4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[jess1merlin]

Hi

 

I will get my cube later this month and was intending to get 3 hybrid birds. Having looked at all the breeds etc I am now thinking that maybe I might get a traditional breed. I do like the Barnevelders, New Hampshire reds, and RIR.

 

Do you think I would be better off with the hybrids as I have never kept chickens before.

[quickcluck]

Hi Jess and welcome to the forum!!!!

 

It really depends on what you want your chicks to do!!! Hybrids are very hardy and easy to look after and are definately best for egg production laying upwards of 300 eggs in the first year or so. The also lay all year round. Pure breeds are much larger and tend to lay less eggs, and have a rest over the winter months.

 

You could always go for a mix of the two, as long as they are of a similar age and size and you get them at the same time, you should be fine!

 

Let us all know what you decide

[Space Chick]

I have both hybrids and traditional breeds in my flock.

 

The hybrids were "trained" quicker than the traditional.

 

The hybrids should start laying sooner and will lay more, but the pure breeds will lay for a longer amount of time (but often stop laying in the winter)

 

Pure breeds are more likely to go broody, although hybrids can go broody too.

 

Pure breeds you can get a larger array of egg colours. However, you can be "lucky" with the hybrids, for example Rose, my amber star hybrid lays a white egg. However, I chose my pure breeds for their egg colours as a wanted a Blue layer, a green layer, a dark brown layer and a cream layer to go with my existing speckled, standard brown and white.

 

I love both sets of my girls, so I suppose its a personal choice.

 

Hope this has helped, although I am sure there will be lots of further advice that I haven't thought about

[teri]

i also have a mixture of pure breeds and hybrids and have found very little to seperate the two.

if you anything like the rest of us your flock (what is a group of chickens called?? ) will grow quite quickly I started with two about eight months ago...i now have five big girls and seven chicks!!!

hybrids are probably easier to start of with as they do tend to be slightly tougher than a pure breed.

enjoy you chickens

[sjp]

you also need to way up the cost as well hybrids are nearly all ways cheaper and should be vaccinated you will need to deside on how far you will need to travel to find a pure breeds breeder that has good stock

[Olly]

The other thing I'd add is that overall pure breeds seem to live longer than hybrids, however I wouldn't let that influence your decision too much as unfortunately chickens are not the most robust of creatures and anything can happen.

 

Get a mixture - that way you'll be covered on the egg-laying front as hybrids are more reliable, and if the pure-breed goes broody, well you'll only have one of them to deal with!

[jess1merlin]

Thanks for your replies. I will try to go to the Poultry Park near Newent this weekend and have a good look round and try to make a decision. Hope I don't see any other breeds I like or that will make life even more confusing!

[Chook n Boo Mum]

I started off with 3 hybrids last summer as I wanted "bomb-proof" chooks...or as close as is possible with such a delicate creature , as I have 3 labradors and 2 of my own sproglets with any number of visiting ones over the holidays........in November, once I knew my other babies all got on with the feathered ones, I signed up for 3 ex-batts and came home with 4 in January (RIP Tulip in March)....one day after I picked up 4 Orpingtons which I adopted......last month Buffie (an Orpie) went broody and is now scuttling around with 3 little Lt Sussex powder puff Bufflings......... OMG this mean that I have THIRTEEN chooks ....I must go out & get at least 2 more

 

This obviously doesn't help with your dilemma, but it does show how addictive they are & if you have the time and space, the chooks will increase in number quite rapidly...unless you have amazing will or should that be won't power!!!

 

Good luck with your choices, whatever you decide, you will soon be totally enchanted with them and time will run away from you as you spend hours sitting in the garden watching their antics...be aware how destructive they can be though and how much poo they produce...not insignificant amounts in both cases.......and how often you will buy grapes/broccoli/sweetcorn etc etc etc & your family don't get a look in "yes you can have some ******* but don't forget they are for the chooks....." is a common refrain in our house

 

Sha x

[Redwing]

I have a mix of pure breeds and hybrids too

 

I started off with hybrids and found them easy to look after, reasonably stress free and great characters

 

Having said that mine can be a little gang of thugs - always with their head in my bucket of food when I refill their Grubs or having a pop at the purebreed (Pippa) who lives with them, if a cabbage is thrown in they act like they havent eaten for weeks and all the while Pippa looks down in puzzlement from her perch They look a permenant state and eat me out of house and home.....but I wouldnt be without them

 

I have found the purebreeds a bit of a breath of fresh air, some are flighty, some are calm and some are a bit pushy but you always know where you are with them because they are consistent in their flightiness, calmness or bolshyness!

 

Both have good things going for them and everyones opinions and experiences will be different, its really down to your personal choice

 

Whatever you decide I am sure you will be fine, pretty much any choice is an excellent one

[tom123]

I have a mix of both and have found hybrids to be a good, safe chicken to keep and pure breeds to be calm, pretty hens which are defiantly worth the little extra money.

 

I find hybrids a bit bolshy as well and always a bit rougher in the garden. Pure breeds are a lot calmer and just laze around all day. Plus a hybrid will lay for 2 years but an egg nearly everyday but a pure breed will lay for 4-5 years but only about 4-5 eggs a week.

 

I personally prefer pure breeds but you have to decide what you want from your hens.

 

Good Luck

Tom

[sjp]

I find hybrids a bit bolshy as well and always a bit rougher in the garden. Pure breeds are a lot calmer and just laze around all day. .

 

Tom

 

just to show how different chicken are mine or the opposite