These are for sale near me. What breed are they? Are they good layers?

[SrBoyle]

 

[browning6]

Looks like a Minorca or a white faced black Spanish. I don't know how to tell the difference. They both lay a white egg and that is about all I know.

 

[my sunwolf]

Welcome to BYC!!

They look like Blue Rosecombs to me, depending on those combs (I'm assuming they're rose combs and not single combs). Very pretty birds. I'm not sure that they are good layers, but they will probably be decent layers.

 

[BantamLover21]

They are not the best quality blue Rosecomb bantams. The Rosecomb Bantam is a small bantam breed, known for its white earlobes, graceful carriage, and prominent rose comb. They relatively poor layers of small white eggs, so are not very good for a laying flock. But they are beautiful birds!

browning6: You had a good guess with the White Faced Black Spanish and/or Minorca. However, Minorcas/Spanish have single combs, while Rosecombs, as you can see by the photo, have rose combs. Also, as far as I know, neither the WFBS or the Minorca come in a blue color.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I would not purchase them if you are looking for egg laying.

Bantams will produce small eggs...much smaller than what you're used to getting at the grocery store. The Rosecomb Bantam is not a prolific layer but is mostly an ornamental bird.

If you are looking for good laying chickens, I would recommend the sex link hybrids like a Red Sex Link or Black Sex Link. You can purchase the chicks and know that you are getting girls that will lay eggs as they are color coded...the girls are one color and the males another (by genetics of the hybrid process).

If you prefer purebreds, it is hard to beat a Rhode Island Red or a White Leghorn (though both of those breeds tend to be noisy). Barred Rocks are also a very solid layer (curious and generally well behaved).

Good dual purpose for meat and egg laying would be New Hampshires or Buff Orpingtons with my preference for the New Hampshire as I always got better feed to egg ratio with them over the Buffs.

Henderson's Breed chart has a lot of information about chicken breeds and how well they lay eggs.
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

Good luck on your chicken hunt.

Lady of McCamley

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I would not purchase them if you are looking for egg laying.

Bantams will produce small eggs...much smaller than what you're used to getting at the grocery store. The Rosecomb Bantam is not a prolific layer but is mostly an ornamental bird.

If you are looking for good laying chickens, I would recommend the sex link hybrids like a Red Sex Link or Black Sex Link. You can purchase the chicks and know that you are getting girls that will lay eggs as they are color coded...the girls are one color and the males another (by genetics of the hybrid process).

If you prefer purebreds, it is hard to beat a Rhode Island Red or a White Leghorn (though both of those breeds tend to be noisy). Barred Rocks are also a very solid layer (curious and generally well behaved).

Good dual purpose for meat and egg laying would be New Hampshires or Buff Orpingtons with my preference for the New Hampshire as I always got better feed to egg ratio with them over the Buffs.

Henderson's Breed chart has a lot of information about chicken breeds and how well they lay eggs.
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

Good luck on your chicken hunt.

Lady of McCamley

Enthusiastic x2 on everything above (except I'd never tell anyone to buy Buff Orps if they want egg production or meat. Delawares, maybe?).

OP, I want to congratulate you on being proactive enough to post the chickens here BEFORE you buy. So many people buy first, then are stuck with birds they don't want. We'll check out the next batch you're thinking of, too.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Enthusiastic x2 on everything above (except I'd never tell anyone to buy Buff Orps if they want egg production or meat. Delawares, maybe?).

OP, I want to congratulate you on being proactive enough to post the chickens here BEFORE you buy. So many people buy first, then are stuck with birds they don't want. We'll check out the next batch you're thinking of, too.

LOL...I have to personally agree with WOS about Buff Orpingtons...mine were pretty useless too...however I know that many people just love them so it is good to know they are an option (and I think some lines must be better than others!).

I am not overly impressed with my Delawares right now...they aren't doing either great egg production or carcass size...but this is my first attempt and I only have 2 and I purchased them from a breeder who I am thinking was getting rid of types she didn't want for good reason (not just that the tails were not perfectly marked)....so I might try them again from a better breeder some day.

My next purchase will be Buckeyes for dual purpose and winter laying. I've heard really good things about them. But I do know I would purchase New Hampshires again if I wanted dual purpose.

Ask around your neck of the woods as a lot depends upon the lines you are able to get (either hatchery or feed store or local breeder). The quality can depend a lot on the breed line and where you are located (unless you want to spend a lot in shipping) will determine what lines you actually can obtain.

I totally agree kudos to the OP for checking here first...But don't over think your first attempts...at some point you pick a breed and place to buy them and jump in. Then you'll learn and grow like the rest of us...it's a lot of fun.

Lady of McCamley

 

[aoxa]

Enthusiastic x2 on everything above (except I'd never tell anyone to buy Buff Orps if they want egg production or meat. Delawares, maybe?).

OP, I want to congratulate you on being proactive enough to post the chickens here BEFORE you buy. So many people buy first, then are stuck with birds they don't want. We'll check out the next batch you're thinking of, too.

Oh man.. Never would recommend Orps for laying myself either...

Delawares are great.. As are Rocks. If we are going for a heritage breed, those would be my pick.

If egg production is #1, I'd go for a leghorn, or a red sex link. The red sex links are the friendliest, high producing chickens I have ever raised. Love them.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

If egg production is #1, I'd go for a leghorn, or a red sex link. The red sex links are the friendliest, high producing chickens I have ever raised. Love them.

Amen. We originally thought we'd have an all heritage flock, but then we were given some RSL and we were hooked. I'd say that fully half my flock are RSL right now, and I don't think I'll go back.

We also found that our customers simply don't care if we have heritage birds or not. They care about how they're treated, and they care what they eat, and they care about what color eggs are in the cartons, but they don't care what breeds we have.

 

[aoxa]

Amen. We originally thought we'd have an all heritage flock, but then we were given some RSL and we were hooked. I'd say that fully half my flock are RSL right now, and I don't think I'll go back.

We also found that our customers simply don't care if we have heritage birds or not. They care about how they're treated, and they care what they eat, and they care about what color eggs are in the cartons, but they don't care what breeds we have.

Feed conversion is the best too.

They are the most inquisitive girls. All of them.. Since they were chicks they'd fall asleep on my shoes. Very little prompting from me to warm them up to people. Good girls.