Help me Decide on a Breed!!!

[tallyho]

Quote:
Tell that to my crazy 'lorp. She went broody 4 times this summer. Finally wore me down and I gave her a couple of eggs. She's been the perfect mother. Did everything by the book.

 

[Cowgirl71]

Classic.rocker978 :

Here's what I think I've got it narrowed down to...

Buff Orpington-Super Friendly and Mega Broody BUT will the forage?Extremely easy to come by in my area.

Delaware - Nice eggs, friendly are they broody enough? Probably one of the better foragers.

Barred Rock - ? I dont know much about these guys ?

I want to have around 10-15 hens and 2-3 roosters.I want the hens to go broody enough to where they do their own reproducing so I can eat the earlier generation every year and still get a good supply of eggs everyday. I want a majority of their feed to be from foraging during the warmer months.

Buff Orpingtons are my best foragers of the breeds I have (BO, BR, EE, RIR, RSL, BSL, and GLW). Your three breeds are all really good foragers. Again, eggs may be scarce through the summer with Buff Orpingtons, but they're excellent winter layers. They also make excellent mommas.

With Delawares I'd be concerned about predation (they're white). Missouri has a multitude of predators you know.

Also what I've heard is that the hatchery's Dels are awful, and I was directed to Whitmore farms. I contacted him and he charges $5 per straight run chick, and $35 shipping per 25 chicks. Ouch. But his Dels do sound really good if you should decide on Dels.

Barred Rocks are an excellent all-around breed. They're your classic farm chicken. One feature of this breed is that they can be sexed with very good accuracy when young by their plumage color. Males have a light almost silvery look to them, while females look very black in comparison. While some breeds are bred for high short-term eggs production, Barred Rocks are bred for very good long-term egg production, with hens often still going strong at three or four years old. Of these three breeds, Barred Rocks would be your best bet for fewest losses to predation.

Here's some links to info about the different breeds (I've done a lot of research, LOL):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chicken_breeds
http://www.small-farm-permaculture-and-sustainable-living.com/types_of_chickens.html
http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/breed-list.aspx
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html#n
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html#Chickens

I know that you said you want to keep purebreds, but a Buff Orpington rooster crossed with Delaware or Barred Rock hens would make sex-link chicks. When crossed with a Delaware, males are Delaware-colored, and hens are sorta like a buff columbian. When crossed with a Barred Rock, males are very silvery barred, and females are really pretty. Here's a pic of some of my BO x BR sex-link pullets... So far I'm really happy with this cross!

 

[danielle82]

Classic.rocker978 :

Here's what I think I've got it narrowed down to...

Buff Orpington-Super Friendly and Mega Broody BUT will the forage?Extremely easy to come by in my area.

Mine are great foragers, I had one of my buffs go broody and she was the best momma hen ever, she hatched out 11 babies out of 11 eggs, and she has taken fabulous care of them. I had some others go broody as well, but I did'nt let them hatch any out, but the one that did, was a wonderful momma. I had dominiques and an australorp go broody too.​

 

[punky rooster]

how about buckeyes? they are great foragers, cold hardy, heritage breed, can go broody, good meat birds, friendly & good egg layer.
one of the best all around chickens!
About the Rocks I am getting some soon and they seem to be very similar to the buckeye except buckeyes are more cold hardy.
punky

 

[punky rooster]

Another thing where do you plan on getting them?
If hatchery then you would not get much of what you listed exept the egg laying.

 

[Chickanmanfromarkansas]

Illia, I think you are prejudiced. Just kidding. Those are some pretty Wheaten Marans hens of yours.

 

[Classic.rocker978]

Well I've got it down to the Final 2:

Buff Orpington

Barred Rock

Both breeds are extremely common in my area I'm probably just going to go to the local farm shop/Tractor Supply and pick up about 15 this coming spring. I'm having trouble deciding which though. my mother in law has had both and I thought both were fairly nice. I do believe the Buffs are the calmer of the two birds, they were always under foot. They do make excellent mothers and the barred rock are nice too I've just never really paid much attention to them. I'm definitely getting one of the two for sure!

 

[speckledhen]

Excellent choices! Those two breeds were two of my original ten ladies. I still have one BR and one Buff Orp who are almost five years old, plus several others of those breeds younger.

 

[oldchickenlady]

I have Buff O's and RIR's and both are great foragers and egg layers. I don't know about the broodiness as they are not a year old yet. The RIR's are the friendliest of the two breeds. They don't eat a lot of commercial feed since they free range all day. I really like both breeds, but I am wanting some silver laced wyandottes in the worst way! Just for pure eye candy! My property is wooded and I think the SLW's will make a beautiful contrast to the dark red RIR's and yellow Buff O's under the trees and in the yard! I was hoping to get some from Foleys or Paul's Poultry this fall, but I don't think that is going to happen.

 

[Cowgirl71]

Let's compare them in different areas, shall we?

Winter Layers: BO-excellent, BR-excellent
Summer Layers: BO-fair, BR very good
Cold hardy: BO-excellent, BR-excellent
Heat hardy: BO-very good, BR-very good
Broodiness: BO-excellent, BR-good
Foraging: BO-excellent, BR-very good
Predation: BO-their quiet temperament and light coloring are not ideal, BR-excellent plumage color for hiding from predators and an assertive temperament
Temperament: BO-excellent, BR-very good
Country of Origin: BO-England, BR-USA
Skin color: BO-white, BR-yellow (yellow makes for a prettier table bird)
Size/growth: BO-very large, BR very large


Also, BRs can be sexed early on by their coloring.

Please let me know if there are any traits I left out!

Remember, the "readings," for lack of a better word, are from my experiences and research. If anyone thinks one or more are incorrect and need to be changed, please let me know.