Which of these breeds would you recommend?

[Wot The Flock]

Our Australorp is very skittish and our Orpington is friendly and our head hen.

LOL, proving that it is up to the individual bird. Probably other factors like pecking order and ages as well.

I have not kept any Australorps myself, but the observations of the younger birds (even an older bird within a flock) seem that they are quite timid. Which may explain the skittish? I shied away from getting an Australop in this round because of the timidness/shyness, and I did not think she would stand up enough for herself with the existing chickens.

My Buff Orp's personality is starting to come out/develop. She does seem friendly and likes to be among others, so quite the social bird. She is the friendliest of the new three to me as well, she is in the middle of the pecking order of the pullets. ETA she is a chatty little thing too!

 

[Lemon-Drop]

We are considering adding a couple of more chickens to our flock and are considering breeds that are consistent and great layers (good personality is a bonus). These are the ones we are considering:
-Barred Rock
-White Leghorn
-Isa Brown
-Golden Comet

Which would you recommend?

They would be joining a Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Light Brahma, Wyandotte, Speckled Sussex & Black Australorp.

Of the ones you are considering, I've had a few Barred Rocks and would highly recommend them. They're great layers, and from past experience very sweet, although it depends on the individual bird.

I haven't had the others before, although I've heard that Leghorns can be flighty. (Although very good layers). And I've heard that while Golden Comets are good, they are prone to reproductive issues.

Good luck!

 

[Bear4boo]

LOL, proving that it is up to the individual bird. Probably other factors like pecking order and ages as well.

I have not kept any Australorps myself, but the observations of the younger birds (even an older bird within a flock) seem that they are quite timid. Which may explain the skittish? I shied away from getting an Australop in this round because of the timidness/shyness, and I did not think she would stand up enough for herself with the existing chickens.

My Buff Orp's personality is starting to come out/develop. She does seem friendly and likes to be among others, so quite the social bird. She is the friendliest of the new three to me as well, she is in the middle of the pecking order of the pullets. ETA she is a chatty little thing too!

Yes, our orp is very chatty as well! Out of our six breeds she is our best layer (just after our Rhode Island Red).

 

[Ridgerunner]

Production breeds (also known as hybrid layers or Red Sex Links) are crosses that are bred to lay eggs in high quantities. Isa Browns and Golden Comets are both production breeds, and virtually the same thing. Different hatcheries have different crosses and names for their hybrid layers (Isa Browns, Golden Comets, Cinnamon Queens, Red Stars, etc.), but they are all almost the exact same thing.

I'm sorry but that is not correct. ISA Browns are commercial egg laying hybrids and are prone to the production problems mentioned. Cinnamon Queens are a cross between Silver Laced Wyandotte hens and a RIR rooster. Since they are crosses between two dual purpose breeds they have the same traits as dual purpose breeds. They don't have the problems of the commercial egg laying hybrids.

Golden Comets and Red Stars are marketing names used by some hatcheries. They may be commercial egg laying hybrids or they may be crosses between two dual purpose breeds. If you know which hatchery they came from you may be able to figure out which of the two they are. Sometimes there are clues in the write-up. You can get another clue by the mature weights they give. The commercial hybrids usually weigh about the same as a Leghorn. The dual purpose crosses typically weigh more.

It is very common in this forum for people to think that Comets or Stars are automatically commercial egg laying hybrids. They are not automatically one or the other. To me the difference between the two is important.

It’s funny.: our Australorp and Buff Orpington couldn’t be more different in personality. Our Australorp is very skittish and our Orpington is friendly and our head hen.

Breeds can have tendencies but if you read enough posts on this forum you will find people complaining about how horrible a chicken if any breed is while others just love chickens of that same breed. If you have enough of a certain breed for averages to mean something then the tendency of the flock may follow breed tendencies, but the differences in individuals can be tremendous. If you only have one or two did you get a good one or a bad one? Still, breed tendencies are about all you have to go with as far as personalities go. Just don't be shocked if you get one that doesn't follow the norm.

Which would you recommend?

They would be joining a Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Light Brahma, Wyandotte, Speckled Sussex & Black Australorp.

If you are happy with what you have I'd suggest getting different colors of what breeds you have. Orpington, Brahma, Wyandotte, and Sussex can come in different colors, though some are more common than others. I think any of the different colors of Rocks or Marans would be a good choice. Welsummer could be a good choice.

 

[SilverBirds]

I'm sorry but that is not correct. ISA Browns are commercial egg laying hybrids and are prone to the production problems mentioned. Cinnamon Queens are a cross between Silver Laced Wyandotte hens and a RIR rooster. Since they are crosses between two dual purpose breeds they have the same traits as dual purpose breeds. They don't have the problems of the commercial egg laying hybrids.

Golden Comets and Red Stars are marketing names used by some hatcheries. They may be commercial egg laying hybrids or they may be crosses between two dual purpose breeds. If you know which hatchery they came from you may be able to figure out which of the two they are. Sometimes there are clues in the write-up. You can get another clue by the mature weights they give. The commercial hybrids usually weigh about the same as a Leghorn. The dual purpose crosses typically weigh more.

It is very common in this forum for people to think that Comets or Stars are automatically commercial egg laying hybrids. They are not automatically one or the other. To me the difference between the two is important.

Thank your for sharing and clarifying this.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Barred Rocks

 

[bluer78]

My Barred Rock is my profound layer. Pretty much lays an egg at 10:30 nearly everyday. My Buff Orpington that just started laying for me after she started a molt as soon as I got her, laid an egg then skipped a day, laid 2 days in a row and skipped a day. Then laid 3 days in a row and skipped yesterday. We'll see how this spurt goes!
Anyway, I love my Barred Rock Pepper. Personality? That's putting it lightly.. She is such a character! Follows me EVERYWHERE when I'm outside doing stuff.

 

[Janice Fields]

We are considering adding a couple of more chickens to our flock and are considering breeds that are consistent and great layers (good personality is a bonus). These are the ones we are considering:
-Barred Rock
-White Leghorn
-Isa Brown
-Golden Comet

Which would you recommend?

They would be joining a Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Light Brahma, Wyandotte, Speckled Sussex & Black Australorp.

I love the ISA Browns. Very gentle chickens.

 

[Red Horse]

My 2 golden comets are very witchy to my heritage breed hens... they haven't hurt any of them badly but they're just so cranky. They're also very rude and pushy about treats, they used to peck my legs super hard until my roosters started tidbitting and I passed off the treats to them to give to the girls. They are vicious to the roosters and swarm them to get the treats so I have to throw some to the other side of the run so the poor guys have a chance to pass some out to the quieter girls. We had -45F winds here in Ohio a few weeks ago and even though everyone did ok, all the hens stopped laying for about a week...except the comets. It made me so sad for them because clearly that weather was hard on all the girls and their bodies needed a break to support themselves thru that but the comets couldn't do that. If I had known how prone they are to repro problems and how hard their constant laying is on their bodies I would never have bought them, and I won't again. My heritage breeds lay just fine.

 

[Wot The Flock]

If I had known how prone they are to repro problems and how hard their constant laying is on their bodies I would never have bought them, and I won't again. My heritage breeds lay just fine.

Yep, it is not always about constant laying for sure. Mine are pets first, layers second, and what they lay, they lay.