Which is the best breed for me?

kaylee gee

Songster
9 Years
Jul 5, 2012
186
69
181
Connecticut
Hello everyone! It's time to get back in the saddle and get some birds now that we have land again! We recently bought a house in central Connecticut, and I would like some input on which breeds best suit what I am looking for.

MUST haves:
Friendly (especially the roosters)
Will go broody
Large birds (we will eat our culls, want good sized birds but they don't have to be gigantic, we are only four people)
Cold-tolerant (it snows here and is also wet and windy in the winter time)

NICE to haves:
Easy keepers (don't eat a lot of feed if they have pasture)
Nice color variety
Nice egg colors

Thanks everyone!
 
I would say a Speckled Sussex.Althought the egg coloring isn’t that nice they meet all your other standards.
 
Hello everyone! It's time to get back in the saddle and get some birds now that we have land again! We recently bought a house in central Connecticut, and I would like some input on which breeds best suit what I am looking for.

MUST haves:
Friendly (especially the roosters)
Will go broody
Large birds (we will eat our culls, want good sized birds but they don't have to be gigantic, we are only four people)
Cold-tolerant (it snows here and is also wet and windy in the winter time)

NICE to haves:
Easy keepers (don't eat a lot of feed if they have pasture)
Nice color variety
Nice egg colors

Thanks everyone!
Cochins!
 
Hello everyone! It's time to get back in the saddle and get some birds now that we have land again! We recently bought a house in central Connecticut, and I would like some input on which breeds best suit what I am looking for.

MUST haves:
Friendly (especially the roosters)
Will go broody
Large birds (we will eat our culls, want good sized birds but they don't have to be gigantic, we are only four people)
Cold-tolerant (it snows here and is also wet and windy in the winter time)

NICE to haves:
Easy keepers (don't eat a lot of feed if they have pasture)
Nice color variety
Nice egg colors

Thanks everyone!
I am a EE person myself…the breed is known to be docile, but all chickens are different. They lay colored eggs, are cold hardy, and go broody, although not ALL the time like silkies or wyandottes. Pretty large, not too large.
 
Maybe standard Cornish (not Cornish Cross meat birds).
You would want hatchery quality, not breeder quality, for your purposes.

I've tried Dark Cornish from McMurray Hatchery and from Ideal Poultry, and they were reasonable layers that went broody on occasion. I didn't like the White Laced Reds as well.

They were a bit meatier than most other dual-purpose chickens, but not exaggerated to the point of causing problems. They did not grow especially fast or slowly.

I cannot tell about the roosters, because I only tried hens.

They have pea combs (good in cold weather), and clean legs (no foot feathers to get muddy.)


For variety of egg & feather colors, you could add some Easter Eggers.

There's nothing wrong with crossing breeds and ending up with barnyard mixes in the future, as long as you are satisfied with what you get. In general, if you cross two breeds with the same traits, their offspring will have those traits too (good layers, or broody, or pea combs, or feathered vs. clean feet, etc.)
 

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