Topic of the Week - Which Breeds Are Best For….

[Angelbach]

I have no answers to give...but I have questions.

I would easily fall in love with sweet birds...which is going to be the problem when we cull.

Scenario: We're on 1/2 acre. Zone 10a (North San Diego, coastal-ish). We get a few days every few years of +30 and maybe a week every few years of 100.

Challenges: I have Red-Tail Hawks and Henry's Falcons. They don't seem to bother my neighbors' birds who are extremely wild, but they (predatory birds) nest on my property and will be staying. I also have a family of coons that visit as well as skunks and opossum. The normal mice and rat thing. We also have catch, fix and release feral cats (currently 5ish). Occasional neighbor dogs visit and haven't seen coyotes in a couple of years.

Question 1: What is a good meat hen that will give at least a fair amount of eggs, be a good meat bird (for sure) and one that I probably will NOT fall in love with. Something annoying that will not (most likely) try to kill me. Should I just raise roos for this purpose? Still want something that probably won't be that sweet. I would not keep roos in the pen with hens as I am a ovo-lacto vegetarian (family are meat eaters). At what age would a roo be good to dispatch? I really would prefer to keep the noise down as much a possible.

Question 2: What is a nice temperament bird that is fairly self-protective, productive egg layers, that are known for laying for a good long portion of their lives.


Assumption: if I have something that is aggressive towards hens it will either be dinner sooner or need to be separated.
Assumption: I will need to build tractors or some sort of full fence enclosure.
Assumption: I will not kill a "chicken friend" unless it for mercy or SHTF.

Thanks in advance.

 

[I Love Layers]

I have no answers to give...but I have questions.

I would easily fall in love with sweet birds...which is going to be the problem when we cull.

Scenario: We're on 1/2 acre. Zone 10a (North San Diego, coastal-ish). We get a few days every few years of +30 and maybe a week every few years of 100.

Challenges: I have Red-Tail Hawks and Henry's Falcons. They don't seem to bother my neighbors' birds who are extremely wild, but they (predatory birds) nest on my property and will be staying. I also have a family of coons that visit as well as skunks and opossum. The normal mice and rat thing. We also have catch, fix and release feral cats (currently 5ish). Occasional neighbor dogs visit and haven't seen coyotes in a couple of years.

Question 1: What is a good meat hen that will give at least a fair amount of eggs, be a good meat bird (for sure) and one that I probably will NOT fall in love with. Something annoying that will not (most likely) try to kill me. Should I just raise roos for this purpose? Still want something that probably won't be that sweet. I would not keep roos in the pen with hens as I am a ovo-lacto vegetarian (family are meat eaters). At what age would a roo be good to dispatch? I really would prefer to keep the noise down as much a possible.

Question 2: What is a nice temperament bird that is fairly self-protective, productive egg layers, that are known for laying for a good long portion of their lives.


Assumption: if I have something that is aggressive towards hens it will either be dinner sooner or need to be separated.
Assumption: I will need to build tractors or some sort of full fence enclosure.
Assumption: I will not kill a "chicken friend" unless it for mercy or SHTF.

Thanks in advance.

Question Number 1: Any dual purpose breed. Since your temperatures are not that warm or cold. Since you mentioned all the aerial predators I would keep a rooster, no need to dispatch of him unless he turns aggressive, and roosters especially if there's only one are not that noisy, I have 6 right now and they make very little noise. Before getting the birds you need to speak with your neighbor's about their dogs. Make some sort of agreement with them so that their dogs stay away. As for cats they don't usually bother chickens.


Question 2: White Leghorns, mine are fairly nice but lay almost everyday.


Assumptions: Your ideas and feelings will change once you get birds, my orginal plan was to have no roosters and to keep them in a run. Well the person gave me a rooster with the hens and he was an amazing rooster. They stayed in that run for 3 months and then I opened it up and let them out, and I have lots of predators red tail hawks, golden and bald eagles are some of the most common aerial predators. Skunks, coons, coyotes, weasels, and even the occasional mountain lion. And a year ago or so I actually tore the run down, there was no use for it. Now I have 3 roosters I am keeping and thr other 3 are going to homes who also want something to protect their flock. I kept one offspring of my first rooster and he is the best rooster I have ever had and i have his son, and his sons son who I am keeping. I only use tractors or anything enclosed for my show birds and only because I can't have them out with the laying hens.

 

[Nardo]

 

[Eddie8Macken5]

HI WE'RE NEW TO BACKYARD CHICKENS MY AMERICAUNA IS NAMED CHARLOTTE TOO! WE'RE GLAD TO HEAR AMERICAUNAS ARE SO NICE.

 

[Hufflefluff]

What Breeds have you found are best for eggs?

• Personally, we've loved our Red Sex Link; predictable, obviously, but she lays large, brown eggs at least 6/7 days a week year round. Our Easter Eggers have been fun for colored eggs,but they have historically taken a long molt each fall and not resumed laying until spring- from them we'll reliably get 5 ish eggs a week in the spring, summer, and early fall, and none for the rest of year. Our Australorp has been decent too; she's very much hatchery quality and has stayed small and thin, but she forages for a good amount of her food and lays around 5 eggs a week, so she's been pretty efficient.

What Breeds are good dual purpose birds?

• I've personally only harvested CX, but I'm going to cull some of our flock this fall and am definitely expecting some to be a lot meatier than others. Our Brahma has been a steady layer- around 5 eggs a week, even in winter, and is large enough to make processing her worth it; I don't know how representative that is overall of the breed, but brahmas work for us. One note of caution: be aware of the standard of the birds you're buying if you'd like them to be dual purpose. We got some Wyandotte pullets thinking we could process them after their first year or two laying, but the feed store we got them from evidently expected them to just be layers as they didn't grow anywhere near the size expected for the breed, and have a much more traditionally layer build, so just be aware of that if you're considering processing a bird sold as a layer, regardless of breed.

Which Breeds are great with kids?

• Bantams. Especially bantam cochins; their smaller size makes them less intimidating and easier to hold, their small eggs are fun to look at and easy to hold, and they've been reliably sweet and cuddly, much more so than our standard size cochins. That being said, standard Cochins and Brahmas have been very sweet too, and Easter Eggers should definitely be considered; their eggs are fun and interesting, and they're sweet, curious, and calm, albeit not as likely to cuddle.

Which Breeds need specific conditions to thrive?

• Our Cochins have actually been fine foragers, but I wouldn't keep them anywhere where it will be muddy for much of the year, or in a pen with a high chance of mud. If you're keeping Sex Links or Leghorns, I'd definitely recommend making sure their coop doesn't get too cold; we've had some issues with frostbite and sleeping in nest boxes when it dips below 10 or 15. My last note is that the bantams we've had have not handled cold well: we stopped keeping them after some deaths last winter. This might not be a probem if you have enough for them to huddle, but we only kept two or three at a time and when it got down to 0 with heavy snow they all died, regardless of how well we insulated their coop.

Side note: Our favorite chicken has definitely been the Red Sex Link. They don't have a great reputation for being personable / friendly, but we handles ours a lot as chicks and they'll follow us around and wait at the back door when we get home- they're very intelligent, and I'd certainly recommend.

 

[Meyrlbird]

As far as temperment, I'd have to say surprisingly our Pioneer hen is a lap chicken. Everyone else is notably skiddisk.

 

[Devw]

-Which breeds are best if you're after getting lots of eggs?

If all you're looking for is egg production, leghorns win hands down. They lay large white eggs on a near daily basis. Red and black stars are also stellar layers of large brown eggs, and I've had red stars that have laid jumbo sized eggs. Wyandottes are a good option too, but not nearly as reliable as the first two options.

- Which breeds make good dual purpose birds (Fair egg layers that can also be processed for the table)?

Buckeyes are a great dual purpose breed. They have great meat, but also lay fairly well. They lay medium-large brown eggs. Another good option is again the wyandotte breed, as well as plymoth rocks and sex links.

- Which are the best (non-broiler) breeds for the table?

Buckeyes, hands down.

- Which breeds are great with kids (friendly, personable)?

Buckeyes, wyandottes, sex links, easter eggers, ameraucanas are all great options.

- Which breeds need specific conditions, for example no climate extremes, or not suitable to keep in certain conditions (free range or confined)?

If you live in an area that gets below freezing, it'd be best to avoid big combed breeds like leghorns. Though, most of the options I've already listed are great for all climates.

 

[Ben henderson]

[/IMG]the best layers I ever had where white stars. never stopped.
friendliest chickens have to be silkies. perfect pet chickens.

 

[Bine]

Barbu d'Anvers are tiny, friendly and a good choice if you search for a more pet like chicken. They will follow you around in the garden.... and the house if you let them. They are perfect if you have only limited space and do well with other pets.

 

[ChickAsThieves]

My best layers are my Red Comets (aka Red Stars). They started early, and were the first to start up again this season. They're going into their 4th year of laying. They're not particularly friendly, but they're not mean either. I have two of them and they are both very inquisitive. I'll definitely get a few more when they pass because they are dependable layers.