What's your favorite chicken breed?

(I'm totally posting this question with an ulterior motive --- I want to use your words/images in a reboot of one of my books! But you can always answer while telling me to keep my sticky fingers off your ideas. )

I'll answer my question first --- we've really enjoyed Australorps for pastured eggs and meat (even though you don't get nearly as much breast meat as from Cornish Cross). When we're only going for eggs, hybrids like Golden Comet had floated our boat.

But I know every homestead is a little different and I'd love to hear what your tried-and-true has turned out to be. If you're willing to let me excerpt from your post to include your data in the second edition of my chicken-breed-selection book (coming out this spring), please mention that. I'll send you a free copy of the ebook once it's ready if your words/pictures end up inside.

Hope you're enjoying the first signs of spring wherever you're at!

I highly prefer barnyard mix, because they have fewer health problems, and more robustness, than birds that have undergone the intense inbreeding necessary to be called a breed.

We like Rhode Island Reds because they are an all-around great chicken.

The hens lay nice large brown eggs.

These chicken are great for meat, and are friendly and cuddly besides being a pretty red color.

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:I highly prefer barnyard mix, because they have fewer health problems, and more robustness, than birds that have undergone the intense inbreeding necessary to be called a breed.

Great answer! Do you by any chance have a photo you can share of your particular barnyard mix? If it's annoying to upload it here, you can email it to me at anna@kitenet (then I'll have your email address for sending over your free book.  :-) )

Anne Miller wrote:We like Rhode Island Reds because they are an all-around great chicken.

The hens lay nice large brown eggs.

These chicken are great for meat, and are friendly and cuddly besides being a pretty red color.

Rhode Island Reds are a perennial pleaser! I may well quote you, in which case I'll message you a copy of the book. Thank you so much for chiming in!

Hi Anna! I used to read your blog back when I had more time to sit at the computer, and have several of your e-books, including the first edition of the breed selection book. You helped me dream big, and now I have 2 acres of my own!

My current flock is 17 chickens, and they are all different breeds except for 2 Norwegian Jaerhons and 2 Easter Eggers. I like the variety of colors and being able to easily tell them apart, as well as the different colored eggs. So even though I often have a rooster, I purchase chicks rather than letting my chickens breed on their own. I know the more "homesteady" thing to do is let them breed, cull the ones that are less healthy/suited to the local conditions, and create your own landrace over time... but that's just not for me.

I raise my chickens just for egg laying, other than designated times that I order a bunch of "heavy" rooster chicks, and raise them separately for slaughter. Even though they don't put on as much weight as Cornish Crosses, and aren't as efficient in feed conversion, I like that they're cheap and not bred for health-affecting extremes. And all the beautiful feather colors add entertainment value!

My current chickens:
Light Brahma (born 8/2018)
Ancona (5/19)
Norwegian Jaerhon #1 (pink band)(5/20)
Norwegian Jaerhon #2 (blue band)(5/20)
Easter Egger #1 dark feathers(4/21)
Easter Egger #2 light feathers (4/21)
Olive Egger (4/21)
Gold Star (4/21)
Black Australorp (4/21)
Barred Rock (4/21)
Elderly Easter Egger (?)
Gold Laced Wyandotte (4/22)
Silver Laced Wyandotte (4/22)
Barnevelder (4/22)
Welsummer (4/22)
Rhode Island Red (4/22)
Silkie mix rooster (4/22)

Like you, I enjoy Black Australorps for their personality and good laying. My very first foray into chickens was 3 chicks, an Australorp, a Rhode Island Red, and an Easter Egger. The Australorp was always the most calm, confident, and comfortable with me. She stayed that way her whole life. I did some clicker training with her and taught her to spin in a circle, jump up for treats, and hop up onto a station/table. She died at 7 years old and remains my favorite chicken ever.

I also like Wyandottes and Orpingtons a lot. I had a Buff Orpington that would adopt any chicks I brought in, even if I hadn't put them under her while she was broody. I miss her a lot.

I tend to get heavier/dual purpose breeds because they are easier to contain - I've had a few lighter breeds that flew over the 6' fence and disappeared. I also want them to be more mellow and comfortable with me, and the lighter birds tend to be "flightier" on a figurative level, too. This does mean that I have to put more effort into keeping them comfortable during our 115 degree summer heat waves, but it's worth it.

I hope some of that rambling helps... you're definitely welcome to quote any of it.

The lighting today was inappropriate for photography, but here's a tease.

Juniper Zen wrote:Hi Anna! I used to read your blog back when I had more time to sit at the computer, and have several of your e-books, including the first edition of the breed selection book. You helped me dream big, and now I have 2 acres of my own!

That makes my day that I was involved near the beginning of your adventure!

If by chance you have a photo of your mixed flock to share, I'd love to have you email it to anna@kitenet.net (which will also make it easier to email your copy of the revised book when it's ready). That's such a good point that having every bird in your flock be different makes management simpler in a lot of ways.

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:The lighting today was inappropriate for photography, but here's a tease.

Whoa! If those are your subpar photos, I can't see what you come up with when the lighting is better. I love these!

I've had a lot of breeds and all have traits I like.  I'm with Joseph as far as having a "barnyard mix" and that is how mine turn out.  I currently have 32 birds.  Right now the mixed birds I have left that I hatched are old, so I got some new ones last fall.  Currently I have:

Russian Orloffs that I hatched in the incubator.  Really nice, quiet birds, very sweet temperaments.  I find them really beautiful.  They get along well with my other birds, don't bully anyone.  They are large birds and the most cold hardy breed I have had to date.  Their drawbacks are that they mature slowly, and reportedly don't lay many eggs, only around 100 or so a year.  I personally don't mind and the other traits make it worthwhile, but many people may care.

Naked Necks.  Pretty large, healthy birds that are very cold hardy.  They have nice personalities and lay well for me.  Their look is, shall we say, an acquired taste :)  I love the way they look now, my lady does not.  They are pretty dominant with the other chickens and are high on the pecking order.

Partridge Rocks.  These are really nice, very sweet birds.  They don't pick on anyone and just want to get along.  They are the first out of the coop every day.  The ones I have now are the first of this breed I have had so I don't know enough about them to tell how many eggs they lay, but I have read that it is around 250 a year.  I love the way they look.  No drawbacks at all that I can see.  I like them very much.

Easter Eggers.  These have always been a favorite of mine and if I could only have one kind of chicken, this would probably be it.  The are gentle, nice birds that do well in a mixed flock.  They lay well and their eggs are very pretty.  They are a really beautiful breed.  I have an Easter Egger rooster that is truly gorgeous.  I love the feathers on their cheeks.  Their faces remind me of hawks and I love their coloration.

The rest are my mixes.  As I said, they are pretty old birds, but I like them.  The cheek feathers from Easter Eggers seems to be a pretty dominant trait.  I don't have any naked neck crosses left, but naked necks seems dominant too. I'm sure my future flocks will have mixed birds with naked necks.

A year or two from now, I'll have twice as many birds, and most likely all the new ones will be mixes.  I'm not sure I'll make any attempt to control the mixes I get.  I may keep a separate flock for that, but I love to let them be and see what kind of birds show up.  I've had really stunning mixes show up that I would never have seen if it weren't for letting nature take it's course.  I'm not concerned about number of eggs per year and I don't eat my chickens, so those traits don't matter to me.  I want chickens to lay enough eggs for family and friends, and make soil for me.  Primarily though, I just like having chickens around and they make me happy.  That's enough for me.

I don't have enough to say to having anything quoted, thought I don't mind.

I'm another vote for Black Australorps. I got them for their cold hardiness, broodiness, and good egg laying.

hands down R.I. Reds. we had them when i was a kid and i have them now but for sheer egg production the white leghorn is a egg laying machine that takes little space and eats even less. mine have survived-40 in a unheated coop with nary a frostbit comb. keep your coop dry and any breed can take the cold. i also supplement with cracked corn in winter.

Thanks for sharing, Trace and Matt and Steve! I hope everyone will keep these coming. I'm really enjoying reading everyone's chicken breed experiences and have another week or two before I need to compile my favorites to add to th ebook.

Howdy!
I'm vocal about my appreciation of Dorkings. I love 'em. Of all the different types of chickens we've had over the years, Dorkings have been the continuous thread.
I have had and appreciated most of the birds we ended up with. They are individuals, with interesting breed personalities and individual chickenalities.
Back, about 20 years ago, when we first moved back to Texas, we decided to take a flying leap into livestock with two of the easy choices - rabbits and chickens. I would probably do it differently, if I had it to do over, but  ... we were young and full of energy. HA!

We were active with a historical recreationist group - the Society for Creative Anachronism and that probably guided us, due to a certain fascination with questions about how people managed things before electricity and processed sugar, and what livestock and plants did they raise and how did they do it?
That first order was for Silver-grey Dorkings (a historic breed, written about by the Roman, Columella, among others), and a handful of mixed birds soon turned up, too. The neighbors heard (small town gossip) that I was "doing" chickens and I had all the unwanted chicks and random roosters dumped into my yard.  I learned quickly that I didn't care for the Leghorns and their relatives. The huge numbers of eggs were great, but their temperament and flighty nature left me cold. I had enjoyed them earlier in life (family of farmers), so it was learning that different breed groups could have different temperaments that threw me.
The Dorkings were the near opposite of the Leghorns.  Chill and calm, given to lay smaller and more infrequently, but so easy! The two leghorn roosters nearly killed each other but the Dorking roos hated to be apart. They hung out together and were so funny about it!

Over the years, I have kept Dorkings. The rest of the birds came and went with predators, Sudden Chicken Death Syndrome, and old age or culling, but the Dorkings' numbers got refreshed every year no matter what.

Partridge Cochin was chill and a fun little fluffy butted bully to the younger birds. She laid well and died at 5 years.

My Easter Eggers are personable (chickenable?), smart, and funny. They don't have a broody bone in their bodies, but are so much fun to have around. My current last one (to be added to before the end of the year) likes to hang on the back porch and dart inside the house when I'm not paying attention. I've had them from two different mail order hatcheries and from TSC Spring chicks, and they've been as interesting, though the parentage has differed appreciably.

My Lavender Spotted Orpington is a Big Puffball of Attitude. She likes to be left alone to hang with the other flock matriarchs, mostly my older Silver-grey girls at this point, lays consistently but never frequently, and hasn't shown a bit of broodiness.

The Gold Penciled Wyandottes were a team until one got grabbed by a dog late last year. Beautiful big ladies, easy to see in the yard, opinionated without being stuffy. They were never broody, consistent layers. Good birds with a bit of heft to them. I still have one, who hangs with the rest of the older hens.

Dorkings lay a medium sized cream to light tan colored egg. They are known to have a meaty breast of sweet flavored meat. They taste good to me, and are a compact bird, so ... maybe?

I have the Silver-greys and will be starting a couple of smaller flocks for breeding purposes. Those will be the Single-combed Whites  - a Delaware color pattern and strikingly attractive bird, and The Blacks. The roo I currently have is a beautiful Birchen, which isn't correct but I like the look and will be seeing if I can get some Birchen birds going since I have a pullet that matches. I also have some Colored Dorkings and hope to get into the Rose-combed Coloreds, eventually.  I'll see if I can find some pictures for you.
I do have a bit of a landrace experiment going on. For the "colored" egg layers, the flock that supports my hobby (I sell eggs for feed money), all that matters is that the eggs be good sized and Not Supermarket Eggs, so I've been planning to hatch out whatever brown and colored eggs I get to see what happens.
I'm always willing to talk about chickens. I'm sure I have other hens and opinions that I've gathered over the years, but .. can't remember right now.
Hm. Can't upload right now. CRF errors and suchlike. Slow internets.
Maybe tomorrow.

Just took new photos and sent them your way, Anna.

Juniper Zen wrote:Just took new photos and sent them your way, Anna.

Those are such great photos! Thank you so much for sharing! I'm pretty sure I'm going to use your contribution so stand by for a free copy of the finished ebook...sometime in the next few months.

Kristine Keeney wrote:Howdy!
I'm vocal about my appreciation of Dorkings. I love 'em. Of all the different types of chickens we've had over the years, Dorkings have been the continuous thread.
I have had and appreciated most of the birds we ended up with. They are individuals, with interesting breed personalities and individual chickenalities.
Back, about 20 years ago, when we first moved back to Texas, we decided to take a flying leap into livestock with two of the easy choices - rabbits and chickens. I would probably do it differently, if I had it to do over, but  ... we were young and full of energy. HA!

We were active with a historical recreationist group - the Society for Creative Anachronism and that probably guided us, due to a certain fascination with questions about how people managed things before electricity and processed sugar, and what livestock and plants did they raise and how did they do it?
That first order was for Silver-grey Dorkings (a historic breed, written about by the Roman, Columella, among others), and a handful of mixed birds soon turned up, too. The neighbors heard (small town gossip) that I was "doing" chickens and I had all the unwanted chicks and random roosters dumped into my yard.  I learned quickly that I didn't care for the Leghorns and their relatives. The huge numbers of eggs were great, but their temperament and flighty nature left me cold. I had enjoyed them earlier in life (family of farmers), so it was learning that different breed groups could have different temperaments that threw me.
The Dorkings were the near opposite of the Leghorns.  Chill and calm, given to lay smaller and more infrequently, but so easy! The two leghorn roosters nearly killed each other but the Dorking roos hated to be apart. They hung out together and were so funny about it!

Over the years, I have kept Dorkings. The rest of the birds came and went with predators, Sudden Chicken Death Syndrome, and old age or culling, but the Dorkings' numbers got refreshed every year no matter what.

Partridge Cochin was chill and a fun little fluffy butted bully to the younger birds. She laid well and died at 5 years.

My Easter Eggers are personable (chickenable?), smart, and funny. They don't have a broody bone in their bodies, but are so much fun to have around. My current last one (to be added to before the end of the year) likes to hang on the back porch and dart inside the house when I'm not paying attention. I've had them from two different mail order hatcheries and from TSC Spring chicks, and they've been as interesting, though the parentage has differed appreciably.

My Lavender Spotted Orpington is a Big Puffball of Attitude. She likes to be left alone to hang with the other flock matriarchs, mostly my older Silver-grey girls at this point, lays consistently but never frequently, and hasn't shown a bit of broodiness.

The Gold Penciled Wyandottes were a team until one got grabbed by a dog late last year. Beautiful big ladies, easy to see in the yard, opinionated without being stuffy. They were never broody, consistent layers. Good birds with a bit of heft to them. I still have one, who hangs with the rest of the older hens.

Dorkings lay a medium sized cream to light tan colored egg. They are known to have a meaty breast of sweet flavored meat. They taste good to me, and are a compact bird, so ... maybe?

I have the Silver-greys and will be starting a couple of smaller flocks for breeding purposes. Those will be the Single-combed Whites  - a Delaware color pattern and strikingly attractive bird, and The Blacks. The roo I currently have is a beautiful Birchen, which isn't correct but I like the look and will be seeing if I can get some Birchen birds going since I have a pullet that matches. I also have some Colored Dorkings and hope to get into the Rose-combed Coloreds, eventually.  I'll see if I can find some pictures for you.
I do have a bit of a landrace experiment going on. For the "colored" egg layers, the flock that supports my hobby (I sell eggs for feed money), all that matters is that the eggs be good sized and Not Supermarket Eggs, so I've been planning to hatch out whatever brown and colored eggs I get to see what happens.
I'm always willing to talk about chickens. I'm sure I have other hens and opinions that I've gathered over the years, but .. can't remember right now.
Hm. Can't upload right now. CRF errors and suchlike. Slow internets.
Maybe tomorrow.

I loved reading about your Dorkings! Any chance you'd like to send a photo to go with your thoughts? If so, please send it/them to anna@kitenet.net and I'll likely use your experiences and send you a free copy of the book when it's done.,

Hi Anna,  I also have enjoyed reading your blog where you illustrate Propagation Of Apple rootstock and grafting.  I have developed my orchard and a nursery where I reproduce fruit trees for sale.  

I read your ebook about putting chickens to work in the garden.   I started out with a chicken tractor and 3 or 4 layers and now have 8 hens split between the tractor and a winter coop on deep litter.     I value my birds for eggs,  most of which I am able to sell to cover the feed and other expenses.   The labor and manure that my birds add to my garden and orchard makes them worth my time to look after them.  

I have kept Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpington, ISA Browns, and now Black Sex Links.   My favorite ‘s are hybrid sex links.  It allows us to not have a Rooster so we can get a good nights sleep.  Outstanding production of almost 300 eggs per bird annually,  combined with higher feed conversion efficiency make these hybrids worthwhile.   Hybrids reach egg laying maturity more quickly,  have shorter molting periods and exhibit traits of hybrid vigor.

 Hybrids are really well developed in the UK where small breeders are keeping heirloom breeds alive by using them as parents to create new hybrids that all lay close to 300 eggs per year while consuming less feed.   So in these times of crisis when grains are in tight supply and backyard chicken keepers are more numerous than ever,  I can’t see why this is not a great trend.  Heirloom breeds that are less efficient feed converters on their own,  are conserved while creating unique hybrids that can meet modern standards of productivity.   You are certainly welcome to use my comments.
https://www.littlemortonfarm.co.uk/chickens-for-sale/coloured-hybrid-chickens

Rene Poulin wrote:
 Hybrids are really well developed in the UK where small breeders are keeping heirloom breeds alive by using them as parents to create new hybrids that all lay close to 300 eggs per year while consuming less feed.   So in these times of crisis when grains are in tight supply and backyard chicken keepers are more numerous than ever,  I can’t see why this is not a great trend.  Heirloom breeds that are less efficient feed converters on their own,  are conserved while creating unique hybrids that can meet modern standards of productivity.   You are certainly welcome to use my comments.
https://www.littlemortonfarm.co.uk/chickens-for-sale/coloured-hybrid-chickens

Your setup sounds great! I was most intrigued, though, by your last paragraph about chicken keepers in the UK creating new hybrids. Is this something you're personally involved in or can you point me toward whoever is? Thank you so much in advance!

Thanks Anna,  Here is another example of hybrids that are not available where I live.  We have relatively few breeds available to us in Canada compared to the US or UK.  

https://bedalechickens.co.uk/chickens-and-hens.php

I am not personally involved in chicken breeding because I do not have the multiple rooms and buildings I would need to start.  I have read about the process of breeding selective hybrids on BYC forum.  I engage in plant breeding in my garden and orchard.  So if I had the opportunity I would probably try it!  

I think the UK probably has a really good environment for this type of activity.  It has a mild climate and is a real center for poultry breeders and exhibition events.  It also must focus on adding value to its operations because it cannot succeed by trying to outproduce other regions.  

Rene Poulin wrote:Thanks Anna,  Here is another example of hybrids that are not available where I live.  We have relatively few breeds available to us in Canada compared to the US or UK.  

https://bedalechickens.co.uk/chickens-and-hens.php

I am not personally involved in chicken breeding because I do not have the multiple rooms and buildings I would need to start.  I have read about the process of breeding selective hybrids on BYC forum.  I engage in plant breeding in my garden and orchard.  So if I had the opportunity I would probably try it!  

I think the UK probably has a really good environment for this type of activity.  It has a mild climate and is a real center for poultry breeders and exhibition events.  It also must focus on adding value to its operations because it cannot succeed by trying to outproduce other regions.  

Thank you so much for the lead! I'll contact them and see if I can learn more about what they've been up to.

Here is an article that also provides more info on the hybrids.


https://cluckin.net/meet-the-hybrids.html