I'm curious about chickens, What's a good duel purpose breed?

[Dannyo]

I am in no hurry to get my own, but some day I will. What are some good duel purpose breeds. I don't care much for the looks, they are pretty, sure, but looking at pretty birds will leave you hungry.

Thanks for any suggestions, Oh if possible pictures would be great as I am a complete noob, and won't remember the names well with out the visual reinforcement.

 

[Pumpkinpup]

Orpingtons, black australorps and white rocks are all very good dual purpose breeds.

 

[Laskaland]

I would agree with Robin's list, but add Rhode Island Reds/Whites and New Hampshires as well

Good luck!
Christina

 

[CovenantCreek]

Here's a list from the Ark of Taste --

# Buckeye Chicken
# Delaware Chicken
# Dominique Chicken
# Java Chicken
# Jersey Giant Chicken
# New Hampshire Chicken
# “Old-Type” Rhode Island Red Chicken
# Plymouth Rock Chicken
# Wyandotte Chicken​

 

[PortageGirl]

This is the chart I always show people, it has a large range of birds and their traits and types.

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

You can either pour over it now, to pick out ones that say things like “Dual Purpose” and see which are “Fancy” or “layer” etc under the “CLASS and TYPE” column, or after you get some suggestions here, use it to learn more about the specific ones you might like.

Note that there are some breeds that come in both Large and Bantam sizes, obviously you want the large ones, but this way , you know to keep an eye out for that, etc. It has links to other sites that have lots of pictures too.

Oh, and for what it’s worth, Road Island Reds (RIR) and/or New Hampshire Reds (NHR) would be my choice if you want the max eggs from a still good sized bird. Good solid birds too, few problems etc. The others have also given lots of good suggestions, including CovenantCreeks mention that there is an 'Old-Type' of RIR which is stockier and meatier than the newer strains which are getting more and more streemlined I agree.

Also, the bigger the bird, the more they eat, especially some breeds which were originally meat breeds, but have since become more dual purpose. It's something to keep in mind if you're thinking about economy. You can't short on feed quality or quantity, it'll cost more in the long run with poor health and low production, both meat and eggs, but it's worth cosidering when picking a breed for purely practical reasons.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Add barred rocks to the list - nice big birds. We also have buff orpingtons and these two would be my top pick for dual purpose. BO's have white skin instead of yellow like other chickens though but the birds are very friendly.