Hello. I am a chicken person from Illinois. Our chickens generally die of old age on our farm. We have four show quality Black and Blue Orpingtons that are old. We used to have show quality Dark Brahmas and Buff Orpingtons. We showed them at county fairs, but mainly wanted pretty chickens in our yard. The chickens we enjoy have been our bad quality brown egg layer assortment we have had over the years. They are funny and energetic and great foragers. We call our big old show girls the poseable barnyard chicken figures. They rarely go far from the food dish and seem content going broody monthly We are down to fourteen hens total and are starting to decide what we would be interested in getting. We would like to try some new breeds and some better quality of what we have. We have five Speckled Sussex hens (hatchery quality) that we call The Fab Five. They are never more than a few feet away from one another, and they hop into our yard from the coop pen every morning and "do the rounds" circling the house slowly looking for whatever they can find. My husband cusses them for tearing up the hay bales and talking all the time. They seem to think they aren't really part of the flock. We love them. However, a couple have leg issues we can't overlook, and we would love to see them a little bigger. That being said, I'm keeping my eyes open to discussions about Russion Orloffs, Delawares, Buckeyes, and of course, Sussex. I've already been reading as a lurker and really enjoy the knowledge on this board. So, I hope to hang around some more.
Hello and welcome to BYC You will find loads of breed discussions here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/14/breeds-genetics-showing
Greetings from Kansas, vastplains, and ! Pleased you joined our community! Of the breeds you mentioned having an interest in, I can speak to Delawares. I have a pair of those and they are really nice birds - great at foraging, quiet, and very tame - good layers, too. I also have a single speckled Sussex that is a sweetheart. Good luck in your search!!
Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan While never my best egg layers, the speckled Sussex I have kept have always been among my favorite birds for their wonderful personalities - I always keep one or two around.
Thanks for all the greetings. I have been sifting throught the Sussex thread and am off to find more discussions on some other breeds. Glad to hear the Delawares are nice hens. I worry a bit about a white hen on the farm as we live on open prairie. We have never lost a hen to hawks or owls, but they hang around. We have had white hens in the past but never more than a couple. The Delawares are beautiful as are the LIght Sussex. I'd like them to work for us.
