What is the best chicken

[learning2homestead]

I am new here, I have had chickens (as a hobby) but now I am trying seriously to get into homesteading and living off the land(like my parents brought me up) I have some questions. hopefully I am not going to be a burden in asking and I hope that I am in the right thread. I have tried to find if these questions already answered but couldn't find it anywere

1. What is the best laying hens to get the most eggs?
2. Should I get chickens that are already laying or start out from babies/hatching(just ordered a incubator about 7 days for it to come in)?
3. What chickens are the best for meat and if they are different from number one can I mix them or have a separate coops for them?
4. how is the best way to raise them organically?

Thank you in advance for any help and advise ya'll can give me

 

[rjohns39]

I imagine you're going to get a lot of different answers--but that's what makes this place so fun...

For me, I'm grass based, which means everything moves. I have focused on endangered breeds, so mine aren't the best egg layers. Most of my breeds are dual purpose, so I get a decent sized carcass out of the extra roos.

I prefer to start with day old chicks, but have also gotten pullets at POL and hatching eggs. Hatching eggs that have been shipped give me a 40-50% hatch rate. The reason I like to start with day olds or birds I hatch is they get to know us while in the brooder and are better behaved, for the most part, when they move to pasture.

I also Raise heritage Turkeys and will raise CXs for meat birds. In the spring I'm going to try some Toads (do a search on "Toads") for meat birds as they tend to reproduce true.

My meat birds that are going to be meat spend 3 weeks in the brooder, then 35 days in a shelter 2' tall 8X8 and they move every day and toward the end, twice a day. I feed them what they can consume in 45 minutes (measured weekly) and put the feed and water as far apart as I can to force exercise. This is just one of many ways to do it.

 

[Zoomie]

Welcome to BYC! In order to answer what is the "best" chicken *for you* you would need to ask yourself some questions: why, exactly, are you getting chickens? What is your goal? How much space do you have? Are you going to breed your own at some point? Do you have a good strong coop/run? And so on and so forth.

Many breeds could be the "best" all depending on what your goals are and what you are trying to accomplish. For example, generally speaking, the egg layer does not produce the most meat. BUT, there are dual-purpose breeds which are fairly good at both. If you don't have the space or the coop for two flocks, maybe a dual-purpose breed would be a good choice.

As far as buying chickens at point of lay, or buying chicks - again, you would need to ask yourself what is your budget for this? Point of lay birds are going to cost more than chicks. How much are you willing to spend? Either way can be perfect, totally depending on your situation.

I am sure you will have a great time sitting down and figuring this all out. It's really fun to dream of a new chicken enterprise!

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Really it all depends on what your looking for, and where you are.

Do you need cold hardy along with laying? Leghorns are little egg laying machines, but they're flighty... Barred Rocks are also really good layers, and are sometimes considered dual purpose.

 

[lazy gardener]

Where is your general location? That enters into your decision process. I suggest that you do some reading, cause the more you read, the more questions you will come up with... questions that you didn't even know to ask before starting your reading! Start with the learning center. Then, do thread searches on topics of interest. Look at Henderson's chicken breeds chart. Pick out a few breeds of interest, then do thread searches on them. Also check various hatcheries and read about the breed there. Topics to consider: deep composting litter in coop and run, free range vs. coop and run style management. Fermented feed, Mother heating pad brooding. Brooding chicks outside. Here's a good book that will help you get started: https://www.abebooks.com/Small-Scal..._-new-_-PLA-_-v01&product=COM9781603582902NEW

There is no one "best chicken". Your choice depends on your location, your goals, your flock management style. For every great quality in a particular breed, you might find a "trade off" that does not meet one of your goals. So, do your homework, and enjoy the ride.

 

[Chris2015]

I am new here, I have had chickens (as a hobby) but now I am trying seriously to get into homesteading and living off the land(like my parents brought me up) I have some questions. hopefully I am not going to be a burden in asking and I hope that I am in the right thread. I have tried to find if these questions already answered but couldn't find it anywere

1. What is the best laying hens to get the most eggs?
2. Should I get chickens that are already laying or start out from babies/hatching(just ordered a incubator about 7 days for it to come in)?
3. What chickens are the best for meat and if they are different from number one can I mix them or have a separate coops for them?
4. how is the best way to raise them organically?

Thank you in advance for any help and advise ya'll can give me

 

[Hawgfan]

1. Hybrid laying breeds will probably be the most productive. They come in many names like stars, comets, queens, etc. I'm not familiar with the white egg varieties. The problem is that they won't breed true, being hybrids. If you wan to be truly self sufficient, you'll have to choose a pure breed known to be a good layer.
2. Babies
3. Again, hybrid broilers are the most productive, but not sustainable. Barred rocks, and other dual purpose breeds are good layers and produce a decent amount of meat, but take longer to mature.
4. Certified organic feed is available, along with free ranging.

 

[Chris2015]

Oooh! Wow, you opened a can of meal worms( oh yes, pun intended!!!) the best kind of bird for raising.... you will get a lot of replies. For me, if I was to go after my dream and live off land far away from silly humans I'd pick Rocks- yep Plymouth Rocks- same chickens that came from Europe and adapted very well to life in US- (better than humans I'd say) they are very lovely to look at, egg production (with proper nutrition- not 100% on how they'd do as free range) is high, the birds are hardy- can live in cool climates like the Northeast and hot, humid areas like SC!!!!! Jerseys are also a good hearty breed, hens can get up to 9-10 lb and the Roos can be 12-15lbs, and their colors! Suck beauty!!!! My heart broke when I ended up with 2 Roos from my Jerseys- loveable, hardy in both hot/ cold temps and eggs are large brown. Then there are Orpington's- same thing with them- they can be a bit standoff- ish- but they are a beautiful golden color and get quite big- the Roos are quite territorial and will include other girls in his harem- lol. Again they are hearty and have good egg production. At the height of my girls egg laying ( mind you I had 3 Jersey, 2Rocks, 2 Orpingtons, 2 Brahmanas and 3 Silver Laced) we had over a dozen eggs twice daily!!!!!! Silver Laced are good layers but aren't all that pretty lol- Brahmas are sweet lovely and beautiful good egg layers and will grow to be large.
Now, you will hear that a coop will hold so many chickens- that is true IF they have a large area to run in!!!! I've learned that the "rule" of 3 feet per bird isn't quite accurate- it's more like 5feet per bird or you may find mutiny and even dead birds- we have a coop is a 4x6 foot coop with 5 nesting boxes - and 2 six foot perches in the coop, our run however is 5ft x 20ft (equal to two 5x10 dog pen runs) the run is completed covered by a roof- thankfully as the neighborhood hawks like to come and sit in The Camilla trees and stare at my girls.... my husband dug and placed treated lumber 3 feet into the ground all around the coop to prevent the slithering kind of predators... now I am sorry I gave you waaay more info than asked but predators are all around- I'd hate to see you loose 15-20 birds like I've heard some long time farmers complain that a cayote or something else killed off 20-40 of their birds.... Good Luck!!

 

[Chris2015]

1. Hybrid laying breeds will probably be the most productive. They come in many names like stars, comets, queens, etc. I'm not familiar with the white egg varieties. The problem is that they won't breed true, being hybrids. If you wan to be truly self sufficient, you'll have to choose a pure breed known to be a good layer.
2. Babies
3. Again, hybrid broilers are the most productive, but not sustainable. Barred rocks, and other dual purpose breeds are good layers and produce a decent amount of meat, but take longer to mature.
4. Certified organic feed is available, along with free ranging.

 

[learning2homestead]

Thank you all for such wonderful answers. I am unsure about how to tag people in messages. my goal is to have chickens to live off of them, I want them for meat for my family and eggs to eat. I can't wait to get started in my chickens. I live in Texas but I am planning on moving back home to NC soon. I am trying to get my husband to agree to let me start raising chickens before we move. I am gonna do more research on moving them where I live now (just outside of Houston) and my home where we are moving to in NC(close to Wilmington) is 1260 miles apart so these little chicks will have to travel that distance. I am so excited to get started. My dad has already picked the first kind of birds for me to hatch in my new incubator. Bobwhite Quails. I promised him first hatch. I am sure I will have a ton more questions and I know I have found the right place to get the answers. Thank you all again