Poll: Which Chicken Breed is your Ideal?

[Lauren Kim]

Which Chicken Breed is your Ideal/Favorite?(poll is above)

The breed that gets the highest count will be bought- by me!

These are 10 common chicken breeds, we just wanted to save money.

 

[Top Rooster]

I can't decide on just on just one can you adjust it to where you can pick more than one?

 

[IZZYBELLA]

I have had barred rocks, buff orpingtons, golden comets, jersey giants, and golden Wyandottes. You can't beat a barred rock in my opinion... good layers, fit nicely in the flock, are winter hearty, and are curious personalities. They are not the most personable with humans that I have had, but they are the easiest keepers and reliable layers. I love having a mixed flock, but always want to have some BRs!

 

[Mylied]

Out of the ones I've had on your list, Barred Rocks are my favorite. Consistant layers and good personalities. I like the blue eggs of the americaunas but they were very flighty.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

It really depends on your goals.

Are you looking for egg production? Or are you looking for a dual purpose bird where the roosters come to table nicely and the hens lay decently?

If you are looking for strict egg production, and want to save money, purchase Red Sex Links from a feed store and brood them. You will be assured of getting all females which will grow up to be excellent egg layers. They do tend to play out in 2 to 3 years, meaning their egg production begins to decrease (from almost 7 per week to 5 and then to 3 or so by ages 3 to 5 depending upon health and hen), and there is little meat left on the spent hen. You need to "refresh" your flock every 2 or 3 years to assure good production levels.

Black Sex Links are also good, but don't seem to have quite the egg production as the RSL's. They do seem to lay longer though. They too do not have much meat weight on them.

If you want to have good meat birds with decent layers, I recommend that you go to either breeder quality New Hampshire (some hatcheries have decent quality NH) or Buckeye.

Breeder standard New Hampshire are harder to find as the hatcheries have made more of a production line, but I have liked my NH's. They are good nature and lay steady, large, eggs (about 5 per week) and the roosters are nice for meat, though take up to 6 months to come to table.

Buckeye roosters come to table by 18 to 20 weeks (generally 5 lbs by then with proper feed manipulation) with excellent meat, which means a lot if you are trying to save money and don't want to pour feed down them before they are ready to harvest. If you've purchased from a good line, the hens lay pretty steadily at 3 to 5 eggs per week. Heritage type birds tend to lay longer than the commercial hybrids or production lines.

If you want eye candy, then get whatever breed tempts you being aware that the white birds or very colorful birds often end up predator prey if you are in a hawk zone.

If you want colorful egg baskets, then get a variety including EE's or Ameraucanas and some dark layers like Marans or Welsummers understanding that the pretty egg layers do not have as high a production. (Hatchery quality Welsummers often don't lay dark and tend to be noisy and unfriendly).

Barred Rocks are steady layers, but you can't reliably sex them at hatch from hatchery stock. They are precocious and inquisitive birds.

I don't recommend RIR's if you are going hatchery. I have had trouble with them being snotty and very noisy though they do lay well. Leghorns are noisy and flighty, and not sexable, but excellent layers, for the first 2 years.

Wyandottes tend to guzzle feed and lay moderately. They are big birds so can be used for meat, but take a long time to mature, so you are feeding them a lot before they can come to table. As do hatchery quality Buff Orps. Watch the line you get your Buff Orps if you go that direction. Some hatchery BO lines are very snotty and do not lay well.

So the right breed for your family depends upon your family's goals and personal tastes.

I wish you the best in finding your favorite breed.
LofMc

 

[Flufferes]

I like this thread
A better place for it might be in the "general breed discussion and FAQ" section of the fourm
General breed discussions & FAQ | BackYard Chickens
I chose Buff Orps, it was a hard one-was stuck between barred rocks and austrolorps!

 

[Ren2014]

I chose Buff Orps, it was a hard one-was stuck between barred rocks and austrolorps!

X2 I chose BO but BR are a very tight second. I based my choice on beauty and personality.

 

[Flufferes]

X2 I chose BO but BR are a very tight second. I based my choice on beauty personality.

Yeah, i chose mine by Egg laying, personality, and my experiences on them. I have a buff orpington who loves to sit in my lap, had a BR who is amazing with kids, and an austrolorp who is an amazing layer. She is still laying at 6 years old!

 

[Leigti]

I would suggest getting one or two of a wide number of breeds. Then you can kind of decide what you like and what you don't after a while. And every breed can be different depending on where you buy them.