In demand chicken breeds

[Thomas70]

I'm just curious what chicken breeds people are most interested in for their backyard flock.

We have silkies. They are not good layers but they make great pets. We also have guineas which we have tamed and will come when you call them to get treats, and they like white bread and mealworms. We like them around because they eat ticks and other harmful insects and will gang up and kill a snake.

 

[CannedMonster]

I have found that I really enjoy my Naked Necks. I would love to have more.
I also enjoy my EE and my buff Orpington. I didn’t want to get buff Orpingtons because I felt like they were boring. Everyone has them.
But they really are super friendly and chill birds. At least my Buffy is.
I especially adore my bantams though. They’re the ones that really are pets. I have bantam Cochin and one little Japanese hen.
I have an order for chicks from Dunlap Hatchery on April 8. Four red sex links and four bantams.
The bantams are 2 EE and 2 NN! The hatchery owner said both breeds lay very well for bantams.

 

[TylerJ1966]

One of the most spectacular breeds IMO is the Jubilee Orpington, but they are one of the most challenging also. Egg production is around 3 eggs per week for one year old hens, at best. And then, only about one third are fertile. Second year hens go on strike and rarely even lay. If there ever was a "designer chicken," this is it! Guineas, on the other hand, are the easiest!

 

[leslielbk]

I have 1 Australorp and chose my entire flock based on heat tolerance. The "Austra" is Australia, so 1/2 is heat tolerant She's fine...except broody right now and very pissy. I pick her up every day and put her outside for a little while and oh my Lord does she fuss. I call her a little cranky pants and put her down on the grass for a bit. I don't have a rooster and she's so snarly the other girls won't even lay in the box with her in it. So she's broody on nothing.
My other chickens are light Brahma, Delaware, Whiting True Blue, Speckled Sussex, Cuckoo Maran, and White Giant.
I'm not a fan of the Delaware. They're loud, bossy, bully the other girls. Their eggs are a medium brown and not particularly large.
Truthfully, for eggs the whiting true blue lay a consistently large blue egg, about 5 eggs a week per hen. They're more timid and smaller than my other girls but I took a chance. I always worry about hawks which is why I primarily choose heavy breeds. But I would get more of those.
The Marans are very sweet, as are the Sussex. Neither's eggs are particularly special in any way.
The Brahma's egg is GINORMOUS.
The White Giants egg is a sweet little light pink thing for such an enormous bird.

In the past I've had many other breeds. It's all fun to me, and since I'm down to 12 birds and have a really big coop I'm thinking of getting a few more chicks. I'm enjoying reading people's comments while I consider what new breeds to get. Thanks for starting the thread!

 

[Lyranonamous]

My vote goes to Specked Sussex; friendly, curious, and beautiful.

 

[Leigti]

White Leghorns
Don't breed mixed breeds they are hard to sell, save hybrids

Maybe they dont want to sell. Ok to keep as mixed breed flock in my opinion.

 

[Bert96746]

No kidding. Just cool looking & almost 3' tall.

I have a mixed flock. Plymouth rock, rir, blue laced wyndottes, EE, black sex link, and roos a silkie & a black AM.

I'm such an idiot i thought you were asking if i owned silkies, not shamos lol

 

[Hua Moa]

I love all my chickens...black copper Marans, cuckoo Marans, Black Ameraucanas, frosted white legbar, oliver eggers and Easter eggers. All are sweet and loveable....and beautiful

 

[SamanthaDianne]

Our two leghorns crack me up. They are skittish little tench hoppers as my son calls them (even with one clipped wing) but when they see that feed bucket they will beat you to that gate to get back in!

 

[Naser]

Maybe they dont want to sell. Ok to keep as mixed breed flock in my opinion.

To keep it is fun because you never know what color you get, but to sell them, it is not easy