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by Jennifer Burcke
Photos by author
Asking questions, gathering information, and educating yourself are all important parts of the chicken keeping experience. At the onset of your chicken keeping experiment, there seem to be more questions than answers. Should we use a stationary chicken coop or a mobile chicken tractor? Do we want to keep a rooster or only hens? How many chickens do we want in our flock? What breed of chickens should we get?
Each of these questions deserves careful consideration. The last one is difficult, as there is no easy answer. There are so many breeds to choose from that it is difficult to decide. For those of us who keep small flocks, it can feel like there is very little room for error.
When I found myself in that situation almost two years ago, I began polling friends and family who kept chickens. They were happy to share their personal experiences with me. In fact, they were eager to answer every question I posed regarding the breeds in their care.
There was only one problem. When you ask several chicken keepers which breed is the best to have in your flock you will receive a completely different answer from each person. You will become more puzzled instead of less. I’m sorry to be the one to break this to you, but it is true. Consider yourself warned.
Bertha is the queen of our flock. There is no doubt that she is in charge of everything that occurs within the confines of our coop and attached run. She decides who eats breakfast first and who walks down the ramp to the world waiting outside every morning. She decides the lineup on the roost at night.
Bertha even makes the decision that it is time to come into the coop as dusk envelops our farm. I can’t imagine how many evenings I have spent coaxing her up the ramp to the coop in order to close the door to the outdoor run. Yes, that’s right; Bertha believes strongly that she outranks me. She decided long ago that she will come in when she’s good and ready and not a moment sooner.
In sharp contrast to Bertha is the second Barred Plymouth Rock in our flock of heritage breed hens. Her name fits her perfectly: Marigold. She has a bright and engaging demeanor and basks in attention from the entire family. She will happily come to sit at your feet when you enter the coop or run. She sits patiently and waits for a kind hand to run gently along her black and white feathers.
Already, I can see that two chicks of the same breed are far from similar. Yes, our two Mottled Cochin Bantam chicks look the same, but their behaviors are distinctly original. They may only be three weeks old, but they are well on their way to becoming true individuals.So what is a chicken keeper to do when attempting to decide which breeds to choose? Thankfully, there are a wealth of tools to assist you. Some of these resources don’t even require you to leave your computer.
For good measure, be sure to add in a few subscriptions to newsletters full of chicken keeping information like Community Chickens. You’ll find valuable information waiting for you in your inbox on a regular basis. It’s easy to spend hours looking over a great resource book, such as Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds for the photos alone. With all these different sources of information on hand, you’ll be off to an excellent start.In spite of all this information, you’ll still have to make some tough decisions. When selecting the breeds in our recent batch of chicks, I found myself sitting at my laptop making the choice between beautiful Marans with their magnificent dark brown eggs and the Dominiques that are now exploring the brooding pen out in our barn. I’m sure that we will be happy with the touch of American history that the two Dominiques will bring to our coop. I’m also sure that I’ll be adding a few Marans and their chocolate eggs to our farm the next time we add chicks to our flock.
Until then, I’ll enjoy the hens that turned our family into chicken keepers for the individuals that they are. I’ll watch as the three-week-old baby chicks develop their unique personalities. I know that I will enjoy their antics all the while. The chicks will amaze us as they transform from day-old chicks into laying hens in five short months.
In the end, I can’t tell you what the perfect breed for your coop will be, because what works for me might not work for you. The best breed of chicken for me is just that, the best breed for me and not the best breed for everyone. The best breed of chicken for your flock is the one that makes you believe every morning when you make your way to the coop that you are happy to be a chicken keeper. Now, if only one of the breed selection tools had a category for that.
I’d love to know what you think is the best chicken breed for your family. At 1840 Farm, the Australorp reigns supreme for dependable egg laying and an easygoing nature. In fact, there are two Australorp chicks in the brooding pen waiting to join our Australorp hen Hedwig in the coop. I’d love for you to comment below and tell me what has proven to be the best breed for your flock. I can’t wait to see how many different opinions there are!
11 Comments
I have 5 buff orpingtons that are supposed to be docile, friendly easy going and they are feral! I have 4 black australorps and they are so sweet easy to handle. I have 4 barred rocks and they are sweet natured a little skittish but make the coolest cooing noises both of these last two breeds love to be petted ( chests) then I have 3 light brahmas and while they are somewhat skittish they are a wonderful breed fun to watch and much bigger than the others! I did my research for about two years picking dual purpose winter/cold hardy ( live in michigan) docile temperaments and so far so good. No eggs yet they are 12 weeks old but im excited and cant wait!!
I’m partial to American class breeds and old style farm hybrids. Dominiques, Barred or White Plymouth Rocks, Black Stars, Delawares, Wyandottes, and the APA unrecognized California Grays.
Dominiques are the most vigorous foragers I have ever seen in my life. They behave like a Barred Rock with ADHD, though. They are very friendly and will often come over and forage around your feet if you are sitting outside. They aren’t inclined to laps, though.
As foraging goes, they are the first chickens I have ever had that decided to eat snails and slugs and concluded that they were very fond of escargot. They literally went under our very low deck (the top is 18″ from the ground) and stripped off the snails and slugs Ourback yard used to be plagued with mollusks, now they are very few and far between and calling the Dominiques will eliminate any that I find.
I have a small flock of red sex link hens(9).These hens are great layers of large brown eggs.I also have a young dominique rooster.I have gotten a ameraucana pullet that a friend did not won;t.the red sex links bullied the little ameraucana from day one,even the rooster bullied her. I have her in my chicken tractor. got my first blue egg today! thanks;alabama pete
You really cannot go wrong with a mix of any Heritage Breed hens. We have several different varieties, a pair of each. So fun to watch and be around. A Silky rooster (Elvis) watches over the flock. Elvis roo does not tear up and de-feather a hens back when mating. He won’t attack people either. The big Cochin roo is gentle towards people but tore up the girls backs when mating due to his huge clumsy feet. He is now out back with our bachelor roo gang.
I absolutely love my white leghorns. They are very nice and gentle chickens. They are excellent layers. However, I do not care for the red sex links. I have had only one out of six of them that are nice. They are mean to the other chickens. Tetra tints aren’t my favorite either. 2 out of six of mine are really mean to the other chickens. 3 of our chickens were killed by these girls. The red ones almost killed a rooster and a duck. I will say that the red sex links and the tetra tints are very good layers for about 7 months out of the year. I am in the market for adding new chickens to my flock. I really only want excellent to very good egg producers. Preferably great feed to egg ratios. I am thinking of additional white leghorns,getting barred rocks, anconas, and something else. I really like the red colored chickens, but I don’t want any more mean ones. Any suggestions?
There is no best, because everybody wants something different! We have Favorolles, and I love their sweet nature. these are our chickens that I can pet and pick up without fuss. But they are slow and I have also lost more of them to predators. We have easter eggers, and their eggs are interesting, but the rest of them, well, they are forgetable. We have Australorps, and they are well able to care for themselves and the current bosses of the coop. They are the most reliable of our layers and I would always keep a few for those traits. Next month I have chicks coming, some black copper marans, for those gorgeous eggs, some polish, cause I can’t help but laugh at their “hair”, some sussex, because they are supposed to be excellent layers even in winter, and a silver laced wyandotte, because they are just so pretty. Perhaps I will find a new favorite in this bunch. For now the Favorolle has my heart, but a good layer, no she isn’t the best. I love her anyway.
We live in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, and have had good luck with Cochins. Their large size and feathered feet help them to overcome the cold, snowy winters. I especially like their quiet,calm temperament and they are pretty sociable. Although they don’t lay as much as other breeds, they are excellent setters and mothers. Our cochin rooster, Domino, is even patient with the chicks. He is teaching them how to forage and he is very careful not to step on the babies.
Hi Jennifer ~ We are crazy about chickens and have 33 chickens (18 different breeds) and we love all of them. They are each different and wonderful. I’d say if a person is worried about space then the Red Star is a great breed to consider as they are very small and eat less than other breeds but lay large brown eggs. We have a Black Australorp too and she is a sweet girl. Of course having wonderful green and blue eggs from our Americana (Easter Egger) hens is so fun and our egg customers love them too. My favorite chickens are Black Copper Marans because they lay deep dark brown, almost black, eggs. The friendliest hens we have are Rhode Island Reds and they lay eggs that are so huge they barely fit into the carton.
Chris
Utterly Blessed Farm
http://utterlyblessedfarm.com/
Thanks for sharing your opinions! We have one Black Australorp in the coop and she has been a joy to keep. We also have two Black Australorp chicks in the brooder and two Silkies. I can’t wait to see how these chicks (and their broodermates) will do at 1840 Farm!
We have Silkies and Ameraucanas, because they’re relatively quiet…a very important trait in our neighborhood. The Silkies are so sweet and beautiful, and we hope the Ameraucanas will start laying their Easter eggs within a few months.
For mothering attributes, I have never experienced the devotion and teaching that I have seen in the Black Australorp. She will take her chicks out into the world within days and for several weeks will guide them and make sure they get into the *Baby Mama* box at night. We have four *teenagers* and 3 growing *chicks*…completely on their own during the day and snuggled together at night. Only problem is these mamas are ready to start all over again before you know it.