How do you choose??

[KnightsMist]

After years of research and planning, I finally got my chickens this spring Wanting a diverse flock of bird colors and eggs, I started with 8 girls/7 breeds (2 EEs because egg color is a crap shoot). I'm already planning in my head what breeds I will add next year, but there are SO MANY to choose from and I want them ALL (almost) .

So tell me, wise chicken folk: how do you choose which breeds to get when you have a limit to how many you can keep?? Right now I have all pretty safe, standard breeds (RIR, BSL, OE, 2 EE, BPR, BO, WLH) but there are other LF breeds I would love (Marens, speckled sussex, cream legbar) and then all of the fun bantom and polish breeds!!

I'd be comfortable up to 20 birds I think but I was hoping to not get them all so quickly, as I know egg production wanes over time and I won't have the heart to eat anyone lol. Thoughts? Advice? Fun stories??

 

[Iluveggers]

I feel the same way! I wanted a variety of egg colors & bird colors, & next year want to add Sussex, Welsummer & Cream Legbar, & a white layer. I limit myself to cold-hardy breeds as I live in NY. There are so many to choose from! None of mine are laying yet, but my neighbors have Australorps that lay a light pinkish-brown egg. I am going to hatch some eggs next year so I might try to find nice colored eggs to hatch from, hoping the offspring will get cool colors too!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Depends entirely on your purpose for having birds at all. I want birds that free range well, put on enough meat to be worth culling the males between 12 and 18 weeks, aren't a hybrid (so I can hatch my own), and lay at least large eggs every other day, hoefully with a "start of lay" in the 20-24 week range, typically - though I'd not mind sooner, of course. Eggs tending towards cream/white (to ease candling during incubation) would be nice, too.

I can't imagine having 8 or 10 or 15 different birds of 8 or 10 or 15 different "breeds". My flock isn't for show, and I'd be concerned about not knowing the expectations for any individual, so I might miss behaviors, body condition, etc that could be early indicator of a problem with the bird.

 

[cherrynberry]

Yeah, it depends on why you own chickens. I own them for egg color, so I am always collecting egg colors and also for breeding.

 

[KnightsMist]

Thanks for the thoughts so far. I can't have roosters in my town, so any concerns about breeding/candling etc. are out the window. Mostly the chickens for me are a fun hobby to add to my farm. My only goals are to help reduce bugs (via free ranging), provide eggs for my family, and to sell the remaining eggs to help offset feed costs. I enjoy having a colorful flock and I'd like to create colorful egg baskets, as well. Variety

 

[cherrynberry]

Thanks for the thoughts so far. I can't have roosters in my town, so any concerns about breeding/candling etc. are out the window. Mostly the chickens for me are a fun hobby to add to my farm. My only goals are to help reduce bugs (via free ranging), provide eggs for my family, and to sell the remaining eggs to help offset feed costs. I enjoy having a colorful flock and I'd like to create colorful egg baskets, as well. Variety

Marans, Welsummers then. Since you already have blue/green and brown eggs, CCLB arent really needed. And you already have a white egg layer, so I wiuld focus on dark brown and gray, pink, purple eggs. Various eggers would provide that: Moss eggers, olive eggers (you already have that), barnyard mixes, etc.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I usually read about each breed and think about:

1. Will this chicken be happy in this environment? (Hardy, captivity)
2. What do I want from them (eggs, pets, meat etc..)
3. Will they go well with my other chickens? (Temperament, size)

I recently had to decide between d'uccles and seramas. I decided d'uccles would suit better. This is what I wrote:


"I've been doing some research about seramas and decided they won't be the best chicken to hatch in a small group of 2-3 eggs.
Some of them have some kind of gene where their legs are too short to hatch and they end up dying- I don't really want to be stressed about that. A few of my silkies (my silkies aren't bantams) are quite bossy and I don't think it will be fair of the tiny seramas. Also, the UK is very cold and I read that seramas are delicate. So I don't think they are the best chickens to hatch in a small group.
I've also checked Ebay and eggs are only being sold in groups of 6+ which I can't do

I've been reading about d'uccles and I think they will be a good match for my polish. I have 1 polish whos definitely a rooster and 1 probable rooster, leaving 1 little polish all alone when I have to rehome the roos. I read that d'uccles are cold hardy (very important in UK).
They are small, beautiful, easy to sex young.
I vhecked ebay gor these and you can get as many eggs as you want... From 2-12
They are small, but similar size to my polish who are fine in the flock. I've read on BYC and Google that d'uccles are very friendly and a bit crazy... (Like me!)"

 

[KnightsMist]

I usually read about each breed and think about:

1. Will this chicken be happy in this environment? (Hardy, captivity)
2. What do I want from them (eggs, pets, meat etc..)
3. Will they go well with my other chickens? (Temperament, size)

I recently had to decide between d'uccles and seramas. I decided d'uccles would suit better. This is what I wrote:


"I've been doing some research about seramas and decided they won't be the best chicken to hatch in a small group of 2-3 eggs.
Some of them have some kind of gene where their legs are too short to hatch and they end up dying- I don't really want to be stressed about that. A few of my silkies (my silkies aren't bantams) are quite bossy and I don't think it will be fair of the tiny seramas. Also, the UK is very cold and I read that seramas are delicate. So I don't think they are the best chickens to hatch in a small group.
I've also checked Ebay and eggs are only being sold in groups of 6+ which I can't do

I've been reading about d'uccles and I think they will be a good match for my polish. I have 1 polish whos definitely a rooster and 1 probable rooster, leaving 1 little polish all alone when I have to rehome the roos. I read that d'uccles are cold hardy (very important in UK).
They are small, beautiful, easy to sex young.
I vhecked ebay gor these and you can get as many eggs as you want... From 2-12
They are small, but similar size to my polish who are fine in the flock. I've read on BYC and Google that d'uccles are very friendly and a bit crazy... (Like me!)"

D'uccles are high on my wish list! Thanks for sharing your list of Qs. I have been focusing on cold-hearty birds, and luckily I have a very large coop and run, plus they can free range when we're home, so confinement isn't a big concern.

 

[CluckerFamily]

When I look for chickens they have to be cold hardy. I have the chickens as pets so egg production isn’t a priority of me nor is the meat. I like funky so I settle with Easter Eggers. They all have a different feather pattern and they lay different colored eggs. If I every expand the coop after getting the other animals on my wish list, I would add other chickens but for now, I love my flock of Easter Eggers.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

My checklist is:

• Very friendly
• Unique and beautiful
• Cold hardy
• Go well with crested flock (standard silkies and polish bantam)

eggs aren't really a priority for me. I go for friendly chickens that look unique and pretty (I usually like ornamental chickens). I like silkies since they go broody often too