I currently have Orpington hens, an Orpington roo....
I want hens that will fit in with my current hens well and that my rooster will be ok with. I need a pretty good egg layer with a good temperment. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Any suggestions?
I've got some. As the previous poster mentioned, Australorps. The ones I've had and/or known have all been fairly quiet and good layers. Mine almost seem like they aren't even there ... quiet, in the background, a little skiddish but very calm.
I also really like my New Hampshires. They are the laying kind that you buy from a hatchery, not the German ones that look like they are show birds. I've heard that Estes Hatchery and Cackle both have the old Newcomer line. I like them. They lay better than my Buff Orpington, which I expected to lay a little more often than every other day in her pullet year. (Nothing against Buff Orpingtons, mine is a sweety. It's probably my fault for expecting more eggs.)
If you don't mind hybrids, you could try out the sex-links (the feather color is linked to their sex). I had black sex-linked Black Stars some years ago that laid like champs, better than most purebreds.
Buckeyes are friendly. Mine lays a really long egg that makes me laugh, but she's a good layer and friendly. (Friendly as in comes up to see me and hangs around a bit, too. More so than my other hens and I treat them all pretty much the same.)
Everyone has their favorites. The same breed from one hatchery may lay more eggs or be more calm than the same breed from another hatchery. It's all pretty much a grab bag. Pick whatever breeds seem prettiest to you; as long as they lay eggs, you might as well have some fun with the breeds you pick. What I've always wanted to try was some of those Silver Spangled Hamburgs. Have you seen them? Wow, so pretty. One of these days I will get some.
