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OK serious question here, Julie,--and anybody else! --- out of all these breeds you have, what is your favorite? in overall general terms - the ones that are nice & lay well & are just all around, you know, "good chicks" -- which breed do you like the best?
Asking for a young friend of mine who is trying to get started in chickens! I only have experience w/my Welsummers & Ameracaunas so I am no help!!! She wants a nice chicken who will be a good layer but be nice to her young children. (I promised her I'd take out any bad roos!)
Well................................... I don't have a "favorite" because each of my birds offer at least 1 thing that I like and the 1 bird that offers more traits than the others lacks the 1 trait that the others offer. Does that make sense?
So, I couldn't have a bunch of them for other reasons.
I love the Rhode Island Reds (my #1 layer), Buff Orps, Black Australops, New Hampshire Reds and Barred Rocks for egg laying.
My Golden Laced Wyandottes (bantams) get
1st Place for having all of the traits that I need as far as being the most beautiful birds (in my opinion) that I have. They are EXCELLENT brooders (mine brood 3 times a year EVERY year). They would set on 100 eggs if they could cover them all with no fussing. EXCELLENT mothers, VERY calm and tame, NEVER aggressive. You can walk up to them and pick them up and they won't jump out of your hand and try to fly off. I set them on my shoulder and walk around the chicken yard with them and they never fly off. They enjoy being touched and rubbed. Mine literally will walk over to me when I call their name. However, having the bantams, they lay small eggs, so I don't use their eggs for hatching or selling to my customers. I place fertile eggs from my other ladies under my GLWs and they hatch them for me. My GLWs are responsible for about 90% of the chicks that are hatched at my place.
The breed that gets an
"F" as far as not being friendly and flighty are my Buff Orpingtons. They need meds - preferrably Prozac. They are krazy. They are the 2nd best broody mothers at my place and if you stick your hand into their brooder when it's time to feed and water and change the bedding, they will tear your eyes OUT. I can't stand them when they are broody.
So, I'm sure that didn't answer your question, but that is just my take on the breeds that I have. It all boils down to that I used the ones mentioned above for breeding and laying eggs and then I grab those eggs and let the GLWs take care of the rest.
This year, I will be ordering the Standard GLWs to see if they have the same temperment as my bantam GLWs. I have priced them and they are about $3.00 for a pullet depending on how many you order. I will be ordering them from either Cackle Hatchery or Ideal.
