[Moleskins]

To add to the occasional pigs, the full time bees and sheep we're tempted to try some chickens.
This question comes up on the sheep forum a lot  ........ so here goes on the poultry side.
What breed do I buy, regular eggs would be good and tame or easy to catch.

[Fowlman]

I would always encourage people to get traditional pure breeds but if its just eggs you want and not that bothered then hybrids are cheaper and give you plenty of eggs.
If you do want pure breeds then there are plenty to choose from such as light sussex, Rhode island red, dorking , the list is long.

[darkbrowneggs]

Just a thought - is there any reason you need to catch them.  If they need "things doing" then after they have gone to sleep on the perches is a good time.
 
Probably if you want them as tame pets, I have heard that Buff Orpington, Cochin etc are good, though presumably they won't be great in the egg producing department.
 
If you are more interested in just egg production then go for a standard hybird such as any of the Brown commercial Warren types, and they are generally pretty quiet, or I have heard White Star are really good layers though flighty.  Black Rocks are good all-rounders, but need plenty of free range or can become a bit pecky.
 
If egg quality rather than quantity is paramount then my choice is Cuckoo Marans and Cream Legbars, though in both of these a good utility based strain make a good account of themselves in the egg laying department, and can become really tame if time is spent with them.

[Moleskins]

Well I'm always arguing for the quality of meat from pigs and sheep and the quality of honey from a beekeeper as opposed to the supermarket stuff so really should be the same on the eggs.
Thank you for the suggestions, any others? Going to get the OH to have a look at them, as with all stock, I think it's important to like what you're looking after.

[Fowlman]

You could always get a variety of breeds so you have different coloured eggs.

[chrismahon]

I've got three issues with hybrids Moleskins:-
 
They are all innoculated so they will potentially transmit viruses to any that haven't been at any time in the future. So if you start with hybrids and decide to go for more colour and shape you will be struggling to find Pedigrees that have also been innoculated with the same viruses and therefore are taking a risk.
 
Whilst they do lay a lot in a year they exhaust themselves quickly and 3 years is old for a hybrid. None of ours have got that far. Some are just as friendly as Pedigrees though.
 
People tell us our eggs are the best they have ever tasted. We now have customers without putting the signs up and are constantly sold out. All our chickens are Pedigrees which lay less but lay slower. I think that improves the taste a lot.
 
We have Blue Orpingtons. 5 years old and still laying good sized eggs regularly. Very friendly as well. Buffs tend to get rather messy and originate from a different breeding programme.

[in the hills]

If egg production is your main aim, hybrids are hard to beat. If you buy POL pullets now they should lay right through the winter and continue to lay really well for the first 18- 24 months. After that egg numbers will decrease gradually but egg size usually increase. They tend not to live for so long and as they naturally die off, can be replaced ...... hence a constant egg supply. We have had hybrids live until 10 years of age though.    They tend to be calm and easily handled. My daughter has some Warren types that you literally fall over, constantly under your feet 


Pure breeds are supposed to live longer and although they lay fewer eggs per year should continue for more years. Mine do not lay that well through the winter even as young birds. They give you range of egg colours and sizes eg. araucanas for blue eggs and interesting plummage etc. Though there are now many different hybrids to choose from eg. bluebells, white star. Some pure breeds are calm and easy to handle but others can be flighty. Some breeds, like pekins are not good layers but great pets for children.


We have utility RIRs and my father has utility Wyandottes these tend to be good layers but not as many per year as hybrids. I find they take longer to reach POL than hybrids (in general). They are easy to handle.


I think choice depends on your reason for keeping.

[goosepimple]

If you get Cream Legbars they are rare breed so its good to support that, but also they are colour coded at birth (males different from females) so its easy to see what you've got and although its rubbish to have to dispatch a male chick its a lot easier than when they are fully grown - cockerels can take a bit of killing. Other than that our Rhode Island Reds have been first class, now old ladies at 6 and still laying superbly, not nervous and lovely colouring. 

[omnipeasant]

How many chooks are you thinking of getting? I ask because you could try some warrens and some pure breeds and see what you get on with.

I bought some pullets from Rosie Posie on here and I have found them very tame (catchable, stroke their chests and follow me like my gang) these are light sussex and other sussex variety.  I think it isn't just the breed but how they are reared. You won't regret getting chickens.

[Mammyshaz]

We were torn about the breed to start with, last year, and only wanted 4 . After going down the supporting rare breeds thought, eventually decided on hybrids. The main reason being we didn't know what to expect in becoming hen owners and our main aim was self-sufficiency in eggs. They each are a different type and lay different coloured eggs.

We realise they won't live as long as pure breeds but thought if it had been a bad idea we didn't have too many years of regret, and if we loved it then we could add a couple every 2 or 3 years.

Problem now is that we love having them and do want more but these are vaccinated.  We now have a decision about what to purchase, and from where, due to the vaccination scenario.

But we cannot complain, the eggs are great And they each lay most days, giving plenty supply for ourselves and swaps for other items. 

[Moleskins]

I'm glad I asked now, there's always plenty of info on TAS.
If we had hybrids and wanted to change can you just move the coop to another piece of land and re stock with all new birds or would you need to change the coop too, due to the vaccine problem?
I would imagine going for about 4 or 6 hens and hope to sell some eggs if we're getting too many for our own use.
My inclination is for the pure / rare breed route though. I've had look on t'internet to see where you can buy some of various breeds, they appear to be £15 to £20 each would that be about right?

[in the hills]

Yes, that sounds about right.


My father paid about £7 each for utility RIR's and Wyandottes ..... as growers.


Not sure how much of a problem the vaccination thing is. I know lots of people who keep both and haven't had any problems. Heard its possible but not sure how common/likely it is.

[kegs]

I would go for a pure breed myself and the Faverolles are a lovely friendly bird, not too flighty and good winter layers.  A lot of birds stop laying in the winter which would be a problem if you have customers.  I also like to go for dual purpose birds, so if I get any cockerels they then get fattened up for the table.  For this reason you'd want to steer clear of any 'show quality birds'.  We hatch our own from eggs sent through the post.  Our Faverolles were tasty but I've now got some 4 wk old dual purpose chicks which are a selection of Ixworth, Jersey Giant and Welsh Black (these are an Australorp Indian Game X) and are all meant to be full of flavour.  The chicks I hatch purely for the table are Hubbards from Simon Skinner as they are ready for the table in a matter of weeks but they do eat a lot.  Full of flavour though!

[Victorian Farmer]

very soon all hens will be vaccinate id get Sussex and roads from a good breeder utility stock .the vaccine is done to safe keep the hens and give them a longer life .i do not do the hens for sale  , only my own stock .

[Womble]

They are all innoculated so they will potentially transmit viruses to any that haven't been at any time in the future.

Wait up, how does that work Chris?
 
Surely if a hen is innoculated, that makes it immune to that particular virus, since it will be carrying the relevant antibodies in its bloodstream.

That doesn't mean it's carrying the virus itself though, and I'd have thought your pure breed hens would be more likely to catch something from other newly introduced pure breeds, rather than the hybrids (since they won't be carriers, and won't be vulnerable to the disease either)?
 
However, I see a few folks have echoed your point of view, so I'm going to stand back now ready to be corrected.......