What Chicken Breeds Would Be Best?

[junebuggena]

Must be the Barred Rock in them. My Barred Rock girls never stop chattering. Sitting in the nest, cooing away; eating, constantly clucking; even when they drink, they're talking.

 

[Michael OShay]

Must be the Barred Rock in them. My Barred Rock girls never stop chattering. Sitting in the nest, cooing away; eating, constantly clucking; even when they drink, they're talking.

That could definitely explain the Black Sex Links. My Reds have been noisy as well although the Reds I had that were RIR X Light Sussex seemed to be a little quieter, calmer, and more gentle than RSLs I've had where other silver gene hen breeds have been used in breeding them. I think the worst temperament RSLs I've had were RIR roo X RIW hen. The Black Sex Links though have definitely been the friendliest of my sex links.

 

[QueenMisha]

How accurate the sexing is also depend on the hatchery itself and the individual breeds. It seems even when vent sexed from a hatchery that is pretty accurate with other breeds, Easter Eggers are harder to sex accurately.

This is true. Out of all the breeds I see go through my workplace, we have way more accidental Easter Egger roos than anything...

 

[atb9454]

Right now my possible list includes Australorps, Sex links, Brahmas, Barred Rocks, and Silkies... I would not be getting all of them, but do these sound good?

 

[junebuggena]

Brahmas get really big, so if space is an issue, I would not recommend them. Barred Rocks are really fun, but are very vocal and active birds that need to be kept entertained. Australorps are pretty mellow birds, but mine are not very friendly. Nothing beats sexlinks for production. If do get Silkies, you will need a few. Sometimes standard breeds won't tolerate them being near, so they need their own mini flock for socialization and keeping warm at night since they don't roost like other birds.

 

[Michael OShay]

Right now my possible list includes Australorps, Sex links, Brahmas, Barred Rocks, and Silkies... I would not be getting all of them, but do these sound good?

I've had all of these breeds over the years, and they are all excellent breeds. My Australorps and Brahmas have both been very calm and gentle (my children made lap pets of both breeds), and they are both good layers of brown eggs (the Australorps are exceptional layers). Black and Red Sex Links are laying machines, consistently churning out more than 300 eggs per hen per year. Between the two varieties, I actually prefer the Black Sex Links as they have been friendlier than my Reds and have been slightly better layers in really cold winter weather. My BSLs have also tended to lay the largest eggs of any of my hens with double yolks not being uncommon. Barred Rocks are a hardy, rugged breed. They are usually docile and good layers of large, brown eggs. Silkies have wonderful personalities. They are adorable, sweet, gentle, friendly, and funny little birds; and while they are poor layers, they are the best brooders and mothers. My only concern about Silkies is that you will not be able to keep them in the same flock with your standard sized breeds. Our Silkies took a beating from our standard sized birds, and we ended up having to put them in their own enclosure. Whatever breeds you decide to get, good luck with your flock. )

 

[atb9454]

Are there any breeds that can not deal with some rain? Here it tends to be drizzly (esp in fall and spring) and I don't want my chickens to be miserable.

 

[junebuggena]

Silkies and frizzles are probably the least weatherproof chickens. Most other breeds won't mind getting a bit wet as long as they have someplace to get dry at. Make sure your coop is plenty big, or cover your run and provide a windbreak. They don't mind wind, and they don't mind wet. But they do mind being wet when it is really windy. My won't leave the coop for days at a time when it gets really stormy.

 

[GitaBooks]

Wonderful backyard breeds include Cochins (all colors), Plymouth Rocks (all colors), Red and Black Stars, Australorps, Orpingtons (all colors), Barnevelders, Wyandottes (all colors), Speckled Sussex and Easter Eggers.

All of these are calmer breeds that are hardy in a variety of climates, beautiful, friendly, moderate to good layers, and also good for meat. They are usually quite (all chickens are individuals) and most of them are pretty easy to acquire.

Best of luck!

 

[allpeepedout]

I got my first Dominique 6 weeks ago and this little chick has lived up to the breed reputation as being incredibly sweet and friendly. This would be a great breed for kids. Also, both of my white-yellowish based Easter Eggers have been real pets from day one, more so than the wild colors. The colored eggs are always a delight.

In addition, these breeds are also somewhat smaller if you plan to keep them as pets for life rather than eat or dispose of when their laying winds down. (Why feed a lot of extra pounds for maybe years?)

I found my Barred Rock can be aggressive to other birds and have less interest in people. Great layers, however. Of course, every bird is an individual.