We had no idea where to start when it came to selecting what breeds we should get. Whether you are asking friends or family or reading posts on social media you are bound to get a wide variety of what everyone’s favorite is and why. Ultimately you have to do your research and decide… do you want meat birds or birds just for eggs, or both/dual purpose. How many eggs do you want? Do you order pullets (females) or straight runs (not sexed)? Do you go to your local grain store or Tractor Supply or order direct from the hatchery? Depending on your area will they tolerate the extreme heat or cold? So many questions…
We initially liked the heritage breeds, they’ve been around forever, are tolerant of the weather in this area and obviously produce well. Wyandotte’s were recommended because of their great temperament, they are good layers, and they have a small rose comb that’s less likely to get frost bite. Wyandotte’s also come in a variety of colors which is fun. We learned about different colored eggs as well and that became another obsession. We kept coming across bantam breeds and soon realized that these were basically mini chickens that laid mini or “peewee” sized eggs. Bantams quickly made it on the must have list as well.
Decision time… we absolutely wanted heritage breeds. My cousin recommended the Wyandotte’s and she’s been at it for awhile… plus the color options! She was getting some from a different hatchery which helped get us all the colors we wanted. Colored eggs were a must have and mini chickens, I mean how could we not. Most of the birds were categorized as good layers and all were categorized as being both heat and cold tolerant, because… New England.
We ended up ordering from a hatchery that had a minimum dollar amount rather than a minimum quantity of each breed to order. So this was the final count:
Standard size chickens: 2 Barred Rocks, 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Buff Wyandottes, 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes, 2 Gold Laced Wyandottes, 2 Easter Eggers (colored eggs), and 2 Olive Eggers (dark green eggs).
Bantam chickens: 2 Black Frizzle Cochins, 2 White Frizzle Cochins, 2 Red Frizzle Cochins, 2 Partridge Silkies, 2 Blue Silkies, and 2 Buff Silkies. The bantams were only available as a straight run so we took our chances.
And…. We obviously needed the other Wyandotte colors from my cousin so… 2 Blue, 2 Partridge, 2 White, and 2 Blue Laced Red.
Yep… all in all 34 chickens!
-B
Feather in the Wood 