Small flock planning and opinions wanted.

[Sadness Child]

I will also have to say that I prefer the New Hampshire Reds over the RIRs they do not lay as much but they have a better temperment

 

[DanielE1990]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! I could do a chick order and get some of these and as suggested either eat or give away any unwanted or unneeded hens and roos.

Right now thinking I will definitely get Australorp and Sussex! Maybe two more breeds.. I'll have to set back up a brooder but that's not hard

I have to admit I have always loved the look of the speckled Sussex.

 

[Sadness Child]

If you want you should try out Jersey Giants they are a meat bird, but it is said that in their second year will they flesh out, so if you get those as pullets they will lay large eggs and if you don't want them you can kill them and get quit a bit of meat, they are also really nice birds

 

[Acre4Me]

Australorp and Barred Rocks are great layers and healthy birds, in my experience.

We have BJG, and they do get very large if you buy from a breeder. We butchered a BJG male at 22 weeks last winter, and live weight was over 9 lbs!! His brother remains and is quite large at 11 months old. We’ve had a few female BJG and they are ok layers...not great you’ll do better with BR, BA.

we currently have Buff Orpington pullets that have not yet laid any eggs, but they are only 14 weeks, so too early. The hatchery indicated they are a very good laying breed.

our Rhode Island Reds have been ok in our flock, although one died before 1 year old. The other one is more flighty and always lays a symmetrical egg - neither end is pointy, so generally not a good idea to set odd shaped eggs if you plan to hatch. Of course, that is her anomaly, and not likely to be a problem in other RIR.

Easter Eggers are fun bc they come in a variety of colors, laying shades of green and blue. Often they have muffs and beards, making them look really fluffy and inspiring us to give some of our EE names of the Dwarves in LOTR. Ok, the kid named them, but it fits.

We’ve also had White Plymouth Rocks and liked them too. Consistent layer of larger eggs.

Good luck with your flock plans!

 

[Sadness Child]

We butchered a BJG male at 22 weeks last winter, and live weight was over 9 lbs!!

Did he have a lot of meat? because I heard the JGs build their frame first then the flesh out the second year

 

[Acre4Me]

Did he have a lot of meat? because I heard the JGs build their frame first then the flesh out the second year

yes, a lot of meat. We could have waited longer, but we were butchering another male (different breed). We had 2 too many boys, so we butchered them and cooked over an open fire (after they rested for 2 or 3 days.

our BJG grow very large, but it does take them longer to mature. For example both males we butchered were 22 weeks old. The other breed’s testicles were much much larger than the BJG. That other male had been crowing for weeks and interested in the females (we also had a head flock rooster that kept him in check). However the testicles of the BJG were quite small. Although he was a good live weight for 22weeks ,he had not crowed and didn’t show any interest in the females yet. His brother took another few months to crow and show interest in the girls. So, the BJG do build their frames first then add muscle, but you’ll still get a decent carcass from them at a younger age.

 

[Sadness Child]

My Blue Jersey Giant has started crowing at 2 months old, but they are still young and he has competition, right now I KNOW that we have two roos, so that means I have 9 hens for them to compete for so I will try to give one away after quarantine

 

[de kippendame]

I really love my Easter Eggers. They are not particularly large, but not small either and could fair well as a modestly meated bird. I don't know first hand because I've not yet butchered one so take that for what it's worth.

I love that they have so many different colors & patterns. They have great personalities too. I do have a few hens that are EE mixes & are a little flighty, but they are crossed with Iowa Blue and they tend to be a more independent breed. Overall, I love their large pink, blue, green(& some are brown) eggs and the variety of feather colors. I love hatching their chicks and seeing what colors they'll come out as!

I'm also throwing in my vote for Speckled Sussex! I should forewarn you though, they don't lay the world's largest egg. Probably a medium but my 2 hens are now 7 years old-I had to look that up and I'm still shocked they are 7 and still laying eggs...not every day mind you, but they are laying! Personality on these girls, oh my! So gentle, so inquisitive, calm and I'm always tripping over them because they are right on my feet every time I'm out there! They are my 10 year old's favorite just because they are so friendly. Might make them harder to be a dual purpose though, fair warning!

My Blue Laced Red Wyandotte roosters and hens have always been HUGE and they are also very calm and gentle, not to mention beautiful. They are a breed that will always be in my flock, love them! We had one rooster before that we named "Turk" because he seriously was the size of a jake.

All of the above breeds we got from McMurray. We have a lot of barnyard mixes(we hatched) too and though they aren't as friendly(broody raised) they are not flighty either and have nice carcasses.

 

[DanielE1990]

Well unfortunately most of the hatcheries I've checked are sold out or really late in the year for availability. I have a local breeder that does dominickers, Rhode island red, and white Leghorn. But decided against those breeds for now.

I did find a small barred rock roo to add to the flock. I'm going to keep an eye out on local classifieds and markets to see what comes up.

Right now if I find pullets I think I'll get Australorps and Speckled Sussex.

I may also look for more chicks next year.

I appreciate all of your input everyone!
Free free to continue. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread to hear about all the recommendations and experiences

 

[NatJ]

Sometimes it helps to keep checking: on Saturday, McMurray's website had very few females anytime this month. On Sunday, they suddenly had a bunch of females available for the hatch 3 weeks out (and by today, Tuesday, most of those are sold out.) So I think they may update it when they get a shipment of eggs to put in the incubators, or something like that.

I also see chicks available within the next few weeks here: www.mthealthy.com
Many of the breeds have availability dates in June of this year (that's pullets or straight run available, not just cockerels). I have never personally ordered from them, so the best I can say is that their website looks good to me