Official BYC Poll - What Breed Characteristic Is Most Important?

[foux003]

I raise RHODE ISLAND REDS and NARRAGANSET TURKEYS. I was born and raised in RHODE ISLAND and so are my BIRDS. My FATHER, GRAND FATHER and GREAT GRAND MOTHER also raised RHODE ISLAND REDS on the SAME PROPERTY that I have lived on for over 61 years. Perhaps when my SON takes over the property he will do the same. That would be 5 generations on the same land.

foux 003

 

[Camshaft]

For me it has to be "climate" due to the fact that if they couldn't take the cold up here we wouldn't have chickens. I think that we would all pick "All Of The Above" if it was there, eh. )

 

[Tikka]

For me, Temperament won out since we live in the suburbs and we need sweet, quiet chickens. I almost went with Climate first since it gets dang cold here. After those two, egg production is probably most important.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Quote:
It really doesn't surprise me. With so many breeds that fit whatever you are looking for in a chicken, whether it's meat production, egg production, broodiness, exhibition, etc, it doesn't surprise me at all that temperament would be an important quality for narrowing the list down to just one or two (or three or four) breeds. Yes, for some people food production is important. But even for those for whom food production is the main reason for keeping chickens, they also have to tend to these animals on a daily basis and it's a lot less of a chore to care for an animal that has a temperament/personality that you like than one which you do not.

And I think a lot of backyard chicken folk are probably like me. I have a small urban backyard with limited room. The coop we built is big enough for maybe 5-7 standard sized chickens. We did have room to build a larger coop, but we still wouldn't be able to comfortably house more than about 15-20 chickens in our yard at most (and even that many we would be looking at more work than we really want to put into their upkeep to keep their living quarters clean). When I was looking at what breeds to get, we were looking at eggs. We wanted a chicken that would be a good producer of eggs that were at least medium-sized, but preferably large, and able to tolerate hot humid summers and cold winters. The list I came up with had probably 20 breeds on it as potential matches for what we were looking for. That's more chickens than I have room for. So we had to look to other traits to narrow that list down even further. With room for so few chickens and so many options that will fill my needs, temperament is the trait that will draw the line for which birds get to stay and which birds don't. I also have a small child and plan on expanding our family in the next few years, which means it is very important to have chickens that can tolerate the attentions of a small child without becoming too stressed or aggressive.

 

[JimL]

I chose breeds to get a variety of egg colors. I give most to my friends and neighbors and handing out a party color dozen is just a lot of fun. I keep about ten at any one time and I have noticed different "personalities" in different flocks as a whole. Regardless of individual breeds.

 

[vtfarma]

This is a decision that is not black and white... I would go for cold hardiness first but then egg production and personality would have to be hand in hand next and I like the color in the eggs. a lot of our customers have small kids and the novelty makes the kids enjoy it a lot more. If it were meat production it would be for size not speed.

Good poll though, makes you think. thanks,

 

[ams3651]

I wanted friendly chickens who laid regularly and that I thought were nice looking but I had to take those into consideration but the most important was hardiness as I live in Pennsylvania and our winters can get pretty cold for long periods.

eta - my grandfather had RIR when I was a kid, we all lived together on the farm, so I also knew right off the bat I wanted RIR kid of as a way of remembering him.

 

[Yessur Ebob]

I chose personality. If they aren't nice we eat them.

And after butchering chickens yesterday, I decided that maybe chicken doesn't taste that good after all.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
See, we had RIR growing up....meanest gosh-darned rooster on the face of the planet!! So that's the main reason why I DON'T have RIR in my flock

 

[ams3651]

Quote:
See, we had RIR growing up....meanest gosh-darned rooster on the face of the planet!! So that's the main reason why I DON'T have RIR in my flock

I dont really remember having a mean rooster but what I do remember is a mean turkey tom! He was my grandfathers pet and would chase us clear down the road. He was big 'un too.