help me pickbreeds please

[gypsyroseplus6]

2 breeds. Not 2 chickens. I plan on having 100 to 200 chickens. They cant be as much of a pain as Guinea hens lol . I raised 110 of gh and 20 turkeys before. We wont be buying for a year or two when we can leave the city.

Are these your first chickens?  If you only get 2, and use 1 for meat, then the remaining 1 will be very lonely.  They are flock animals.

 

[BGMatt]

Since you're not on a tight time table, spend a lot of time looking at the Dorking and the Chantecler. Both are great fits for your environment, both are fantastic dual purpose fowl, but the Dorking is going to be your superior meat bird while still giving a good number of eggs.

 

[Lots A Cluckin]

How are rhode island reds.

like said above they are great layers and do have some meat but lesser quality meat.

Orpingtons are a great choice also...I breed Orpingtons they are cold hardy but you need to watch their combs they will get frostbit it there is not enough ventilation, they are very friendly, they lay 180-200 eggs per year they do go broody 1-2 per year depending on how strong their mother instinct is very bird is different. and do produce good quality meat when fully grown they weight 8-12 lbs live weight...but it take about 8 months for them to start laying and to be big enough to butcher.

 

[gypsyroseplus6]

RIRs are great layers, but they can be aggressive sometimes.

while i would love docile birds it is not a necessity. As i think about it more docile may be bad. The area we have said we want to live have coyotes, racoons, bobcats and other such things.

 

[animallover505]

Oh, how are you gonna house them? They'll need 1000 to 2000 outdoor square feet so that they don't pick at each other.

 

[animallover505]

while i would love docile birds it is not a necessity. As i think about it more docile may be bad. The area we have said we want to live have coyotes, racoons, bobcats and other such things.

I mean they can be aggressive towards other chickens.

 

[gypsyroseplus6]

like said above they are great layers and do have some meat but lesser quality meat.


Orpingtons are a great choice also...I breed Orpingtons they are cold hardy but you need to watch their combs they will get frostbit it there is not enough ventilation, they are very friendly, they lay 180-200 eggs per year they do go broody 1-2 per year depending on how strong their mother instinct is very bird is different. and do produce good quality meat when fully grown they weight 8-12 lbs live weight...but it take about 8 months for them to start laying and to be big enough to butcher. 

...while i love their size and egg laying amount i would like something that matures a bit faster.

 

[Lots A Cluckin]

Quote: yes I can understand that

 

[animallover505]

I recommend Black Astralorps.The lay large brown eggs, are excellent meat and egg birds, are friendly, and mature in 20 weeks. They are excellent foragers, which will cut down on feed costs. They also hold the world record for egg laying, one hen laid 364 eggs in 365 days.

 

[gypsyroseplus6]

Oh, how are you gonna house them?  They'll need 1000 to 2000 outdoor square feet so that they don't pick at each other.

we are planning on buying a home with atleast 5 acres. Of land. That is over 213000sqft