Iwould like to know the ideas you have on dual purpose chickens as we are going to be starting to raise our chickens for eggs and meat. We will not be selling but keeping to use for our family and some friends. We are looking for chickens who can tolerate the weather here in Florida and some confinement in a large run due to bears and other unfriendlies. I appreicate all of your input. We want our chickens to have a great quality of life. Thank you!
You're going to want anything from the APA (American Poultry Association) American class. Breeds from this class came right here from America and are all common dual purpose breeds. Buckeye Plymouth Rock Wyandotte Rhode Island Red (White) Jersey Giant Java Dominique New Hampshire Chantecler Holland Lamona Even though it's not in the American class Orphington's are also good dual purpose. There are likely more but other people can probably list them off too.
In addition to the American Class, there are also some excellent dual purpose breeds in the English class (Orpingtons as mentioned above, Australorps, Sussex). In fact, if high egg production is a major priority with a dual purpose breed, Australorps are the very best layers of the dual purpose breeds. Approximately the same body mass and weight as most American Class breeds (RIRs, NHs, Wyandottes, RIWs, Buckeyes, etc.), a Black Australorp holds the world brown egg laying record with 364 eggs in 365 days (http://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/australorp). In addition, they are both very cold hardy and very heat hardy. I've raised Australorps where winter temperatures dropped to 30 F below zero, and where summer temperatures frequently reached 117-118 F (123 F) once, and in both climate extremes, they came through like troopers. In addition, Australorps are very calm and gentle birds (my children, and my granddaughter, made lap pets of them), and tolerate confinement very well. Whatever breed you end up getting, good luck with your flock.