needing help on determining the breed of my hen

[Poultrybreeder]

I used to have an Astralorp rooster, he was mean! I have heard other stories of mean Black Astralorp roosters. I did however breed him to a Black Sexlink hen I had, and those were great heavy birds with egg productions. So I would imagine most Astralorps are pretty good dual purpose birds. Among other chickens, my Astralorp seemed fine with other chickens, he just hated me

 

[Leighe]

Thank you for the warm welcome. I have learned quite a bit from being on here for for only a few hours. The experience it will give my kids will be amazing. They are animal lovers just like me, but I would like to get a few meat chickens just so they have appreciation for where their food comes from. I was thinking a few jersey giants mixed in but they take a while to mature and I don't want the kids to get too attatched in the mean time. Having trouble picking out a meat breed. The main thing I'm looking for is egg layers though. I have heard that sex links have a short lifespan/egg producing period. What are your thoughts on that

at

I honestly don't know about sex links having a shorter lifespan/egg producing period. As far as meat chickens....you could get the Cornish X and process them in 8-10 weeks and more then likely your children won't get attached. They're not cuddly chickens, really. They just eat. They don't follow you around like normal chickens. They just eat. On the other hand if you're wanting a normal chicken that is used for meat, there are quite a few breeds, some Heritage breeds and some newer breeds. Also looking up Dual Purpose chickens you could get eggs and meat from. Just a note: You may end up with roosters and need to process them, please don't expect a lot of meat from them. I use them mostly for chicken stock. They look big but they process out small. Red Rangers is one of the meat chickens I know of. I have Dorkings and they are dual purpose. I don't know anything about Jersey Giants but someone will probably come on and help with that.

 

[drumstick diva]

Word from the coop is high production layers - drop off after the 2 yr. mark and also tend to have serious "female" problems that can end their lives early.

 

[Ptrow86]

I honestly don't know about sex links having a shorter lifespan/egg producing period. As far as meat chickens....you could get the Cornish X and process them in 8-10 weeks and more then likely your children won't get attached. They're not cuddly chickens, really. They just eat. They don't follow you around like normal chickens. They just eat. On the other hand if you're wanting a normal chicken that is used for meat, there are quite a few breeds, some Heritage breeds and some newer breeds. Also looking up Dual Purpose chickens you could get eggs and meat from. Just a note: You may end up with roosters and need to process them, please don't expect a lot of meat from them. I use them mostly for chicken stock. They look big but they process out small. Red Rangers is one of the meat chickens I know of. I have Dorkings and they are dual purpose. I don't know anything about Jersey Giants but someone will probably come on and help with that.

Thanks for the info. How many roosters do you have? I'm hoping to keep one just to protect my hens but I'm still on the fence about it. I live in a rural town(for New Jersey) and they don't allow roosters. My neighbors are good people so I doubt they will mind unless it crows endlessly