Selfsufficientish.com

Hi everyone

We're fairly new to chicken keeping, just have three hybrids at the moment.

We want to get some more chucks but would like some that lay eggs other than light brown, eg dark brown, white or blue. Not sure if I am being obsessive but one reason is I really enjoy seeing which chicken has laid each egg I collect, lol!
Also they are free ranging over our large garden which does not have particularly high fences so something non flighty is needed. Our three small children would like to be able to pick them up and stroke them if possible although I suppose this is not essential as they can always stroke the three we already have!
I have been looking in books for info but a lot of the ones we like the look of seem to be flighty other than marans which we may end up with.

Please help! Any ideas would be most helpful, hopefully someone will have experience of breeds that will fit the bill!

Thanks,
Jacqui

Hi there and welcome Jacqui! Why not pop onto the introductions section and tell us more about yourself.

marans for mahogany-dark eggs - they come in loads of different colours (the hens I mean!)
or welsummers lay dark eggs

light eggs come from any hen with white "ear lobes" - light sussex, minorcans, Scots, Barbus, Redcaps, leghorns.

Blue eggs - araucana, cream legbars ... erm, cant think of any more!

hope that helps, and hello & welcome :)

Hi there and welcome.

I second the cream legbars...we have one and she is not flightly at all, with lovely blue eggs.

Obviously you can't have it all, so in my experience you won't get as good a yield from these as you would from a hybrid, but nice to have them to top up the eggs you already get.

Australorps are non flighty, great layers and really friendly. Apparently egg colour can vary, but our blue aussies just lay lovely creamy white eggs.