Leghorns... number one, hands down. Feed to egg conversion is excellent, excellent egg size and quality, very active foragers, broody and I don't have a lot of molting within my flock. Will also lay consistently through the winter, providing enough eggs for personal use and for selling to more than cover the cost of feeding them, the ducks and the turkeys.
We got Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, and Barred Rock for our first flock. I have one little Buff Orpington that is more like a pet than anything...we call her Lil' Girl and she is a total sweetheart. Could not ask for a better bunch of girls than this.
I have 6 Black Star, 6 New Hampshire Reds, 3 Leghorns, 2 Barred Rocks, 2 Silver Wyandottes, 4 Buff Orpingtons, 2 California Whites, and my rooster is a Silver Pencil Plymouth Rock. Love them all.
Patara, if I tried to express how much I respect, trust, and love you, I'd have to have the tongue of an angel to do it. Your verbal letter to Starry?--I have no words.
I bought 6 golden comet hens in March as 3 day old chicks. They are terrific for backyard chickens. Mine don't make any noise which is important when you live in town. They just started laying at 4 months old, nice large brown eggs. They have been tolerating the extreme heat(100-108 degrees) here in Oklahoma. Heard they are also hardy in cold weather. They are very calm and tame. I've had other breeds before and these are the best.
I accidentally touched my phone screen and sent my comment before I was finished! I wanted to tell you that I was surprised and then gratified that you let your chickens "cross-pollinate!" I thought you'd try to keep the breeds pure. Now I'm excited you did it and gained a lot of first-hand experience and knowledge to share with us. I am planning to buy acreage for a farm and my goal was to help The Livestock Conservancy save some heritage livestock from becoming extinct. But as far as chickens are concerned, not all your breeds are heritage and yet are wonderful. And I trust your experience. So now I'm a bit quandrified (new word!) We are looking at Tennessee and Kentucky as possible places to settle. And your chickens are handling the climate well.
Appreciate all your insight into various breeds. Due to a move 5 yrs. ago I had to get rid of my chickens. I'm hoping to get a small coop build very soon and start again. My #1 choice I'd Barred Rocks. They remind me of chickens my grandma had 60 yrs. ago and they truly seem to have "personality". I can hardly wait for fresh eggs!
Did you get your Barred Rock chickens yet? I pick up 10 of them from the post office in the morning. First time raising chickens. I'm both nervous and excited.
I love my Isa Browns and Leghorns. They all come and squat down for me to pet them. Love them. Very friendly and dependable. I would like to add Buffs tho. Especially for the broodiness. I agree with you on the Barred Rock too. Our rooster is and he is quite the gentleman! He even finds food and bring it to his girls snd drop it right in front of them to have it. So funny!
My #1 chickens and have always been #1 Are the Barred Rocks. I live in the capital CA. We get summer high temperatures in the 100, (108). They handle the heat well and tend to be very healthy and most lay double Eggers. I love the black Australorp they are so beautiful but they died last summer. 😟
My Mom raised chickins for a short time. If memory serves the 2 she mentioned was Plymouth Rock and Rode Island red. No ideal why she liked them. I was to young for things to really sink in at the time. I was in grade school then and I'm over 40 now.
I have all those breeds and can attest to your information. Agree 100%. We normally turn non-laying Leghorns into broth and soup, but we have one with such a sparkling personality that she's become a pet. I also have a Welsumer we call Weird Welly because she lays like crazy for 3 or 4 weeks, then nothing for 6 weeks. She's 3 1/2 years old and has been on her own clock since she came into lay. Chickens are so much fun. Big return for the amount of work put in!
Oh boy did we need this video. when we purchased our homestead it came w chickens and 3 rosters. I haven't a clue what they are but we love them lolol thank you so much. blessings to you
I personally love the wyandottes, the combs don't freeze in our Idaho winters (extreme cold with very little snow) and of course the orpingtons. We just rubs the combs with patrolium jelly to prevent frost bite.
Hello Patara, I have a good-sized flock of dual purpose birds, usually around 5000 birds at all times. We mostly have New Hampshires, Rhode Islands, and some barred Plymouth rocks. We feed barley and alfalfa fodder, lots of maggots, and fodder beets. The one bird I refuse to have is the cornish cross; sure the feed to meat ratio is awesome, but the birds are physically handicapped because of the fast weight gain. I know they are the most common meat bird, but not on my farm. I love your channel. Good luck, and God Bless !!!
+stephen ferrante Whoa nelly! Now THAT is a whole bunch of chickens! I gotta tell ya.... I just love those NH Reds... they are sweethearts here. The Barred Rocks seem to have excellent genetics and I get a lot of crosses out of them. I really hope to get some fodder going very soon. I think that would be incredible to offer! Thank you so much for watching! xo
I agree whole heartedly with Black Sexlinks, Black Australorps, and Americaunas. I have ALOT of hawks here in NE FL and generally need hen raised crafty chickens to avoid them while free ranging. Hawks tend to be able to spot those white chickens well too so we dont keep any of those. My other favorites for suvival and production on our homestead would be Dominiques. I love SL Wyandottes too but the gold ones are the only ones that make it around here. This year we are hoping to add Bielefelders and welsummers.
My pet Paddington McNugget was an Aracana, LOVED her! Pet indoor bird for over 8 years. Super spoiled and incredibly tame and personable! Wish I could send you pics Patara! Lol
I love my leghorn hens. they are not flashy birds by any means but mine are so sweet always the first to come running when I am feeding and always curious.
All good choices. My favorite, Barred Rock. But remember the whole group of crosses do not breed true. But for most peoole, so what! They are great egg layers and are mostly friendly and are cheap. My Barred Rocks from Mount Healthy are laying over 240 eggs a year per chicken and are very friendly.
I enjoy watching all your videos on chickens. I grew up on my grandparents farm and they always had leghorn chickens. We decided to get chickens last year. We had gotten a mixture of Rhode Island reds, golden comets, bard rocks,& comlumbia rocks. They have done very well this spring we got buff orphingtons and also some Cornish rock meat chickens. We want to start putting are own chicken meat in the freezer. What chicken do you recommend for primarily meat. The Cornish rocks was recommended by a friend. I didn't know anything about them till now.
Not a new chicken owner, but when your situation changes, that can change what your flock needs to look like. We have chosen to put our ladies to work all over the farm. But if they can't stay put, they are getting picked off by fox and coyotes in droves. New garden areas without fencing are being destroyed by rough naughty girls. But mostly, it's the finding a pile of feathers and knowing what happened. It's too much if you love your ladies. I NEED a non flighty bird!!! I am a fool for an Easter basket, but I can't take the characteristics of some of the egg colors I wanted. So here I am... feeling lost on picking next year's flock. I feel so much more confident in selecting now.
+Appalachia's Homestead Are you a member of BYC (Backyard Chickens)? If not, you would be a valuable member. You seem to know a lot about your chickens. Great video! Thanks so much for sharing your insight.
I have six Leghorns and four Isa’s and just added three Batams and two Lavender Olive Eggers. I love them all. My first batch of leghorns I spend time with them holding and petting and they are a lot more friendly than the second batch that got a bit more flighty. I love my Isa’s! They are so friendly and sweet and like to be petted. Not sure how the Batams and Olive layers are going to be as I just got them and they are a couple days old but they seem pretty flighty so far. 😂
You missed my favorite breed, New Hampshire Red. They were created to be a meat bird and they lay 5 eggs per week when the days are long enough. After a dozen years with two dozen or so breeds of chickens I settled on two breeds. New Hampshires because they are dual purpose and in my experience the first to start laying in the spring and the last to stop in the fall. My other breed is Silver Spangled Hamburgs because I like how they look and act. They are small like leghorns and lay lots of medium size eggs. Both are good foragers and hardy enough for northern New England winters.
I loved those beautiful Brahma but within a year the hawks had them all (4). They are like neon signs from the sky. I've learned to stick with the more camouflaged colors.
I had to look up those Speckled Sussex and they are very nice looking birds. As soon as I'm in a place to where I can have some, they're definitely on my list! Australorps, too. I was already planning getting chickens, but now I'm getting CHICKENS! Thanks for your help.
I had to take back my thumbs up! So I could thumbs up you again! LOL I went out after work today and I was finally able to to pick up 5 Baby Buff Orpingtons. I'm so happy to have them. I noticed about an hour after I got home and put them in their starter home that one of them look exhausted. I haven't seen her eat yet or go back to the water bowl after I dunked her beak in it. She wants the heat lamp. Suggestions please. I want to help her if I can.
Red star and barred rock work best for us. The gentler of the two are barred rock. We like the esthetics of the two brown egg layer breeds. The disposition and colors go together well. Just our personal observation.
You asked if you helped me out with the different breeds of chickens. The answer is no. Now before anyone freaks out the reason is I struggled a lot before ordering my chicks. Now I find I wish I could have more. Several breeds mentioned were ordered. I guess next year. Thanks for reinforcing my choices, I was stressed.
Love your chicken videos! Our first flock consists of 10 brown layers (production reds?) a barred rock hen and our newest addition...a cream legbar rooster named Marmalade
Try getting a Cochin they r medium size lay pretty well great mothers and are very very gentle the roosters either don't crow or not a lot I think anyone who likes a quiet gentle snuggley bird will like the Cochin #bestchickenbreed
+vega henley How many cochin roosters do you have? I was debating between Cochin and orpington rooster. My decision will be based on whose the quietest.
+chickenlover2 4 We got a white cochin and she loves to cuddle. She's only 4 weeks old and she comes out of the group and asks to be picked up. Adorable bird.
We have just hens but know ppl who have roosters they do crow some times but not often and I guess you could get a bad egg where they do but usually they do not crow or don't crow often.
I am good friends with the Amish and they raise all golden comets. Comets are a hybrid cross of a Rhode Island red and seem to start laying the quickest And lay large eggs I have some black Austrialorps and my comets blow them away so maybe it depends on where you live. A few of my comets lay extra large eggs, they don't even fit in the egg cartons good. I also got some barred rock for heritage meat mostly. Grow your own high-protein food for your chickens and they were way better eggs even if their old. All my chickens get Black oil sunflower seeds, watercress, and comfrey. They are loose they get stuff on their own I don't even pen them up they just perch at night and are guarded by a dog.
I love my leghorns as well but they are trouble with other breeds, they are cannibals and will pick each other apart so you have to get the trouble makers out of the flock early. They lay nearly everyday though, I love them.
Twrecks The Gamer The Silver laced is even more beautiful. Wyandottes make great mothers and they're determined to be mothers- they go broody a lot! which isn't ideal for small backyard chicken owners... but they are beauties
MyOtherNewName I agree. I'm from Australia and the Wyandottes definitely struggled in the summer heat. I now have Plymouth rocks and they cope much better but my Australorp is the toughest just like a true aussie ;) haha
scarlettrubyrose I've never lost a Astralorp or a RIR in this hot Southern California. My reds are laying steady 6 a week for each one. They've been at it for 7 months straight. I get 4-5 eggs a week outa the Astralorp.
Hi there - thank you for all the great information you provide. I have a question for you - Our city just allowed for residents to keep 6 hens on our property. YAY!! I want hens for the eggs and because I love chickens. Would you suggest getting 2 - 3 different types or keeping them all the same breed? Does it matter? Thank you again!!
Susie Q I would recommend the Buff Orpington, the Easter Egger and the Barred Rock for egg production. And if you want a breed for a pet, and/or one that will hatch chicks for you, I recommend the Silkie. If you have ANY questions, I'd be happy to help. -Ruby
What about Dominique? They were my Great Grandmother's fav chickens. We are thinking about getting a few hens after a 18yr hiatus without chickens and are hoping to get a few Buffs and a Dominique or two. Thanks for your great video! Sending love from Tupelo, MS!
Great informative video. My hens egg production has dropped drastically we have been getting a ton of rain and the chicken yard has puddles they drink out of instead of the hen hydrator could this be the cause of decreased egg production? They are on a balanced feed diet and they get the old eggs that i froze and watermelon as treats.
beginner homesteader Any stress can... watch carefully and keep them as dry and clean as possible. Heat can also play a factor. They go through cycles. That is normal. Thanks for watching! xo
Appalachia's Homestead The hens are being moved to higher ground this week their area keeps flooding and we built a bigger hen house thanks for the great information!
ive read that a lot of these egg or meat chickens bodies are extremely stressed because of the unnatural lay rates, so what breeds of chickens have small lay rates and are generally healthy (many layer chickens die because of problems with their reproductive system from overlaying) and it has to be able to stand cold, as i live in the northern midwest
I love all of those breeds, but I'd actually have to disagree with comets. We had several comets, and they ALL died around the same time after two years, just because of genetic egg production problems. All the big name chicken factories want are more eggs and more meat, and it's just horrific to see the breed suffer. All they do is just cull them after two years so that they don't have to deal with the problems. Thank you for this video though, I feel like it was really helpful! Keep up the great work! :)
I don't know if this has been answered already but can you do a video over Easter eggers chickens in the future? I would love to see your flock :) thank much love the videos!!!
Hey there again! What's the best kind of wormer do I need to feed my bantam hens? They just started laying! Hawks & sneaky dawgs are everywhere here. I'm on my 3 set of bantams. My german sheperd is not the culprit! Also, should I get more chicks right now since it's warm and the care would be less to deal with because of the heat?
I have buff orps first time owning chickens they are just over 4 months they have turned really different from chicks they became mean they attack me sometimes roos and hens both, some attack the others brutally they have lots of space free range now is this normal bc they are getting in their hormones? will they calm down? i used to hand feed but I can't anymore any tips appreciated
Have you decided or know anything about the blue australop ? And the splash blue ones? I have three boys and the biggest one is very much a dictator to the others. If u have multiple Roos of the same and different breed being large can a batch lot pad be made? I know that if there’s hens in the mix it can get pretty messy and lose one from what I read. First time chicken owner of 45 chickens and yes bantams in separate coops from large and medium breeds is best. I know this by early stages of watching them together and saw a few ruffles so I separate them before anything could happen. I got a rooster silky that got into an argument with is brother over space and the other hens so he’s a house chicken for now. The breeds I have is a mix and waiting for the eggs to come. So it’s the blue and black australops, Russian Orloff that’s on the threatend list of the live stock conservation list, golden sex link, buff orphantons which is part of the australops gene line in the breed, bovan brown, Silkies, bantam Japanese black tail, black and golden Sebright also endangered list, bantam Brahmas , which I got the black birch and a white that is considered a silver gene line looks like a Columbia Wyandot, and adding five road island red hens this week which is part of the golden sex link and the freedoms Ranger gene line and few others used for as in the breed make up. The history of chickens is fantastically interesting starting with the jungle fowls.
Love the chicken videos. I have a breeding question for you that I can not find an answer for about coverage. Does a hen need exposure to a rooster for each and every fertilized egg? Or can a week of exposure to a rooster produce fertilized eggs for a while after she is removed from him? It may sound like a weird question, but we are not allowed roo's here but I have access to one on a local farm. For example, a tortoise can lay fertile eggs for many months after one breeding.
sebern2 Some experts say they store sperm up to 30 days - specifically, wait a full month if you remove a hen from one rooster to another to be sure the new rooster is the egg fertilizer. I have saved eggs for 30 days after a catastrophe in my coop and had about 85% success. I didn’t mark dates on the eggs, I wish I had. Who knew a fox could go through the seemingly tiny opening we left for the tree growing in the run.
