happy hen lover]

I have a black austrolorp and she is friendly but bottom of list in laying compared to my Sussex and winner layer RIR.

 

[WIchickMama]

Go Ahead, Pick the Prettiest Chickens.



More seriously, how about some Brahmas?

They get huge -- eventually.
They are moderate layers.
They tend to be laid-back and relatively docile.
They're cold-tolerant.

And they are beautiful.

I was going to suggest these too. We have 3 and they are lovely. Not aggressive, though a tad more timid than our Plymouth Rock and Polish but better than our Wyandotte.

 

[Tervuren]

I'll second Bielefelders! Very sweet chickens! I have heard that when it comes to using them for meat they are very slow to fill out their frames. They're mostly fluff and bones for quite a long time lol. I can't have roosters, but I have read rave reviews on how non aggressive they are for this breed. I would also suggest Dorkings! Similar sweet temperament. Very pretty, short legs, and an extra toe. From what I've read the cockerels can be slaughtered at about 20 weeks, so not as slow growing as the Bielefelders. Both breeds are also winter hardy and decent egg layers. I’ll attach pics of my girls, I think they’re quite pretty, but I’m biased of course. And fun fact about the Dorkings, they are one of the few white egg layers with red ear lobes! My Dora doesn’t have this trait, hers are maybe pinkish if you squint lol.

 

[3KillerBs]

I remembered this morning that Chanteclers and Buckeyes were both bred to thrive in severe winter areas. I don't know anything about their other qualities.