Newbie With Questions About Chicken Breeds

[chasmism]

I've been reading from the learning center and breed tab but I haven't gotten to read it all. I just have a few questions. I'm not sure if I'll have free range or not.

1) I would like to raise Amber Whites (for eggs) and Cornish (for meat) Hens. Should I keep them separate or let them mix?

2.) Do I need a Rooster?

3.) Do you have any recommendations for birds for some one whose new to the world of chickens to raise?

 

[Michael OShay]

1) I personally would keep them separate. Cornish cross are lethargic gluttens that will hand around the feeder all day keeping your Amber Whites from getting their share of the feed. You won't have to keep the Cornish cross for long as they will be ready to butcher at 8 weeks. In fact, if you wait much beyond that they will begin having serious health problems due to their abnormal growth rates.

2) You do not need a rooster unless you intend to fertilize eggs for hatching, and since both Amber Whites and Cornish cross are hybrids which will not breed true, it is pretty pointless to hatch their eggs. Furthermore, you won't have your Cornish cross long enough to reach laying size anyway. However with the Cornish cross, you may actually want to order cockerels just to gain a bit of added size. Definitely order pullets though with the Amber Whites so you won't be spending wasted money on cockerels.

3) I would personally recommend Black Sex Links which are very friendly and hardy, egg laying machines. I have raised them for years (along with dozens of other breeds and hybrids), and they have been my best layers, consistently churning out more than 300 eggs per hen per year. If you want a standard breed (BSLs are hybrids), I would recommend Australorps. They are extremely hardy in both heat and cold, calm and gentle (my children and granddaughter made lap pets of them), and the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds.