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

I feel that with most animals, personality is really based on the individual, not necessarily the type or species. I had/have three BO hens (well four but one never made it to hen-hood). One loved to be around people, would let me hold her as long as I wanted and let me pick her up all the time. She was a people chicken. Then I had another hen that was extremely difficult to pick up/catch, but once you did would all-out relax and love to be on my lap. Then there's Rosie, who hated being touched, picked up, held and would flap her wings if I ever got her in my arms. Over time the 2nd and last hen got nicer as I spent more time with them, so that is just how they were as pullets. So, what I am saying is it really just depends on the hen.
 
I have found that a good kid friendly chicken is a White crested black polish female of course, Three of my boys have had them and as kids all the way up to the late teens. They are the perfect weight and size for a child, very friendly and love to be held.
I have had bad luck with flighty birds as sea brights and leghorns, The roosters tend to be mean and once the are allowed to free range for a day they are a bugger to get back in the coop!

I raise layers for the eggs alone, once the are done laying eggs they will retire here on the farm with a good life! I currently have 52 layers and tend to go towards the ones who lay around 250 or more a year, I will be adding to my flock every year with a good 15-20 as re-placers to keep the egg production up. I sell my eggs to locals from my farm.
I have looked up our local state and county laws and as long as I sell them direct to customers and staying under 3000 hens life is good!
 
My sweetest bird is a Blue Splash Marans. She's curious, easy to pick up, and doesn't mind being held. She was extra special to me when she was a chick because she was so relaxed that I feared she was failing to thrive. All of the other chicks would be scuttling around and she'd lay down and just take it all in. She's one of the more dominant hens now, which completely surprises me. I think she's easy to hold because I coddled her as a chick.
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For eggs?
My naked necks hardly miss a day and my Cochins do even better but my Wyandotte is in third right behind my necked necks. The best of all time that I've had though is a Rhode Island Red hybrid though they slow down a bit in their third year before stopping

For kids?
Silkies are sweethearts and so are naked necks if you can get past the not too beautiful appearance. Polish have to be one of the best though especially my rooster, Blaise. Best rooster I've ever had

Dual purpose?
Naked necks even though I've never eaten one of my own. I love them too much and get to attached

Conditions?
Wyandotte all year around for me, old English game for winter but they don't do very well once temperatures get high. Hybrids all year round
 
**This is all just in my experience, which i admit has only been a few years.

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

I find that rhode island reds produce the most eggs out of all the chickens I've had. My rirs usually each lay 5-7 eggs a week, while the others lay downwards of 4 a week, with the same exact conditions as the rirs.

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

I don't have much experience with table birds, but I hear production reds are good for dual purpose, as well as rhode island reds.

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

Most of the silkies I've had have been extremely friendly and great with anyone. I had some polish top hats that were similar. The rhode island reds I've had have not been very friendly (I even had a rooster that would attack and bite me), but I've loved all my silkies and polish top hats. A friend of mine had an araucana that was absolutely amazing around small children. I also had a cochin that was really great with kids.
 
I've spent my chicken years slowly working through the breeds to determine my favorites for eggs and roosters for table.

Which breed will become your favorite depends in part to your environment and range limitation not just your goals.

I've got 1/3 acre, so limited range, and a need to not have birds flying over to the neighbors or annoying them. (Though none have complained). I also have a very wet climate with lots of mud, and though not a lot of freezing temps, bone chilling dankness all during winter. (Many easterners come here from snow climates to feel COLDER in our wet winters.)

I've tried over the years, RSL/GSL, BSL, Welsummer, EE, Cream Legbar, Delaware, New Hampshire, Buckeye, Rhodebar, Marans, Buff Orpington, RIR, Brown Leghorn, White Leghorn, Buckeye, California Grey, Barred Rock, Games mixes (OEGB, Sumatra), backyard mutt mixes, Isbar, Barnevelder (only got roos in that batch), Wyandottes, Silkie, and Bantam Cochin...and I'm sure something I've forgotten.

Many were breeder quality, though many were simply feed store quality. A few from friends flocks.

So my answers?

- Which breeds are best if you're after getting lots of eggs?
Years ago, my grandma had an egg farm filled with White Leghorns. Yes, Leghorns are laying machines, but they tend to be noisy and flighty. For my little backyard flock, years later, I looked for a better breed and have found EXCELLENT production from my California Greys. (Yes, it's an Oregon thing). Feed store quality, but they have been calm, friendly, and lay lovely large white eggs nearly every day for the last 3 years (with a relatively short molt break). Nice personalities to boot.

After that, I get the Red/Gold sexlinks, which lay lovely brown eggs. They do tend to play out in about 2 years of age for strong production, and it shows in their body weight. (Don't plan on eating your spent RSL's).

For darker brown, Welsummers have been an excellent darker colored layer (though not the deep browns of Marans), though mine did tend to be a bit noisy, so I replaced with Marans who are not as prolific but do lay a bit darker.

For overall solid production for extended time, I'd have to say my Black Sex Links were very good.

- Which breeds make good dual purpose birds (Fair egg layers that can also be processed for the table)?
In my personal search, I think when I settle for dual purpose (after I finish playing genetically with egg color), I will go New Hampshire from a good quality breeder line. Very dependable layers of large eggs and a very decent carcass size. Roos will take nearly 6 months to finish though. I'll have to play with roo feed to see if I can't get them to top out by 5 months. A good NH can be hard to find though.

So, Buckeyes are a very good choice for dual, but watch the line you get for egg laying. In the particular breeder line I got, the hens were not very good at laying eggs steadily, but did average about 3 to 4 a week...with periods of non laying. However the roos do grow fast and you can, fed appropriately, get them to table by 16 to 20 weeks, depending upon the size of carcass you want. You do need to monitor and feed the roosters appropriately to get good weight. Even the hens take more protein for good growth. Good meat flavor, though do expect legs to be longer than the Cornish Cross stuff you get in the store....that just means more drumstick!

If you can find them, honestly, my third choice would be Rhodebar. The rooster grew to a nice table size early and the hens are very good layers. They are harder to find and you should only get from a good breeder. The advantage is they are auto-sexing which means you can target those roos right from the start.

Then it would be a good line of Wyandotte or Delaware. Depending upon the line, they can be both productive and good weight.

- Which are the best (non-broiler) breeds for the table?
Buckeye if you want to focus on meat developed faster but still at a "heritage" rate.

- Which breeds are great with kids (friendly, personable)?
My grandma's WL's were NOT good with kids...I know. I was a kid, and I hated to gather eggs from those snotty ladies (but then again, I was pretty small and didn't command much respect).

All my birds are safe with kids, however only a few have desired to be with people. All Black Sex Links I've had were sweet and friendly. My Buckeyes were very tame and friendly. But for a true friendly bird, it is hard to beat the Bantam Cochin. They are little dust mops that are easy to tame and very personable. My Silkies have been a mixed bag. I choose for broodiness which also inclines them to a certain attitude...works for me for raising chicks, but they can be very peckish at those that approach. My current Silkie is much tamer than my previous birds, but she hasn't brooded yet!

No matter what breed you get, the birds must be carefully handled and conditioned so that they are friendly around children. Never trust a child alone with a bird...for the sake of both.

- Which breeds need specific conditions, for example no climate extremes, or not suitable to keep in certain conditions (free range or confined)?
I have mud, dank wet, and I have hawks. My birds must be able to sustain both.

For my feather-footed and low to the ground Silkies and Bantam Cochins, I keep a designated broody hutch that is covered (with thick tarp, wire and bird netting) over bark chips. Otherwise, they are a solid mud ball waiting for bumble foot. I don't pamper them other than keep them on wood chips and out of direct rain..

My banties are also nothing but hawk bait. I could sob a river at the broodies I've lost on short time free range...it only takes a second, and a hawk has them. It is always my brooding banties (I've only lost one large size bird to a hawk kill). Now my banties are always locked up in their enclosed run...no exceptions, not even when I clean the run now. (Lost the last one as she free ranged for 20 minutes on clean out). They've been savvy enough, watching my roo's warning, but they simply cannot run fast enough. They waddle. They get eaten.

I don't prefer white birds either. More obvious to hawks, though I've never had one taken, but always a mud mess to look at. (Yes I do bark my overall free range, but there is only so much you can do). While it doesn't interfere with laying, it does create a less than pleasing flock to look at.

My experiences.
LofMc
 
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I've found that a bird being good with kids depends on how you raise them. I've never had a chicken of any kind attack a person who didn't hit them first
 
I've found that a bird being good with kids depends on how you raise them. I've never had a chicken of any kind attack a person who didn't hit them first
I think a lot of it is the breed, from personal experience. I always handle my birds and create a good relationship with them, but repeatedly from breeds like leghorns and plymouth rocks, I have gotten extremely aggressive roosters that attack at any given opportunity. The hens from these breeds have also been mildly aggressive to my other birds, or me when collecting eggs. On the other hand, I did not experience those behaviors in the breeds I'm currently raising (silkies, Japanese bantam, buckeyes, and wyandottes).
 
I am in love with the Orpinton breed for a great all purpose bird in a backyard setting. They come in so many different colors and patterns. Buffs are pretty common and the least expensive. They do just fine here on the Wasatch front where it can get very cold in the winter and hot in the summer. We have very low humidity and I know that high humidity make temp. extremes more difficult. Of course my girls have plenty of shade and water on hot days. They are sweet and will do anything for a treat. My grandchildren love them and have only been pecked out of curiousity. With light in the coop, they lay all winter but it is good to give them a rest when winter cold is the strongest. Mine have been good layers and the eggs are big and a lovely pinkish buff color.
 
I enjoy having a mixed and varied flock. Several to meet each to the following expectations.

Which breeds are best if you're after getting lots of eggs? Red Sex Link by far.
- Which breeds make good dual purpose birds (Fair egg layers that can also be processed for the table)? Brahma, Marans, Orpington
- Which are the best (non-broiler) breeds for the table? Brahma, Marans, Orpington
- Which breeds are great with kids (friendly, personable)? Brahma, Marans, Orpington, Appenzeller Spitzhauben
- Which breeds need specific conditions, for example no climate extremes, or not suitable to keep in certain conditions (free range or confined)? I don't keep breeds that won't/cant flourish in my climate and set up. But for me it would be any silkied or frizzeled bird that is unable to fly or roost like my others. I would love to have them, don't don't feel they would do well in my flock and would be a target for more aggressive breed like my Sex Links or Rhode Island Reds. I do however have 5 Sultans (3 hens, 2 roos) that fit in quite well as they were raised with the others. One of the smallest hens "Dirty Girl" is actually very high up in the pecking order. It is quite comical to see her put a 10 pound Light Brahma or Marans in their place.
 

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