My flock

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futurefarmer93

futurefarmer93

Hatching
5 Years
Joined
Aug 17, 2014
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9
Location
Moreno Valley, Ca
2 Buff orpingtons, 1 Production Red, 1 french copper maran, 1 amercauana (all hens).can anyone tell meveryone the positives and negatives of whichever breed you may have experience with. Thanks guys!
 
Welcome to BYC
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Glad you joined us! There is a wealth of info and honest reviews from owners and breeders on these and other breeds in the Breeds and Reviews sections. Enjoy the site!
 
Welcome to BYC!
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We're glad to have you.

The only bird in your list that I've had experience with is the Production Red (and I've only had one). She's been a decent layer (250 or so eggs a year). She's not as personable as my Wyandottes, but is still a gentle bird. Mine has been hardy, with no disease problems.
 
I've had great success with Rhode Island Reds and Red Sex Links. They are both personable and good layers. Most of the time I get 250+ a year from each of my Rhode Islands (8 total). As for the Buff Orpington, they are entertaining and sweet-natured birds, however their egg laying has not impressed me. I get about 4 eggs a week from each, with dips and spikes in production. They were purchased from a private breeder, so the line might not be so great, but they do not lay on par with the Rhode Islands or production type birds. I also have a minorca who lays 4-5 giant white eggs a week, so I'm happy that the size of the egg compensates for the lower number. Minorca hen is flighty though. Have only held her a dozen times in two years...

I recently added partridge rock birds to my flock. Very pretty feathering and coloration, but they're too young to lay, so nothing on eggs. I look forward to reviewing the breed in about 3 months once the birds are full grown and laying.

Best of luck with your flock!!
 
futurefarmer93 said:
2 Buff orpingtons, 1 Production Red, 1 french copper maran, 1 amercauana (all hens).can anyone tell meveryone the positives and negatives of whichever breed you may have experience with. Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. I've had all of those breeds over the years, although my Marans were Cuckoo Marans, and my Ameraucanas are Easter Eggers (as most all of them are). There's a good article explaining the difference at http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/09/ameraucana-easter-egger-or-araucana.html. Here are the positives and negatives I've experienced for each breed in 50 years of chicken raising.
Buff Orpington = Positives: Very beautiful, very hardy (particularly against cold), calm and gentle temperament (my children, and now my grandchildren, made lap pets our of them), good layers of large, brown eggs. Negatives: Frequently broody (this is only a negative if you don't want breaks in their laying).
Production Red = Positives: Cold hardy, excellent layers (the best on your list), not broody. Negatives: Sometimes aggressive.
Marans = Positives: Fairly hardy, quite beautiful, lovely chocolate eggs. Negatives: Inconsistent temperament (some of them are quite docile, others can be high strung or aggressive).
Ameraucana (Easter Egger) = Positives: Very beautiful assortment of colors, good layers of different colored eggs, non-aggressive temperament, not broody. Negatives: Standoffish temperament (they do not make lap pets like the Orpingtons do).
Hope this helps. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. Good luck in getting your flock.
 

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