Do you keep livestock? Having any problems? Want to talk about it, whether it be sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, bees or llamas, here is your place to discuss.
Well after reading all your bits on here i have decided to get some chickens for eggs and maybe other havent decided yet but when i was young we had some pet chickens and one lived to be 8 years old.
Anyway i think they were Rhode Island Reds but they looked like the traditional brown type chicken.
My question is........what is the best chicken to get for eggs ( just for ourselves ) and also what is the best chicken for meat and also to breed from??????
For laying, you get some great hybrids that will lay almost an egg a day for many years. Black Rocks (a cross between a plymouth rock and a rhode island red) are amongst the best layers - Our hens have layed almost an egg each per day right through winter. expect over 300 eggs a year in their first year of laying, this will go down each year after that but not as much as in other breeds.
one of the great things about black rocks is their hardiness. They have very thick black/brown feathers and are happy to stay outside in all weathers. ours act completely happy even in the heaviest of snow or sleet.
they also are quite docile and easy to tame, which has to be a good thing!
we have some Rhode Island Red, some Orpington crossed with Light Sussex, 1 ancona hen and 1 silky.
The RIR barely miss a day ...
the Orp X LS barel missed a day either, even through the winter, same for the ancona. The only problem is that they got broody on us, it was great for us but not that good for the egg production ...
They are running with a Naked Neck rooster, wich are supposed to be good layers too .. and a Heinz 57 with some RIR, LS and god knows what else in his genes.
The first brood from them should start laying in a couple of weeks .. so will see if the end result is as good as expected, good layers and good eaters for the males ..
