Click here for the results of our 4 breed egg-laying test.
Our current flock:
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Barred Rock: This tried & true backyard heritage breed has been the backbone of our flock for years, but will be cycled out this fall to make room for another heritage breed. They are healthy robust foragers, steady winter layers, and make good stewing hens at retirement age. |
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Ameraucana: Ameraucanas lay blue and blue-green eggs. They also have amazing/amusing facial feathers. They aren’t the most prolific layers, but when crossed with a dark egg-laying breed, make hens that lay olive-brown eggs. We hatched some this spring and will select a roo for our breeding program. The pullets will be crossed with a Marans roo to make another line of Olivers. |
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Cuckoo Maran: This breed is famous for dark brown eggs, and when crossed with a roo from a blue/green egg laying breed, will make hens that lay olive-brown eggs. We are added 5 to our 2012 flock and will probably keep a few over this winter. We have some of their offspring in our grow-out pen this spring. |
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Welsummer: The pretty eggs – pale tan with dark brown speckles – make up for this breed’s negative aspects: flighty, small, poor winter layers. We like to keep a few in the flock year-round. This breed will be cycled out in the fall to make room for other dark egg layers that are also part of our breeding program. |
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Black/Blue/Splash Copper Marans: We recently hatched some of this breed to add to our Oliver breeding program. Once they are big enough, we’ll select one roo to keep, and the pullets will go into a breeding pen with an Ameraucana roo. |
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Sasquatch is currently our only rooster. He is a Blue Copper Marans/Ameraucana cross. Some of his offspring our in our grow-out pen, but we will probably replace him with a new Oliver roo with better conformation. |
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The old biddies: These gals have done their job as laying hens and are being sold or turned into soup in the next few weeks.
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Black Australorp: Australia’s answer to the Buff Orpington. These shiny black hens are calm, but were a little broody their first season. They were steady layers, and are nice & plump for the soup pot, but were cycled out to make room for our breeding program. |
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New Hampshire Red: This was a new breed for us, and they were friendly and calm. They are an early offshoot of Rhode Island Reds that mature early and are steady, cold-hardy layers that also get big enough for the soup pot once their laying career is over. UPDATE: It turns out that the hatchery stock we bought are a far cry from true heritage-bred New Hampshires. We sold ours because Chewy didn’t like tham, but are now incubating 2 dozen New Hampshire eggs from prime heritage stock. |
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Welsummer: This is a relatively recent breed from Holland that is cold hardy and lays beautiful reddish-brown eggs. Another breed that slows down production in winter, but are other wise nice enough hens, if a bit flighty. |
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Barred Rock: This tried & true backyard heritage breed has been the backbone of our flock for years, but will be cycled out this fall to make room for another heritage breed. They are healthy robust foragers, steady winter layers, and make good stewing hens at retirement age. |
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Gold Laced Wyandotte: Supposedly a good winter layer and good free-range forager. After getting to know them, they don’t really stand out. Not bad birds, but we probably won’t get more. |  |
Easter Eggers: Easter Eggers (aka Ameraucanas) lay green and blue-green eggs. They also have amazing/amusing facial feathers. They aren’t the most prolific layers, but they are good-natured with entertaining personalities and lay pretty eggs, so we always keep a few in our flock. |
May 19, 2012 at 12:15 am
[...] and they often get past date milk and meat scraps. Here's our current & upcoming flock – http://seventreesfarm.wordpress.com/the-flock/ The breeds you pick have a huge bearing on use of forage and all-around production. Last [...]