I have a rough idea of the chickens I want....: 8 Dom, 8 RIR, 8 Leghorns, 8 Buff , and 8 Silver Seabrights . With a few cornish to use as meat birds?? Will probally get 8 of each type, and have 2 roosters in this flock?? Is that a good pick?? Anyone who knows chickens is welcome to advise me if this is a good mix or not ?? We will be beginning our 2nd flock , ordering from MYpetchicken this spring, since our first flock was wiped out by a coon or fox last summer. We are building a new 8x8x7 barn style coop, and it will be very predator proof !!! I have our pix on FaceBook.... since my pix wont post on BYC for some ? reason ?? Will have finished coop pix posted soon!! Then in a few weeks....we will have peep pix!!! CAnt wait !!! Thanks!!!
In my opinion it's whatever you want. Here is a great reference book, Gail Damerow's 'Storey's Guide to Chickens' is an excellent guide, as well as this web site. This site is an excellent source of information. Also here are some other good sites and info. Henderson's Chicken Breed Chart http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html http://www.mypetchicken.com/aboutChickens.aspx https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart
I agree...what about blue eggs! I always advise more birds...but then again I am an addict and we loves company!
Depends on your goals for the flock. Are you looking for a variety of breeds and not necessarily great layers? Are you looking for dual purpose types? Are you more interested in ornamentals? If you are interested in layers and variety of breeds, why not get 4 of each breed and expand your variety? Say throw in some Light Brahmas and New Hampshires (I'm sold on their huge, glossy deep brown eggs and their beauty!), Partridge Rocks, and Australorps? All good layers, heavy meat duality and beautiful colors!
I agree with beekissed. Last year I ordered RIR & BO. This year I have ordered 8 different breeds of females and 16 different male breeds. I will keep all the females and determine which meet my standards in the next year. I will keep the males to butcher (around 14-18 wks) but plan to keep the 2 that appear the most colorful and or have good flock protection references.
