Help Me Decide on a Great Dual Purpose Homesteading Breed!

[Classic.rocker978]

Well right now I've got 2 main groups of chickens.

I've got my 10 Cornish Cross which I obviously raise for meat purposes.

Then for Egg layers I've got almost 20 Production Red...

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I think I might decide to go a different route and try a Dual Purpose Bird. I'm having trouble deciding on which breed though.

Here are the characteristics I would like:

- Friendly, Calm
- Hardy, I live in Missouri so Hot summers and Cold winters..
- Big enough to eat but also able to produce eggs (White or Brown)
- I want the hen to be a bit Broody, I would prefer it if she could hatch her own chicks, if not I can live with the incubator

- Preferably a "True" breed, no Sex-Linked breeds. I keep all my different breeds separated so I dont end up with "muts"

I was also told that my Cornish Cross and Production Reds could not produce "True Breed" chicks. That they would be slightly different than the parents kind of a mut chicken. Is this true? If I hatch some of my Cornish Cross eggs will they still be excellent meat birds?

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Delaware's fit your description perfectly.

 

[Alaska animal lover]

I love my Light Brahmas! I live in Alaska, so the feathered feet are great in the winters.

 

[nathan and lindsay]

I am a total chicken newbie, and would like to have dual purpose birds too. Living in Ct with small children and close neighbors I wanted all of the characteristics you described. I've decided to give Australorps a try. I'd love to hear thoughts from those who are more experienced.
Lindsay

 

[Cindiloohoo]

You could try the Breed selector tool. It's awesome! Pairs you right up with a bird of your requirements. https://www.backyardchickens.com/breeds/breed-search.php

 

[Southernbelle]

Cornish Cross don't reproduce well at all. They're designed for FAST growth (butcher by about 6 weeks), so if they're kept longer than that their legs have a hard time supporting their weight, their hearts often give out and they can't mate naturally because their breasts are too big. If you intend to keep them for breeding, you'd have to limit their feed in order to keep their weight down and I've heard of one person who put them on aspirin therapy for their hearts. I imagine crossing a Cornish X hen with a dual-purpose roo would make a good meat bird, but they're just hard to manage.

J&M Hatchery has "Freedom Rangers" which are colored meat birds that grow a little slower to reach market weight, but they don't have a lot of the problems the Cornish X do. You might be able to keep a flock of those for meat producers.

As for a good Dual Purpose Birds, I agree with Cindi - Delawares are a great breed. Here's the Henderson Chicken Chart, which may help you make a choice:

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

 

[Chris09]

I would go with the old stand-by's, Rhode island Red or a Buckeye..
I like Brahmas but take way to long to fill out (even on 21% protein feed).

Chris

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

I would suggest the Buckeye. Learn more about them at http://www.buckeyechickens.com/

The Buckeye is a bit darker in color than the Production Red.

 

[beckymom3]

Quote:
I found my requirements kept giving me no matches!

The tool is based upon the BYC chicken breeds page and picks up the key words there. I keep wanting a chicken that doesn't exist, LOL!

I, too, want heritage dual purpose breeds, pretty much all the characteristics you mentioned: good for both meat and eggs, sometimes broody, okay with confinement and family life. Perhaps a few rare and a few just plain good ol' homestead types. I am looking into Delawares, Sussex, Buckeye, Langshan and am currently hatching Dorkings, supposedly one of the best of the dual purpose breeds. They lay well and also can get nice and meaty, so an old timer friend of mine says. We'll see!

 

[Cindiloohoo]

beckymom3 sometimes you have to click a few more options to get paired up with a good breed. Nonexistant chickens don't exist ya know