There are many factors to consider when choosing what breed or breeds of chickens are right for your flock. That sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Your Flock. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when deciding what chicken breeds are right for you. You will also find brief corresponding points to aid in making your decisions.
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What are your goals for chickens?
Will your birds be your pets? Some have chickens merely for the food they provide. others enjoy them as a pet.
Do you plan to produce your own food with your chickens? You might want to choose a breed for its egg laying ability. Do you plan to raise them for meat? If so, there are breeds available whose fast-growing heavy muscle patterns make them ideal for eating.
Perhaps you intend to own chickens for both meat and eggs. There are wonderful heritage and dual-purpose breeds who lay a decent number of eggs and are delicious to eat. For example, the Silver Gray Dorkings raised here at CG Heartbeats Farm.
Click this link to learn more: https://www.dontclipmywings.com/silver-gray-dorking/
Do you plan to raise chicks? If so, you might want to include a breed known to go broody in your flock. Will you be raising chicks to a breed standard, a backyard Heinz 57 mix, or a little of both? There is no wrong answer, only what you prefer.
Do the breeds you want play well with others?
Some breeds are known to be more aggressive compared to other breeds. If you choose to own more than one breed, you will want to purchase breeds that are able to get along with each other. There will always be a pecking order among chickens. One hen will rule the others. There will be one below her in the domination order. Each hen will have a place in the line down to the lowest.
Do you want more than one breed?
A flock of mixed breeds can be a beautiful thing. The beauty of a dozen different colored eggs may make the decision for you. Many find joy in seeing blue, green, different shades of brown eggs and even eggs with a pink tint. The diversity of backyard chicken breeds provide a wonderful way to enjoy owning birds.
Do you want more tips and fun group challenges? Join the Facebook group Hatching Eggs, Ideas, and Homesteading Practices
Should your birds be vaccinated?
To vaccinate or not vaccinate is a personal choice based on several different factors.
- Desire to raise chickens completely natural
- Comfort level with the risk of loosing some birds
- Desire to have eggs and possibly meat from birds that were not vaccinated
- Allowing for the survival of the fittest
- Belief that vaccinating will stop disease from spreading (It has been proven to slow down the spread in the last century.)
- Over all sustainability of the environment.
- Loss of money due to loss of birds
Some breeders vaccinate all chicks, some do not, and others leave the choice up to the buyer. If you are purchasing older birds and have strong feelings one way or the other about vaccination, make sure to inquire before purchasing. That goes for any age bird, truthfully.
How many chickens do you want?
This decision will depend in part on how much land you have available. Other factors include the goals that you have decided on. If you are breeding chickens, chances are you will have more chickens than an average backyard flock. If you live on a lot in town, the number you can have will be limited to the size of the coop that fits in your space. In general, there should be 3 to 5 square feet per bird in a coop and 8 to 10 in a run. If chickens are kept in coop 24/7 the square footage would need to larger per bird.
Understand that this can vary depending on the size and breed of chicken. Still, this gives you an idea to base the number of chickens you want to own. Perhaps you live in the country and want to sell farm fresh eggs locally, you may want 50, 100 or even more.
Will your flock include a rooster?
Depending on where you live, roosters may not be allowed due to the loud crowing they are bound to exclaim as morning dawns. I personally enjoy hearing my roosters crow early in the morning.
A rooster is needed if you intend to hatch chicks to fertilize the eggs. A hen will lay eggs without a rooster, so if you certainly do not need one for a hen to lay eggs. Will your first
Do you plan to free range your flock?
Traits of a chicken that does well free ranging include high awareness of predators, ability to fly, and of course scratch and look for food. Some breeds are known to be better as a free-range bird then others.
Another factor that influences free ranging abilities is the environment in which they are raised. If you choose to free range your flock, expect to have some loss of life. The advantages and disadvantages are yours to weigh.
One more thought is that if you have close neighbors with dogs, or even not so close this seems to be another disadvantage to free ranging birds. Even if you choose to keep your chickens in a pen of some sort that does not entire reduce the risk of loss from a predator.
How many eggs do you consume on a daily or weekly basis?
Different breeds of chickens are known for how many eggs they produce a day. In recent years, chicken breeds have been developed that are known to be the best for laying eggs, (laying highest number of eggs in the shortest amount of time). These often lay best in the first year, but after that the number falls of drastically.
Heritage breeds of chickens tend to lay less eggs each year but have longevity to produce eggs for several years. Does the idea of supporting heritage breeds appeal to you? Or perhaps the desire for large numbers of eggs in a shorter amount of time works best for your goals.
In Conclusion
Know what your goals are. Use these questions to decide what chickens are right for you. Decide what is most important for you. Have fun and try new breeds. Maybe there is not a chicken breed that fits your requirements. If you are up to the challenge, you may decide to create your own breed. I have. See the post titled Introducing the Lemon Flower Chicken Breed. Click below
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