I of course NEED two Blue Laced Red Wyandottes from Jerry or Nancy. ahem....
Then of course one or two of each of the following, in no particular order:
Black Australops
Barred Rock
Buff Orpington
Partridge Rock
Speckled Sussex
Ancona
Cookoo Maran
Delaware
Golden Laced Wyandotte
Silver Laced Wyandotte
Aside from those I really like the Lakenvelder, WhiteFaced Black Spanish, Buttercup and Golden Campine but not sure if they are good layers. Will have to research more.
These will all be free range come spring time and the egg layers seem to really be a lot more friendly than the Old English Game Bantams that I have. But those OEGB sure are fun to watch!
So. Without wanting too much chicken math....who's in with me?? :)
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8 comments:
I'm going to be placing a chick order soon, and I would have no problem with getting you one or more of what you want, but I order straight run because of what they do with surplus roos! Sorry, but boys just aren't as valuable in the animal kingdom. Just sayin'
Garrett, check out the video on my blog to see my Buff Chantecler hen and her chicks that hatched last week. You might want to add them to your list. I could probaby ship some with your Shetland goslings! The Chanteclers are really nice chickens, very calm, good size, good layers and no combs to freeze in the winter. Oh and quite beautiful too. Kim made a good choice when she chose them last year. I don't know where she got them exacty.
I've got some gorgeous, coming one year old BLRW hens, Garrett but I get $40 each for mature BLRW. If you are interested, I can send you pictures. If not ~ that's OK too. I won't be offended. ;-)
OMG OMG Chicken Math!!!!!!
I am not sure if i am going to hatch some out or order girly chicks...I want to hatch some out, but I hate getting rid of the extra boys...since I don't eat 'em...just sayin'.
If you're going hatchery, I'd do the Rocks or the Australorp. Hatcheries certainly don't have GOOD Rocks or Australorps, but they're at least decent egg layers and don't look too ridiculously "off."
I'd stay the furthest away from hatchery Orpingtons (Orps are supposed to be huge, fluffy, round birds and the only thing the hatcheries have managed to retain is the color - you'll get a buff but it'll be small and racy and not look at all like an Orp should), Delawares, Marans, and Wyandottes. The Dellies and the Wyandottes for the same reason as the Orpingtons - the hatchery lines don't have the size or even close to it (and of course with the Wyandottes they won't have the nice lacing), and the Marans because they don't breed for egg color. Marans are supposed to have that dark, almost black, chocolate egg, and the hatchery lines are not going to lay anything darker than a regular brown layer.
Nancy's price for a well-bred hen of any breed is about right; I've seen nice BLRWs go a lot higher than that, honestly. I've got BLRWs growing up in my brooders (Foley lines) and aside from the single-combed cockerels (which will go to the dogs) they're not going anywhere. After I evaluate the lacing and type some may be sold but they won't go cheap.
Sand Hill Preservation Center (which is a hatchery but not a chick mill like most of them are) has pretty good Anconas and the other colored Mediterranean breeds, and I think their Dorkings and Jersey Giants are good too. We've ordered from them for our mixed egg-laying flock (I currently have all the breeds I listed above) and I would (and will) do it again in a second. But they sell straight-run only because they refuse to kill males. It was totally worth it for me because I fed the males to the dogs, so I bought their assortment and ended up with nice hens for very little money, but if you don't want to deal with males Sand Hill isn't your best choice.
Oh, and don't forget that any of the non-Mediterranean breeds are going to be broody like crazy, which cuts down on your egg production.
Lackenvelders have a reputation for heavy laying and they're very clean and efficient birds; I don't own them but I've looked at them a lot. Exchequer Leghorns and the other colored Leghorns ditto. But those slim egg-layers are all a bit freaky; they'll survive longer free-ranging (the Wyandottes will get picked off pretty fast if they aren't protected) but they're not exactly friendly.
I kinda thought you might be OCD, funny you should mention it... my elder gay guy that I care for is, and he's made me aware of it EVERYWHERE. But, not my business.
Sorry to hear about your Adam, and wish the best for you in future relationships.
Oops, that post should've been a response to your Feb 1st post-- I read a few today!
To this one, well, happy chicken raising!
Garrett
I am in the flock building phase of my BLRW I started with $9/chicks to get the best lines. My roo was shipped from CA. The price of $40/blue hen is about right. I know that sounds high, but half the chicks are roosters. Being a blue breed,Blue x Blue a hatch is 50% blue, 25% splash and 25% black laced. So using these narrowing down odds....20 chicks, half roos so possibly 10 pullets I ended up with 5 blues and 3 Splash pullets So the chick cost rose to $24/per and then 3-4 months of feed to determine roos from pullets as rose combs are harder to sex.....and you end up at $40 quite easily.
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