Your very last chicken... what would it be?

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

There is absolutely, positively no chance I would ever be able to pick just one breed.

Even going on personality alone without taking bird and egg appearance into account, it would leave me with an impossible choice between my big, cuddly, beloved Dorkings and my tiny, charming, precious OEGBs. No way, no how could I possibly pick between them.


And that's after a long, strenuous process of elimination to get down to just them!


I like colorful birds and eggs, and I also like birds who are easily handled and don't shy away from me. My top five, in this order, are Dorkings, OEGBs, Cochins (particularly bantams), Orpingtons, and Plymouth Rocks. Placing just outside of that are Marans and Easter-eggers as their personalities have on average been a bit more aggressive and a bit more shy, respectively, than the breeds in my top 5, but they have purdy eggs. I think that generally I want my flock to always contain some of each of those breeds (or, well, you get what I mean with the EEs). That's not even counting the ones I want that I haven't owned yet, or not really, like Brahmas and Ameraucanas.

I just want them all. Is that too much to ask? Good thing I don't have to pick just one!

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Not really a type of chicken, but rescue chickens will always have a place in my flock.
April 13th 2018

April 23rd 2019

 

[janiedoe]

My favorite hens ever were Barbie, a cream legbar and Sweetie Pie, a lavender orp. If I could only have one breed It would be one of the above. But if i had to pick a particular chicken it would be my rooster, an easter egger (blue orpington & Ameraucana mix), he is just a big baby.
If I were only adding one new girl to my existing flock, I'd add another Langshan. They are good layers, good broodies, and very hardy.

 

[Chickassan]

That most certainly is a type of chicken, the lucky type.

Not really a type of chicken, but rescue chickens will always have a place in my flock.
April 13th 2018
View attachment 1954102April 23rd 2019 View attachment 1954105

 

[Willowspirit]

Hey, you have wyandotte's too? I also have wyandotte's! I have 3 Buff Orpington's and 3 Golden Laced Wyandotte's. A pretty small flock, but good.

Yes, I do! I have three gold laced and two silver. And 3 buff Orpingtons. They are terrific birds!

 

[DiYMama540]

@Chickassan are you sure your chickens aren't part goose? I have to deal with those types of shenanigans out of my geese...all day, every day!

@Brahma Chicken5000 rescues yes!! The best birds there are! What a beauty! I love how sassy she looks in the 2nd pic!!

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

@Chickassan @Brahma Chicken5000 rescues yes!! The best birds there are! What a beauty! I love how sassy she looks in the 2nd pic!!

Thank you. That’s Jane, she’s the head chicken of the flock.

 

[Chickassan]

They do have very much the same atitude lol!
The Faverolles act a alot like turkeys at times so iv'e got a bunch of combo deals.

@Chickassan are you sure your chickens aren't part goose? I have to deal with those types of shenanigans out of my geese...all day, every day!

 

[ChemicalchiCkns]

I accept the Premize, only if I have as long to live as I need, to Evaluation all the allowable Breeds, ahead of time, before my Regularr Life began.

 

[Gilded Feather]

Do yourself a favor and avoid 'bred for production' birds. Those bred specifically to produce eggs often die early of a myriad of reproductive disorders and cancer. Those bred to produce meat die early out of necessity as their skinny little legs cannot bear their weight, so their heart doesn't get the exercise it needs; these birds either must be culled due to broken legs, or die of heart related disease. I've not had either of these 'production' breeds live past 2 years old, my oldest meat bird was about 13 months. Your mileage may differ, but after nursing them back to health repeatedly, and growing very emotionally invested in them because of the need to regularly nurse them, I refuse to invest in these types of breeds again.
You didn't say what your husband wants to do with the cockerels that you hatch out. It's not like you can tell if an unhatched egg (chick to be) is male or female. If your plan is to process them for the table, then I see no reason to hatch out 'sex links'. You could just partition off space for the 'boys' to live (or be moved to once gender has been determined) and either process them at a given age and freeze them for the future, or process them individually when you're ready for a chicken dinner. I prefer to process individually.
If you keep in mind your family's goals for your flock, it will be much easier to make these decisions.

Oops, sorry, forgot to clarify that part! When hatched and sexed, the males would then be raised and butchered at the appropriate time for the freezer.

But of course, you are right. I need to be more strong willed and keep our goals in mind. If I can just do that then this choice will definitely be a whole lot easier to make.