Best chicken breed?

[Meg_T]

Hi,

I am looking into getting chickens and have always liked the idea of rescuing some ex-battery hens. However I have also considered getting some rare breeds.

I was just wondering what breeds people think are best for gardens?

Thanks

[dave45]

I think your garden will get trashed whatever the breed !

You might want to check out the egg quality too. The colleagues that take my eggs at work say they are all consistently tastier than any supermarket or shop eggs of whatever type. To my mind thats probably due to the breed of chicken. Light Sussex, Rhode Island Red, White Star, Speckledy (RIP) and Black Rock. Not sure if those are "rare". They get fed standard layers pellets, kitchen scraps and they scratch for worms, bugs and green stuff from the garden.
Or maybe its the worms that give them the taste?

[oldjerry]

Your garden wont get trashed if you keep them in an ark which you move daily/regularly,in fact they'll do it a bit of good,and they'll be more secure from predators.Hybrids like those above are fine,they've been breed to produce a lot of eggs and most commercial Free Range flocks are made up of this type of bird.They're easy to keep,cheap(ish) to buy,and all round a good choice to start with.
Lots of people ,however prefer to keep the umpteen different rare breeds(less eggs) because they want to be different,they like the colours,etc.etc.,and everyone has their favourite,I'll start the ball rolling,my favs are Indian Game birds,beautiful,full of character ,and despite their name,Cornish!

[boboff]

If you are new, personnally I would say get a trio of hens. In terms of the breed get the brown happy chickens, they jump and dance and everything!

[The Riff-Raff Element]

If you are new, personnally I would say get a trio of hens. In terms of the breed get the brown happy chickens, they jump and dance and everything!

For starting out, I couldn't agree more. I've always kept a few. Fantastic layers and very light on feed. But my favourites for character and appearance is the (not exactly rare) Light Sussex.

[lunalucy]

We kept ex-batties and they didn't trash the garden at all! They free ranged all day and the only problem I had with them was around the salad beds... if you like your lettuces, don't grow them near hens ;)

We also considered getting Meadowsweet's Black Star (I think these may be the same as Bovan Neras - very sociable to the point of cheeky) and Meadowsweet Bluebelles are supposed to be very placid and sociable, too. http://www.meadowsweetpoultry.co.uk/poultry.htm

If you are looking for ex-batties, I know that there is a free range farmer that has recently gone out of business and is trying to rehome their stock so they don't go to slaughter... they're around a year and should live for up to another 4-6 years, or more if you're lucky. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIfu21b2pT0 for more info and contact details.

[red]

best for what ?

if you want pretty birds to look at - go for different breeds. if you want lots of eggs, hybrids - like the battery hens - are better


i dont approve of rehoming battery hens, cos i feel it is taking away from breeders who keep chickens in good conditions. if they dont get the trade, they will stop, and the battery hen will be all there is. if you follow my thinking.

howver, hybrids are generally more approachable etc, so advantages and disavantages

[oldjerry]

i dont approve of rehoming battery hens, cos i feel it is taking away from breeders who keep chickens in good conditions. if they dont get the trade, they will stop, and the battery hen will be all there is. if you follow my thinking.


I do follow your thinking,I.ve had a good sized FR flock myself,but to be honest I wonder just how much trade I lost to people with a few Ex Batts.I 'm more interested in persuading the far greater number of consumers of eggs from caged birds to purchase our eggs.
I do have concern though for people who havent kept poultry,beginning with ex-batts,,I'm sure it works OK for some people,but it would be better if they cut their teeth on some proper POLs(and better for the ex-batts too).Keeping a few hens in your garden aint rocket science,but if you want to avoid the £1.21 egg,or your garden being trashed,a bit of thought and/or experience is worth having.

[lunalucy]

With me, I know that people that rehome ex-batts don't want to HAVE to do it, because the battery hen industry shouldn't exist.

But that said, they're chickens, they're alive and they should be given a chance to live if it's on offer - that simple. It's also a good way to encourage people to see for themselves what the battery hen industry does, and why farmers should be supported into moving into a free range farming. I don't see how it takes away from breeders so much, as if you're supplying industry demand, the amount of people rehoming ex-batties pales into insignificance. I know plenty of people with mixed flocks too.

I say if you want to give ex-batties a go, do it. They were my first hens, and I coped fine with them. They didn't trash the garden at all. They take a couple of weeks to readjust to free range life but chickens are quick learners.

[Big Al]

FWIW I wouldn't have battery hens because duracell cost so much.......

[dave45]

trashing gardens - you have been warned!
jumping and dancing? that means they'll get over the fence into your veggie patch !

Last year our Rhode Island Red looked me in the eye sideways (as they do) then looked upwards (calculating the physics) and flapped/jumped vertically up a 5-foot wall to get at my strawberries. She was obviously telling me "this is what we get up to when you're not around". Her wings had been clipped. They were clipped a bit nore afterwards.

Some days I feel like Mr Tweedie... "they're plotting something!"

[darkbrowneggs]

I have to say I like my Marans, they are pretty big and chunky birds, so I rarely get any jumping out, (but they do have a pretty fair area of their own to have a go at with plenty of interesting things in there). I also find that they don't scratch as much as some. Which doesnt mean that they wont jump over a fence or scratch in a garden. Each hen - as each person is an idividual. We might have national characteristics as English Welsh Scottish Irish French etc, but that doesnt mean we all conform to these, so why should chickens

Mine are healthy and long lived. Very good layers for a traditional breed. Beautiful eggs, and (if you are so inclinede) they are a dual purpose meat and eggs breed. And they are my idea of what a chicken should look like

All the best
Sue
Dark Brown Eggs

[red]

I've come to think that dual purpose chickens are the way forward. having hatched some egg laying breeds.. the cockerels were so skinny it was hard to make ourselves go through the hassle of killing and prepping them for the pot. i dont think they were worth the food we put into them

in my mind now, the best way it to have dual purpose birds, so when hatched the cockerels are eaten (many breeders just destroy and throw away the unwanted cockerels of skinnier breeds), and the older hens go in the pot too, when they are passed it, and meanwhile the younger girls give us eggs

this is why im getting some hatching eggs from you Sue :D

[darkbrowneggs]

I've come to think that dual purpose chickens are the way forward. having hatched some egg laying breeds.. the cockerels were so skinny it was hard to make ourselves go through the hassle of killing and prepping them for the pot. i dont think they were worth the food we put into them

in my mind now, the best way it to have dual purpose birds, so when hatched the cockerels are eaten (many breeders just destroy and throw away the unwanted cockerels of skinnier breeds), and the older hens go in the pot too, when they are passed it, and meanwhile the younger girls give us eggs

this is why im getting some hatching eggs from you Sue :D

Are they the ones Chez is taking today? Hadn't put the names and tags together.
Silly me

all the best
Sue

[boboff]

Agreed on the dual purpose, I like Light Sussex for this reason.