There are many choices in both categories. For the rest of the flock, choose breeds that don’t tend to go broody. But you might want a couple of broody prone hens, just in case you want to let one hatch some eggs. Hens don’t lay eggs while broody, so you don’t want a whole flock of broody hens if you want steady egg production. You can keep just a couple of broody prone birdsīroodiness, or the tendency to set on eggs, is necessary if you want the hen to hatch some eggs and raise the chicks. In fact, the Animal Welfare Approved certification program prohibits highly bred chickens. You can provide supplemental calcium, but the hen’s genetic make-up has a greater impact than nutrition, on her vulnerability to osteoporosis (Fleming, et al. However, extremely high egg production in these breeds is maintained at the expense of bone strength (Hoking et al. In fairness to the single breed philosophy, I should add that for excellent year round egg production, you could raise “production breeds”, such as leghorns, black stars, or red stars. I kind of like having the eggs spread out over winter and spring. But the slender, white egg laying breeds, like Hamburgs, have a steeper surge of egg production in spring. The brown egg laying heavier breeds, such as Wyandottes and Brahmas, lay better in winter. You get steadier year-round egg productionĭifferent breeds lay better in different seasons. The 2 chunky bantam brahmas in front are good winter layers of brown eggs, but slender, white egg laying breeds, lay better in spring. However, you must see a hen actually lay an egg in order to know exactly what hers look like. Some hens lay long, narrow eggs, and others lay rounder eggs.
Some hens frequently lay speckled eggs, others don’t. The eggs will vary a little by color and shape. Note that there is some individual variation within a breed, so you might be able to recognize the eggs of a given hen, even if you have a few others of her breed. So it’s pretty easy to narrow it down when I want to know who is laying what.
#COMBINING TWO FLOCKS OF CHICKENS FULL#
I have a mix of bantams, full sized birds, brown egg layers, blue-green egg layers, and white layers. It also makes it easy to determine who is laying the abnormal eggs, which can indicate illness. And that is quite useful, if you want to know which hens are laying well, and which are not. So, if you choose breeds that lay eggs of different sizes and colors, it’s possible to determine which hen laid which egg. Color ranges from white to light brown to dark brown to olive to bluish. You can tell which hen laid which eggĮach breed lays eggs of a characteristic size and color. Maybe they’ll funnel their dollars away from CAFO’s, and support humane farms.Ī pile of eggs from my flock. So if you have a “rainbow flock”, invite your friends and neighbors to get to know each member. People need to understand that farm animals are not food producing machines, incapable of experiencing pain and suffering.
This has tremendous implications for the welfare of “livestock”. You come to appreciate the fact that chickens are all individuals with distinct personalities and preferences.You can better appreciate their fascinating social interactions and varied vocalizations, if you can observe who is doing and saying what.You can easily follow the behavior of an ailing bird.But if you have only 1 or 2 of each breed, you can quickly and easily tell them apart. Individuals within a breed do vary somewhat in appearance, but the differences can be slight. You can quickly and easily tell your birds apart 4 benefits of a mixed flock of backyard chickens 1. They’re all unique individuals and lay beautiful eggs. Sure, my rainbow orders of 1 of this and 2 of that probably drive hatchery employees crazy, but hatcheries set their price and I pay it.Īnd now? So glad I caved in to frivolous desire, because I see great advantage to a mixed backyard flock. A single breed flock didn’t seem to be of any particular benefit, at least in our case. Those “mutts” would live and die in my backyard. I might let a hen raise a few chicks every few years, but that wouldn’t impact the integrity of the breeds one way or another. Nonetheless, I carefully considered the possible advantages of a single breed for a small backyard flock. I care about food security, but I don’t think I need to breed chickens to prove it. Because, of course, anyone who cares about food security, as we all should, would breed their own birds, contributing to the preservation of heritage breeds. I recall the wise words of one enlightened author who disparaged the silly “rainbow” flocks of frivolous suburban wannabe farmers. Never one to act on impulse, I perused one book cover to cover, and countless articles and internet posts on raising chickens, before I ever got them. 4 Benefits of a Mixed Flock of Backyard Chickens
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