What would you consider the ideal Homestead chicken breed?

[BarredBuff]

What would you consider the ideal Homestead chicken breed?

 

[keljonma]

I don't think we've found a breed we haven't liked.

I think our favorites are Dominiques and Wyandottes...good egg layers/dual purpose; very hardy; gentle; beautiful in the farmyard.

I also love Jersey Black Giants for all the same traits, but they mature very slowly.

 

[Henrietta23]

I've never done meat birds so if you're looking for dual purpose I can't help. If I had to absolutely pare down to one breed I think I'd go with Buff Orpingtons. Mine lay well, are friendly and pretty and they're nice and hardy in both the heat and the cold here.
Then again, my EEs lay really reliably too, and my red sex-links are good too, and.... I'm really glad I don't have to choose just one!

 

[Beekissed]

Of all the breeds I've raised~usually all dual purpose heritage type breeds~I have been the most impressed with the Black Australorps.

For sheer hardiness, egg laying, longevity, personality, beauty, broodiness, mothering instincts, thriftiness.....the BAs win over my other breeds hands down.

I cull my flocks~biannually~ for egg laying first, hardiness second and personality third. I am very stringent on not keeping free loaders and old retainers, troublemakers, barebacked and raggedy birds....my BAs have made the cut year after year. I'll be interested to see just how long they last.

A close second is RIRs and White Rocks.

 

[BarredBuff]

Of all the breeds I've raised~usually all dual purpose heritage type breeds~I have been the most impressed with the Black Australorps.

For sheer hardiness, egg laying, longevity, personality, beauty, broodiness, mothering instincts, thriftiness.....the BAs win over my other breeds hands down.

I cull my flocks~biannually~ for egg laying first, hardiness second and personality third. I am very stringent on not keeping free loaders and old retainers, troublemakers, barebacked and raggedy birds....my BAs have made the cut year after year. I'll be interested to see just how long they last.

A close second is RIRs and White Rocks.

Do you just keep one breed in the same coop now?

 

[miss_thenorth]

I love my barred rocks. The only thing against them is that they do not go broody and i have to use the incubator to hatch out new stock. I cull hens at two years, and extra cockerals at 6 months. I have 6 ready to go next week.

A perfect breed for me would be hearty sized birds where the hens go broody. But I have a silkie mutt who sits on eggs for me, and I will probably get a few more just for that purpose. The barred rocks lay well, and are a good size for meat, so I will probably stay with them.

 

[BarredBuff]

I love my barred rocks. The only thing against them is that they do not go broody and i have to use the incubator to hatch out new stock. I cull hens at two years, and extra cockerals at 6 months. I have 6 ready to go next week.

A perfect breed for me would be hearty sized birds where the hens go broody. But I have a silkie mutt who sits on eggs for me, and I will probably get a few more just for that purpose. The barred rocks lay well, and are a good size for meat, so I will probably stay with them.

Do you keep one breed?

 

[Beekissed]

Of all the breeds I've raised~usually all dual purpose heritage type breeds~I have been the most impressed with the Black Australorps.

For sheer hardiness, egg laying, longevity, personality, beauty, broodiness, mothering instincts, thriftiness.....the BAs win over my other breeds hands down.

I cull my flocks~biannually~ for egg laying first, hardiness second and personality third. I am very stringent on not keeping free loaders and old retainers, troublemakers, barebacked and raggedy birds....my BAs have made the cut year after year. I'll be interested to see just how long they last.

A close second is RIRs and White Rocks.

Do you just keep one breed in the same coop now?

Heck no! I love variety and pretty colors and I only have the one coop. I chose all my birds for dual purpose traits and hardiness. I have BAs, WR, BR, RIR, NHR, PRs, Speckled Sussex and some donated Red Stars that won't make the next cut.

My Doms did not make this years cut, sad to say. They were only 3 years old, so it had nothing to do with age. They just....ran out of eggs.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I love my barred rocks. The only thing against them is that they do not go broody and i have to use the incubator to hatch out new stock. I cull hens at two years, and extra cockerals at 6 months. I have 6 ready to go next week.

A perfect breed for me would be hearty sized birds where the hens go broody. But I have a silkie mutt who sits on eggs for me, and I will probably get a few more just for that purpose. The barred rocks lay well, and are a good size for meat, so I will probably stay with them.

Do you keep one breed?

Mainly--yes. I got an EE hen b/c my son wanted blue eggs, but I will be phasing her and her offspring out. I also have a red sex link that my dd caught at a livestock sale ( the bird had escaped). She has a free ride card too, as she is my dd's , but all her offspring are being weeded out .

 

[Blackbird]

MTheN, last year I had a barred rock hen set and hatch out 13 chicks.. There is still hope!

Having had chickens around all my life, I have to say my favorite breed is probably the Buff Orpington, good layers, hardy, good personalities, decent size if eating, good bird overall. I've really taken a liking to Light Brahma's but, since they do get larger they take a long time to fully mature, and don't seem to lay as much. The feathered legs is a plus though, way up north here.

Really, in general, I don't think a person can't go wrong with the 'basics' or the more common birds; wyandottes, white & barred rocks, the black australorps and orpingtons. They are common for a reason. If I was to start over completely for chickens, I think I'd have those breeds.