Choosing The Right Chicken Breed For You
Selecting the right chicken breed for your intended purpose plays a huge role in whether or not your flock will be successful. There are many reasons people decide to keep chickens including: as egg layers, as meat birds, as dual-purpose birds, for companionship, or as show birds. Your intended purpose and your personal flock goals as well as the weather of your region will determine which breed is right for you.
Some important factors to consider are:
Ensure you can legally have backyard chickens in your area. Be sure to research whether or not you can own chickens prior to bringing your first chickens home. It is heart breaking and expensive to acquire your chickens and prepare their infrastructure, supplies, and equipment only to find out you won’t be able to keep them. This is especially true if you live in or near city limits or if your home is subject to an HOA.
Whether you are bringing home chicks, pullets, or adult chickens they will need infrastructure and equipment. Baby chicks in a short 8-10 weeks will be fully feathered and ready to go outside. They will need a safe place to go. Your chickens will need things like a coop, clean nesting boxes, a run (an optional safe protected exercise area), roosts and perches, and equipment like food dispensers, water dispensers, and supplement dispensers (dispensers or livestock safe dishes can be used). There are many different coop, run, and dispenser designs to fit every situation. Prior to bringing home your first chickens you will need to prepare their area and acquire the needed supplies and equipment. You will not be able to build and complete construction as fast as your chickens can grow.
Once you have decided on a few chicken breeds you are considering, the following factors are also helpful things to consider.
Egg laying capacity. While some breeds are considered high volume egg layers some chicken breeds like ornamental breeds are not considered high volume egg layers because egg laying was not a priority when developing these breeds. It is important to choose a chicken breed suited to your chosen purpose and not all breeds are considered high volume egg layers.
Meat birds and egg layers require different facilities. The nutritional and housing needs of egg laying breeds versus breeds of chicken developed solely for meat production is very different. If you intend to keep both an egg laying flock and a meat bird flock they will need separate housing, equipment, and different types of chicken feed appropriate to their life stage and purpose.
Chicken breeds have different temperaments. If you are building a companionship flock, your chickens will be around small children, or you are working with very limited space it makes sense to build your flock with breeds that are known to be docile. Some chicken breeds are known to be more docile and easier to tame than others.
Know what chickens would thrive in your climate; research the climate hardiness of the chicken breed you are considering. The chicken breed you select will need to be able to survive the hottest temperatures and the coldest temperatures your region experiences. While you can provide additional support in the form of supplemental heating and cooling as well as insulated infrastructure it is important that the chicken breed you select can thrive in the weather conditions your region normally experiences. If your chickens are constantly struggling against the normal weather conditions of your region your chickens will have suppressed immune systems, decreased productivity, and in extreme cases this can even prove fatal to your flock. Choose chickens that will be well suited to not only your intended purpose but also to the weather where you live.
Know how long your chosen chicken breed will live. Chickens are surprisingly long-lived animals. Understand that adopting chickens of any kind with the exception of meat birds is long-term multiple year commitment to their care.
You don’t have to begin with baby chicks. While many people do choose to start their flocks with baby chicks, other options include adopting pullets or adopting adult hens. As winter approaches many people will be reducing their flocks and sometimes with a little research adult hens can be acquired for free. There are also many great rescue organizations that exist that help rehome adult chickens. Adopting adult hens is a great way to get started as they will require less intense care and upkeep than beginning with chicks or pullets. Adult hens are also already producing eggs while chicks and pullets will not produce eggs for several months up to a year depending on the breed. Chickens needs change at different life stages and each age will have pros and cons. Choosing which stage is best for you includes considering factors like your budget, your space, your flock goals, and your infrastructure and equipment needs.
There are 100s of chicken breeds to choose from. Don’t rush the decision! Just like dog breeds, chicken breeds have been developed for specific purposes. As adopting and caring for backyard chickens is a multiple year commitment don’t rush your decision and take your time researching which breed would be best for your family and your situation. Things you can do in the meantime also include acquiring a beginner chicken guide that includes coop plans, visiting your local library to research chickens, visiting your local agricultural office, joining an online backyard chicken forum, or participating in a local chicken club which would allow you to visit and interact with chickens prior to owning them. It is extremely easier to acquire chickens. It is significantly harder to rehome them.
I hope this information has given you some additional things to consider when researching which chicken breed would be the best fit for you. Check out Chuck’s other social media for more backyard chicken and homesteading content.
Chuck and the Chicks 