What's for me?

[Chickfever]

I am looking for chickens that can satisfy some of the following:

1. Must be friendly to children!
2. Good egg layers, prefer excellent
3. Prefer a broody hen but not required
4. I'd like for them to breed true (color not important, just breed). I love my black sexlink but their offspring.....do they lay eggs just like their mommas?
5. Decent meat birds (if I could ever bring myself to do it)
6. Hatching eggs sell pretty well
7. Winter hardy

These are not listed in order of importance

. If you want, for example, you can list like this:

black sex link - 1, 2, 7

Or you can be very descriptive which is great for me

.

 

[Mahonri]

I'd say you are asking for an awful lot.

I think most any breed can be friendly to children if they are handled often and gently.... there would be exceptions... I wouldn't class game birds in there.

Sex links, RIR, NHR, BR, leghorns are egg laying machines, some Orpingtons do well, I think an Austalorp has the record..

If they lay a lot of eggs, they usually aren't broody. But you'll find the rare exception. When I was a kid we had a pearl white leghorn that always went broody... go figure, and she was an egg laying machine and she didn't mind being held.

For meat, white rocks and barred rocks are good and they also lay decent,

As for selling hatching eggs... sell yourself first.

Winter hardy... wyandots and orpingtons I hear are good.

I get some world class Australorps... I think they'd fit your bill.

 

[pkeeler]

I'm not sure about #6, but most of the northern european and north american dual purpose birds will fulfill all other criteria. Rocks, Sussex, and Wyandottes would be three that come to mind.

 

[pkeeler]

If you want hatching eggs you obviously are thinking about having rooster(s). You will probably do best approaching your selection by asking looking for rooster breeds that are generally friendly, especially to children. Maybe in that case, you would also consider cochins as they are generally the tamest roosters (according to another thread) and pretty good layers and excellent brooders.

 

[Matt A NC]

I would go with Orpingtons.

1. Easily tamed and stay very friendly.
2. They lay well.
3. In my flock of 5, 2 have gone broody and been great mothers.
4. Orpingtons breed true.
5. They are a dual purpose bird and make meat table birds.
6. When I had a roo, the hatching eggs sold well and the chicks sold even better.
7. They do very well in the winter. Mine lay all winter long. The roosters are vulnerable to frost bite on their combs, so a good coup is nessacery for freezing nights.

Matt

 

[silkieluvr]

Orpingtons fit this pretty well and so do plymoth rocks. I love plymoth rock roos!

 

[speckledhen]

Barred Rocks will fill the bill except for being broody. And on occasion, I do hear of a broody BR hen. I adore my BR girls and guys.

 

[Chickfever]

I have silkies so the broodiness isn't all that important. The hatching eggs aren't either, it would just be nice to have some income to help support their feed bill every now and then.

I've been looking at the sexlinks (other than not breeding true and being broody, they are good), orpingtons, barred rocks, RIR, New Hampshire reds, welsummer, and wyandottes.

Thanks everyone! Right now we we have a mixed flock and I love them, I'd just like to have something to help support their feed bill and keep the lines pure

.

 

[fullhouse]

LOL! Sounds like you need ducks!

Really though, Delawares, sussex, and cochins are the nicest but not super layers. I really like the Australorps too! I only have a roo though, no girls.

 

[Chickfever]

I'd be afraid the neighbor's dog would eat them

. I'd LOVE to have some and we have a nice pond for them too

.