What chicken breed

[Chicken Egg 17]

I am looking to build a breeders pen and get some chicks to raise and eventually sell fertile eggs but I can't decide which breed I want because it has to be a breed people like and a breed I like. I am interested in these breeds Ayam cemani, barred rocks, Rhode Island reds, blue laced red wyandottes, slash wyandottes, black jersey Giants, barnevelder, welsummer, and silkie, which breed could I make some money off of so I can get a bigger coop in the future and still be able to get lots of eggs from them each year. Thanks

 

[Ridgerunner]

Roada, how well do you understand the SOP (Standard of Perfection) for any breed? There are many things that make a specific chicken breed a breed. Color is one but that’s not the most important part. Body shape is extremely important. A good chicken judge can pretty much tell the breed of a chicken by just looking at a black and white silhouette, no colors required. You have skin color. It’s not just that they have to have the right comb type, it has to be a good representation of that comb type. There is posture and just a lot of different things. Unless you are really familiar with what it takes for a specific breed you can’t breed to those requirements.

If you already know all this forget what I’m saying, but unless you are an expert you should be going to chicken shows and talking to the experts to see what is required. Raise and show chickens so you can understand better what is required.

Some people do get hatchery chicks and just hatch chicks from them and sell the eggs. You can get better money from a “breed” doing this instead of selling a barnyard mix, but you are not really selling that breed, just a far from perfect knock-off, sometimes not even as good as hatchery chicks.

What I suggest is that you don’t worry about a breed, sell Easter Eggers. EE’s don’t have any requirements except that they lay blue or green eggs. You don’t have to worry about body conformation, color, pattern, feet color, any of that. Just get chickens that lay blue or green eggs and breed those. There is still some breeding involved. Not all EE’s lay green or blue eggs, so breed yours to eliminate the brown or pink ones. You should be able to find a market for pullets that will lay colored eggs.

One way to get a bunch of pullets that lay blue or green eggs is to get a true Ameraucana rooster and put him over good production hens like RIR, Delaware, Black Australorp, any of the Rocks or Wyandottes, red or black sex links, and several others. It can be hard to get a true Ameraucana, hatcheries generally don’t sell true Ameraucanas regardless of what they advertise. But a true Ameraucana will be pure for the blue egg gene and will produce pullets that lay blue or green eggs from any hen. The production hens should pass along good productivity to their daughters.

At least in the short term this should get you up and running and you can be perfectly honest about what you are selling, pullets that lay blue or green eggs. That can get you time to pursue a specific breed if you wish.

Just a thought. Good luck with it.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

I have bred chickens before and hatched a few eggs before and I know quiet a bit about chickens and I know I'm only thirteen but I know my stuff and I understand what you are saying and I have read quite a bit about breeding chickens before so I think I know what I'm doing and I know it's going to take time. And I just need to figure out what breed to get and look more into how to breed them thanks a lot that really helped me relies how much more there is to it but I still want to try it and see how it goes thanks

 

[junebuggena]

I am looking to build a breeders pen and get some chicks to raise and eventually sell fertile eggs but I can't decide which breed I want because it has to be a breed people like and a breed I like. I am interested in these breeds Ayam cemani, barred rocks, Rhode Island reds, blue laced red wyandottes, slash wyandottes, black jersey Giants, barnevelder, welsummer, and silkie, which breed could I make some money off of so I can get a bigger coop in the future and still be able to get lots of eggs from them each year. Thanks

Do some more research on each of the breeds you are interested in. Figure out what is important for you in terms of keeping chickens. Are you wanting good producers? Are you wanting something that would also be a good meat bird? Is 'pretty' the most important? Is budget a concern for acquiring stock? What about space? Some of the breeds you're interested in are extremely expensive to obtain (Ayam Cemani), and some get very large (Giants). If you want birds that meet the breed standard, purchase your stock from a good breeder, someone who can be a mentor for you.
Here are some threads that specifically pertain to the breeds you mentioned.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1047687/ayam-cemani-breeding-discussion
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/849946/ayam-cemani-pure-black-chicken-inside-and-out
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1072107/chicken-breed-focus-ayam-cemani

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/486056/barred-rocks

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/407294/the-heritage-rhode-island-red-site

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/466415/blue-laced-red-wyandotte-thread

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/277387/jersey-giants-thread-for-pictures-and-discussion
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1007948/chicken-breed-focus-jersey-giant

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ders-lets-work-together-and-improve-the-breed

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/271757/the-welsummer-thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/980204/chicken-breed-focus-welsummer

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/690632/silkie-breeding-genetics-showing

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Thanks I will look at those here later

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

I have narrowed it down to just two breeds blue laced red wyandottes, Ayam cemani could someone help which one should I get and or are people more interested in

 

[junebuggena]

Ayam Cemani are very rare. They've only recently been imported into the U.S., and there aren't many people specializing in them yet. It's a breed that could really benefit from more people being truly dedicated to their preservation, breeding their birds to a common standard and working towards APA recognition. Finding good ones to start a breeding program with is going to be a challenge, and expensive. Chicks can range from $100 to $250 each.
Blue Laced Red Wyandottes aren't a recognized variety yet. They need a lot more work before they will be accepted. And blue only breeds true 50% of the time. You will get Black Laced and Splash Laced birds in addition to Blue Laced. Good lacing can be difficult to achieve, and it can be difficult to achieve a smooth rose comb.
Neither are really showable breeds/varieties, and require dedicated breeders to get them to the point of APA acceptance.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

So which one would you get I more leaning to the blue laced red wyandottes

 

[junebuggena]

So which one would you get I more leaning to the blue laced red wyandottes

I'd go with Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, simply because most people can't afford to pay over $100 per chick. Seriously, Ayam Cemani are crazy expensive, and most aren't great quality examples. Wyandottes are pretty to look at, good layers, and are decent sized birds for meat purposes. You should be able to find a mentor for them. Just don't get your breeding stock from a hatchery, not if you are serious about breeding quality birds.
Join the breeders' club (https://www.facebook.com/wyandottebreedersofamerica1/). Join the American Poultry Association and get a copy of the standards of perfection. Talk to breeders. Read as much as you can about the breed, not just about Blue Laced Reds, but about all the varieties. Deciding to choose one breed to specialize in is a big decision, and it requires a lot of dedication.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Ok I had actually already found a breeder and they had some pics of there birds on there website and they look really nice and they are an adm approved perfection breeders and the chicks are 10 a piece and if you get a adult hen they are 75 a piece thanks i am going to get the blue laced red wyandottes expert instead of chicks I am going to see if they will sell me some eggs as they say they don't usually sell eggs as they are trying to hatch them selves but I think they will sell me just a few eggs and they are 53 minutes away and they only charge 15 dollars for shipping