Most cost efficient breed

[hoosiergal]

I had some brown leghorns and thought they were poor egg layers and very flighty and nervous type of bird.
Love my golden comets.

 

[paduanchook]

i have california whites and i love them. they are a leghorn/california grey hybrid and look like leghorns witha an occasional black smudge in the feathers. mine are friendly and curious and follow me around like a puppy dog. they are not flighty and lay lots of nice white eggs. excellent for small to medium size flocks. they are also disease resistant and can dodge predators like pure leghorns can

 

[mtnhomechick]

I have both lh and red sex links. I prefer the rsl as the eggs are twice the size of the lh. They are brown and more desirable here. Last week I collected two brown eggs from them that were quarter pounders. Amazing.

The wlh is dependable too though and although flighty........they are very friendly as are the rsl.

 

[AtRendeAcres]

My Choice is

the Dominiqe is a GREAT forager (will get most or all food them self)
http://www.dominiquechicken.com/

They are calm & will raise their own & were also named in the Ark of Taste is a program designed to preserve and celebrate endangered tastes. (in 2006)

I lost mine this summer but, I didn't feed them or my EE and both kept producing eggs!

I love the EE also but, I have never had an EE roo last longer than a year!!

Joanne

 

[providentialpastures]

Where did you get your Dominiques and how well do they lay?

 

[AtRendeAcres]

I had Dominques from Ideal (they were Pretty)

if you get their catalog they rate how their layers perform & size of egg

their Dominque strain lay Very Good & a med to large egg

so very good is better than their:
BO
Buff & Partidge Rocks
Delaware
LightBrahmas
GLW
JG
SS


lay the same as:
RIW
NH
SLW
White Rock
Anconas
Danish Brown Leghorns
Blue Andalusians
Black & Buff Minorcas
NakedNecks

 

[providentialpastures]

Sorry to continually pester you, but how much food do you think they were eating per bird when they were laying their best?

 

[iajewel]

I personally don't care for the Leghorns, although if all you want is eggs.. I agree with others on the fact they will lay and forage well.
I have had Buff Orphs, and Barred rocks for years. I settled in on them after trying many breeds.I thought the RIR needed to much care in the winter. I don't move a pen around, My birds run 30 acers and have to get what they get other than enough corn to bring them in at night. In the winter I do feed them, but from Spring to fall.. they are pretty much on thier own. They get wormed, lice powdered, and are laying 2 eggs every day for every 3 birds. The eggs are a good size and they are also good winter layers with dual purpose qualities. After other breeds failed to do as well with foraging, these were my personal picks.

 

[AtRendeAcres]

providentialpastures if you are talking to me about the Dominques

((you are not pestering)) It is not easy to figure out what breed is your fit! I went through many.

Dominques were always out (the only thing that kept them in is ice)

Food

This is hard to say I flocculated in winter between 25 to 40 chickens (I breed bantam cochins) so, a lot are bantams! Nov-April I will go through 5/6 bags of feed 2/3 bags cracked corn!

For the standards I throw it in litter before I close up coop!

As little as I think I feed them they always go to bed with full crops! From what I have noticed is some breeds are more satisfied than others like my red sex link (great layer but always hungrey), rocks & standard cochins always want more!

Dominques & my Brahmas get enough & stop! (Brahmas are also great foragers & always outside & they are good winter layers but not what you are looking for)

Hope this has help

 

[iajewel]

Thank you for posting the link on the Dominque, very intresting and a good read. It even compares to some points the diffrance between them and Barred Rocks.
Again, thank you for the education.

On another note, I have to disagree about Rocks always wanting more feed.. I waste allot of feed becuse I think they need to eat and thus feed them, and they snub thier nose at me.. LOL.. They have had enough.
I have my hens in winter pens now, as they run all summer after hatching season. I have 6 large hens in one pen (30x30), all Barred Rocks or Rock crosses, They are eatting less then 1/2 a large coffee can of feed a day. This pen does have grass, and is large enough there are bugs etc.. however they are staying off the feed.. Im getting 4 eggs a day sometimes more from the 6 hens, they are poults and just started laying..

I agree that there are so many breeds because there are so many people. Baskin Robins has 31 flavors for a reason.. not everyone knows chocolate is the best *grins* same with chickens.. we all have our favorite flavor.
I have sevral breeds as I could never decide what ONE flavor I wanted.. so I got a triple scoop.