Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire What chickens in your flock?

We have ISA Browns. They're the best egg layers we've had, also the most docile.

We've also had RIR, and Gold and Silver Wyandottes. The Wyandottes were pretty, but they didn't produce as well as the RIR and ISA's.

If I ever get off of my butt and complete my coop…..we’ll be trying Wyandotte’s! memtb

Of course this was all before I lost them in a boating accident.

2 Rhode Island Reds
2 Golden Sex Links
2 Ameraucanas

2 barred rocks and 2 Americanas. I try to keep my flock +/- 4 if I lose one now I will get two chicks the following spring. More than that and I have trouble using and giving away the eggs, less and I don’t have enough.

All these exotic breeds of chickens???

Y'all are testing my hendurance.

Rhode island red, barred rock, Sapphire gem, one gifted polish thing with a fro.

I have four Rhode Island Red hens.
Keep them fed and watered - get 3 or 4 eggs a day. I do turn on a light bulb when the temps are in the mid 20's or less to prevent freezing of the eggs.
My Grandparents had RIR's and had eggs year round so I figured they were a good way to go.

I dated a woman for years and we had Isa Browns. I thought that they were great layers and fairly easy birds to deal with. Also had a couple of barred rocks who were also good layers.

After years of thinking about getting some chickens, I think this year we're going to do it. The kids are working in the summer now, so family camping trips are few, meaning that we're home more to take care of them and deal with critters, if needed. Isa Browns will likely be the birds I choose.

We were losing a hen a week due to hawks.
We moved to the Australorps and haven't had a loss since then.
We read that the hawks mistake them for crows.

Don't know if it is true or not, but the results back it up.

I have Plymouth Rock hens. Large body, large eggs, lot of double yokes. They do well in the cold or the hot weather.

Had a bunch of different ones over the years, but now mostly leghorns.

You are correct, downside is they won't lay for as long as some other breeds. That said those breeds often dial it way back in the winter. For that reason is why we have a mix of breeds, but the RIR make up 1/3 of our flock. When we replace hens next we'll probably migrate to a 50/50 with barred rock.

My first flock 13 years ago was all Rhode Island Reds. I had fourteen of them. I learned that was too many hens, as over the winter they literally ate my entire front lawn. Had to reseed in the spring.

After that, I settled on six or seven hens total. Seems to work out perfectly. No overgrazing my lawn. More than enough eggs for me, and usually enough for me to give a dozen to a neighbor here and there, for good will.

I used to have a huge Australorp rooster who was super protective of his hens. I doubt any hawk would have stood a chance with him on guard.

I have read that too

My current rooster isn't quite as big, nor quite as protective, but enough that I don't lose any to hawks.



PS He was young when that shot was taken. His spurs are about three times longer than that, now.

I recently read some advice about supplementing chicken feed with cat food during winter. The explanation was that during winter there are no bugs, so the chickens diet is lacking protein. Adding 10% dry cat food to their mix was a relatively cheap and simple way to maintain that protein level and keep birds healthy, and egg production up.

I am down to two of the ISA Browns, and they have quit laying about 18 months after they started. The hybrid breeds are bad about this. I bought a pair of Barred Rocks pullets from a neighbor who raises chickens, and they've just started laying. I'll turn the Browns into coyote bait as soon as I can find some more Barred Rocks.

I won’t get another rooster. They tear up my hens, act all cocky while I’m working outside in the yard. Had to beat the shît out of them with a mop handle

Besides, we dont want that little cumshot thing in our eggs