Which breeds are right for us?

[dc jackson]

Future chicken owners here in Nebraska, looking for some advice about best breeds to try. We are planning on 4-6 laying hens, and also some broilers. For the hens, we need some that are docile (we have 2 small children who will be learning/helping). Need to be tolerant of cold in the winter (our wind chill is BRUTAL), but we also have periods of extreme heat and humidity in the summer. We would like good layers of course, 3-4 eggs/week would be fantastic.

Some breeds on our short list are as follows:
Ameraucana
Australorp
Barnevelder
Brahma
EE's
Orpingtons
Rhode Island Red
Plymouth Rock

Please weigh in with your opinions/experiences. We are taking this fall/winter to research and prepare, and hope to get our chicks in the spring. Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[dekel18042]

In addition to some of those listed, buckeyes are nice birds and very cold hardy.

 

[The ChickenKing]

You can also get some silver laced wyandottes, they're a good choice too for what you're looking for

 

[Aronia]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[iwiw60]

I personally have Black Australorps...and I absolutely love my girls! They are so docile and friendly. Gosh, they'll jump up on my lap just to get petted! They 'talk' quietly to you (like I'm supposed to understand what they're saying!). It's funny, whenever they hear my door to the porch open, there they are...all lined up in a row...staring in my direction just talking away! I think they're saying "okay, where's the treat?" .. I love them for sure.

They are very hardy and do well in cold climates especially. They lay large brown eggs, in fact I got my first double-yolker two days ago!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

I would recommend Orpingtons or Australorps. It really just depends on what you want better. More gentle hens, or better layers. Orpingtons are more docile, but Australorps are probably the second best laying breed.

 

[Michael OShay]

I would definitely recommend Australorps. I've raised Black Australorps for years (along with dozens of other breeds), and I'm convinced that they are the best, all-around, dual-purpose breed on the planet. They are extremely hardy (I've raised them where winter temperatures reached 30F below zero and where summer temperatures reached 123F), calm and gentle (my children, and now my granddaughter, made lap pets out of them), and the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds (the brown egg laying record is held by a BA with 364 eggs in 365 days). You can't go wrong with Black Australorps. Whatever breeds you decide to get, good luck with your flock.

 

[dekel18042]

Although there are lots of choices, I wanted to mention why Easter Eggers are at the top of my list. First, they are extremely hardy in both weather extremes. Our temps this past year ranged from -10* in winter to 100* in summer and very humid.
If you don't want a cookie cutter flock, EE's come in many colors.. They have an excellent feed to egg ratio and their eggs are a good size considering the size of the birds. Plus there's the fun of a colorful egg basket. You can get all colors of eggs including blues, greens, olive, khaki and pink, something that the kids of the family really seem to enjoy.
I have a mixed flock consisting of several breeds, all of which I enjoy, but for the afore mentioned reasons EE's are at the top of the list.

 

[iwiw60]

I would definitely recommend Australorps. I've raised Black Australorps for years (along with dozens of other breeds), and I'm convinced that they are the best, all-around, dual-purpose breed on the planet. They are extremely hardy (I've raised them where winter temperatures reached 30F below zero and where summer temperatures reached 123F), calm and gentle (my children, and now my granddaughter, made lap pets out of them), and the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds (the brown egg laying record is held by a BA with 364 eggs in 365 days). You can't go wrong with Black Australorps. Whatever breeds you decide to get, good luck with your flock.