Healthiest chicken breeds

[3KillerBs]

This is what I have read on here about Cream Legbars because they have recently gotten very popular. I had one but lost her to a predator when she was still a pullet so don't know from experience. It makes sense to me though because I have seen some trendy breeds being sold online that don't look up to standard which makes me think people are breeding indiscriminately especially since the pandemic.

It might have been the Ayam Cemanis that I was reading about having a lot of fertility issues.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

It might have been the Ayam Cemanis that I was reading about having a lot of fertility issues.

Ayam Cemanis! Yep, that's another one that has gotten trendy. They are on my "maybe someday if I find a reputable source" list.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Where did you get your Cornish bantams? I think I've heard you (or someone else) on BYC talk about what surprisingly good layers they are. I've been looking into bantams but have been hesitant because of egg production not being great. And every time I see Cornish bantams being sold, they seem to be labeled as "poor" layers. How many eggs per week for your birds

All of mine have come from Ideal.

Admittedly I am awful at doing anything with eggs. I don't eat them, so I don't focus on the count. But I would say at the very least when not brooding, they lay 2-3 times a week, likely closer to 3-5. Right now I get between 4 and 3 a day from 9? hens, and it's winter still here

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Another thing that occurred to me overnight,

I can't prove anything about this, but I have a hunch that longtime standard, common breeds are likely to be healthier than any recently trendy breed because of greater genetic diversity and longer selection.

Any trendy breed is likely to have had it's population explode by breeding even "iffy" quality birds so as to cash in on the trend -- breeding birds who really *ought* to have been culled just to get the numbers up.

That makes a lot of sense! I would not have thought of that.

In my head I want to get all these new and exciting breeds so I have a cool-looking and interesting flock, but in reality it's becoming clear I should probably just stick with the classics. Boring old Orpingtons, RIRs, Barred Rocks, etc. Lol I don't actually mean boring, but you get the point.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Who has experience with purchasing common breeds from TSC? I think my local TSC usually sources from Hoovers Hatchery. My only options are really TSC (Hoovers) or Meyer Hatchery, which is about an hour from me. I'm trying to avoid shipping chicks because I only need 3. Are chicks from TSC alright?

 

[Backyard_Alchemist]

Who has experience with purchasing common breeds from TSC? I think my local TSC usually sources from Hoovers Hatchery. My only options are really TSC (Hoovers) or Meyer Hatchery, which is about an hour from me. I'm trying to avoid shipping chicks because I only need 3. Are chicks from TSC alright?

They've been okay from my experience, but the minimum chick quantity usually ranges from 4-6 depending on your location.
I would do my your best to look and make sure the chicks are lively and not too crowded. I've seen a few misfortunate ones. They also only have a few breeds on rotation, and the locations usually aren't told what they're getting ahead of time.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

They've been okay from my experience, but the minimum chick quantity usually ranges from 4-6 depending on your location.
I would do my your best to look and make sure the chicks are lively and not too crowded. I've seen a few misfortunate ones. They also only have a few breeds on rotation, and the locations usually aren't told what they're getting ahead of time.

Thank you. Yeah I just read an article and it seems Ohio may have changed the minimum to 3 chicks. If not, I may find someone who wants to split a chick purchase with me. And yeah, unfortunately it is unpredictable what they will have in stock. But it does seem that last year they often had Orpingtons, RIR, and Barred Rocks fairly often, plus other random breeds. I think I saw Wyandottes fairly often. I hope that is the same for this year, since from this thread, it seems like those are some of the breeds I should be looking for. I'm just hoping Hoover is a reputable hatchery.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I'm just hoping Hoover is a reputable hatchery.

A lot of people don't like their birds. I loved what I got from Hoover, my only complaint was communication, which you wouldn't be dealing with anyways buying from tsc

 

[TillyPeeps]

Thank you. Yeah I just read an article and it seems Ohio may have changed the minimum to 3 chicks. If not, I may find someone who wants to split a chick purchase with me. And yeah, unfortunately it is unpredictable what they will have in stock. But it does seem that last year they often had Orpingtons, RIR, and Barred Rocks fairly often, plus other random breeds. I think I saw Wyandottes fairly often. I hope that is the same for this year, since from this thread, it seems like those are some of the breeds I should be looking for. I'm just hoping Hoover is a reputable hatchery.

My friend bought sexed "pullets" from TSC and more than half are actually roosters. If you don't have a way to keep or get rid of extra roosters, it's not a good idea to buy from TSC. One time, I saw some yellow chicks mixed in the bin for "Red star pullets" myself at TSC and feel so sorry for who got them, since these yellow chicks are definitely not red star pullets! They could be other breed or roos.

 

[Iluveggers]

If I lived an hour away from Meyer, I would drive & pick up exclusively.