What dual purpose breed works best in your area?

[Coloradan]

I was wondering what breed and where, works best for you? I live in western Colorado in what some might call the high desert. It is more in the middle of the desert and the mountains so I get the best and worst of both climates. Meaning in the summer it can reach 90-100 degrees F and well below freezing in the winter. I have been researching different breeds and am looking for one that is especially self reliant, a good dual purpose bird, and most importantly a good egg producer. I have been looking into the Icelandic chickens, Orpingtons, Colloncas, Huastecs, Austrolorps, and Dorkings just to name a few. Anyone out there raising any of these breeds in a similar climate. I am interested to hear if anyone is raising any of these birds without supplementing any feed.
Thanks for reading and responding.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Where I live (Eastern MO), we have high humidity most of the year but it can range from 110F to minus 10F. It hit -19 at my house a couple winters ago. We have been blessed with a mild but wet summer this year as it only hit 100 once thus far.
Of the breeds you mentioned, I've raised Orps and Aorps and they managed but I doubt they would do very well without supplementing feed.
Of the dual purpose breeds I've raised, the only one I feel would be able to find most of its sustenance and still lay well is the Black Penedesenca. They can also handle temperature extremes.
I don't know much about Colloncas other than what I've read.

Keep in mind, in winter there isn't enough to sustain anything and in milder weather, it needs to be fairly large, pristine and diverse forage.
Around here there's nothing green from November into March. And no bugs for protein during that time.

ETA
If a bird is very productive, it expels a lot of vitamins, minerals and protein with each egg produced. If those things aren't available in good quantities in the diet, production will necessarily suffer. That's the reason layer feed has higher levels of vitamins and minerals than grower feed.
100 years ago, few people fed chicken feed. However, their chickens weren't particularly productive either.

 

[beneduck14]

I live in Northern Virginia and it gets to 100 degress in summer and last year dropped down to 6 degress during the winter. Last year I raised Buff orpington and Khaki campbell ducks. Assuming that you want information on chickens, not ducks.

Buff orpingtons are the friendliest breed I have kept! (Which is why they are always on the bottom of the pecking order with other breeds sadley)

-They are cold hardy and mine even prefered to stay outside in the snow scratching away which was pretty funny if you would imagine furry yellow butts sticking out of the snow.

-Very good egg layer mine layed eggs every day if not every other day.

-I don't eat my own chickens so I don't know about the meat but I have heard they have really good and are used commonly for meat. I have to agree since they get to a large size in a small amount of weeks!

-I would say they are pretty self reliant since mine likes to forage a lot for bugs but you would need to supplement feed for almost any breed! Not only does it "satisfy the hunger" but it gives nutrients and vitamins your chickens need in order to lay good eggs or even grow for a butchering size!

Hope you have a fun time raising chickens!

 

[Coloradan]

Thank both you guys for such a fast response. I understand the need for supplementing food in winter as the fields around me get picked clean by livestock or harvested pretty quick as soon as snow starts to fall and the birds need the nutrients for egg production.

-I guess what am really wondering is, what breed will give me the best egg production with the least amount of time and money invested in my area?

I will be looking into getting a couple black Penedesenca to add to the flock to see how they work in my climate, thanks for the suggestion Chickencanoe. I also noticed you are in the St. Louis area. I grew up in Lebanon, IL, not too far from your neck of the woods. So the temps are very similar but I do not have that wonderful Mississippi River humidity to deal with.

Thanks again

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The Black is the only dual purpose of the 4 varieties.
They are famous in Spain for the flavor of the meat. They even have their own festival, Fira del Gall (Fair of the Rooster).
http://www.penedesencausa.com/home.html
They're pretty rare here.
For the last few years, I've probably had one of if not the largest flock in North America.

 

[beneduck14]

For egg production I would recommend Orpingtons but looking into ChickenCanoe's suggestion with the Penedesencas, I would definatly try them for myself. They sound pretty interesting. Where can I get them?

The Black is the only dual purpose of the 4 varieties.
They are famous in Spain for the flavor of the meat. They even have their own festival, Fira del Gall (Fair of the Rooster).
http://www.penedesencausa.com/home.html
They're pretty rare here.
For the last few years, I've probably had one of if not the largest flock in North America.

 

[donrae]

If you want high egg production on the least amount of feed, you really can't beat a Leghorn. They've been intensively bred for that very purpose for years and years, same as the Cornish cross has been bred to be a meat bird. They tolerate heat well, and while those big combs may be prone to frostbite folks in Canada manage them successfully. You just need a lot of ventilation. Second to that, if you want brown eggs, red sex links are the way to go. No other breed is going to outlay those consistently on less feed.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

If you want high egg production on the least amount of feed, you really can't beat a Leghorn. They've been intensively bred for that very purpose for years and years, same as the Cornish cross has been bred to be a meat bird. They tolerate heat well, and while those big combs may be prone to frostbite folks in Canada manage them successfully. You just need a lot of ventilation. Second to that, if you want brown eggs, red sex links are the way to go. No other breed is going to outlay those consistently on less feed.

Leghorns aren't dual-purpose though.

Dorkings have too big of combs.

I would look into Russian Orloffs... no direct experience with them but they are supposed to lay well into the winter.

 

[Coloradan]

Thanks everyone for the responses and advice. I really appreciate the ease of access for all the information tossed around in this forum. I think I will try the Cornish cross and red sex links sometime, but currently I have a couple Orpingtons, Easter eggers, speckled Sussex, silver laced wyonadettes, and Polish on the way, for a total of about 15 day old chicks. Right now in the coop I have one leghorn and one naked neck, both about a year old, I was told by the lady I got them from. Only the naked neck is currently laying though. Hopefully with a varied flock like this I can see which ones do better.

I am also interested in finding a pair or so of the Black Penedesencas, but it is not as easy as going to my pet chicken .com, they don't have them? I did see that Meyer Hatchery looks like they offer Partridge Penedesencas but are currently unavailable. But with a little google searching I am still unable to find a source for Black Penedesenca chicks or hatching eggs.

Does anyone know where to get either chicks or hatching eggs of the Black Penedesenca?

You can either PM me or please post links if you know of websites.

Thanks