Chicken bald back

[Dolly]

After losing one of our girls a few months ago, we're down to 2 so would love to get 2 more when the days get longer (if I can wait that long!).

But after having only hybrids, I wondered if pure breeds were more 'robust' healthwise and just generally. Reason I ask is that during the last 2 years, off the top of my head we've had:-

 

Feather pecking in 2 out of 3 (ended up looking like battery hens!)

Awful beak injury (from wearing bumper bit, so our fault but fitted due to above)

Regular soft shelled eggs

Foot problem causing limping

Northern fowl mite

'Normal' mites

One stroke

And one very fast and unexplained death (within 2 weeks of getting her)

 

Or have we just been unlucky?!

[Redwing]

it sounds like you've been quite unlucky and many of those problems could have happened with pure breeds just as easily

 

Personally I love pure breeds and would always choose to have them, I had various behavioural problems with my hybrids so thats put me off them

 

Pure breeds do being new problems as most arent vaccinated but if you are careful where you buy from you will be ok

[laurmurf]

I started with hybrids then bred and bought some pure breeds. I wouldn't go back to hybrids: the olympian egg-laying seems to bring so much stress and pressure on their bodies that lead to prolapse, peritonitis, loss of condition and early death.

 

I've learned to be glad of the winter egg-drought as i know the chooks are resting up for the next egg-laying season and taking pressure off their bodies to perform.

 

Aside from this, pure breeds are so myriad and pretty!

[Tweety]

It sounds as if you have been particularly unlucky with your hybrids but, in my experience, pure breeds do seem to have fewer health issues. 4 of my original 6 hybrids are coming up to 4 years of age and have never had any health problems (hope I'm not tempting fate here!), but I have lost quite a few others with various ailments since I started keeping chickens in June 2007. During that time, I have lost only one pure breed due to illness.

[Mercedes55]

I have to say that now that we have our pure breeds I think we will be sticking with them. I agree with larmauf that it's good to give the girls a rest from laying in the Winter and also it's so nice to be able to have such a wonderful variety of colours and eggs too. I do think that you've just been very unlucky with your girls, it sounds awful and I'm sorry to see how much you've been through with them

[cakeadoodledo]

I couldn't agree more! I started with 3 Maran's at POL (that was 2 years ago) and they are as tough as old boots, as are all my other pure breeds. The collection grew (as I became more obsessed with chickens!) and I ended up with 29 gorgeous girls, all with names and a mixture of pure breeds & hybirds. Sadly I've lost 5 over the last year, all hybrids. 3 were ex-battery hens

I love hybrids for the fact that they are fab layers, but I love my other fancy girls too - and they are really robust! To be honest with you all, even if chickens didn't lay eggs I'd still keep them as they're great pets!

[Salop Chuck]

I asked this same question a year ago only my query involved obtaining pure breed bantams and integrating them with my two original omlet hybrids. In April 2010 I evetually bought 4 bantams: 2 Australorp bantams (that are supposed to be good winter layers), 2 Buff Rock bantams and a Light Sussex. As it turned out my 2 omlet hens only lasted a few months after getting the new hens before succoming to abdominal tumours and had to be PTS .

 

I am absolutely delighted with my pure bred hens and dealing with broodiness, winter moulting and a break in egg laying are things you just learn to deal with and get used to. While I loved my hybrids to bits and enjoyed their friendliness it did slightly worry me how exhausted they evetually became with all the intense egg laying.

 

Do your research then go to a reputable pure breed establishment to buy pure breed pullets and enjoy the experience.

 

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

[Chortle Chook]

This is a really interesting thread as I was considering the reverse - moving from pure breeds (Silkies and Frizzles) to hybrids simply because the Bluebells on here look so very pretty (I'm not that fussed about eggs let alone meat). After reading this thread, however, I think that all that egg-laying probably does take its toll. So when I can't resist the temptation of getting another chook any more , or OH has a total turn around, I think I'll research some pure breeds that look as chickeny as a hybrid. I quite like the idea, too, of supporting a rare breed and Celia Lewis' book 'The Illustrated Guide to Chickens' which I was given for Xmas has me thinking / hatching bad plans

[chuckmum6]

I started with hybrids then bred and bought some pure breeds. I wouldn't go back to hybrids: the olympian egg-laying seems to bring so much stress and pressure on their bodies that lead to prolapse, peritonitis, loss of condition and early death.

 

I've learned to be glad of the winter egg-drought as i know the chooks are resting up for the next egg-laying season and taking pressure off their bodies to perform.

 

Aside from this, pure breeds are so myriad and pretty!

 

I would echo this I've kept both over the years and would say that hybrids can sometimes lay themselves to death. There as so many very pretty choices with pure breeds, Wyandottes are hardy, beautiful birds! Try a couple!

[amc]

I've had so many behaviour problems with hybrids my pure breeds are an absolute dream in comparison. There are drawbacks though, they just take forever and ever to come into lay, and my Buff Orp looked like a girl for about 8 months, then started crowing....and turned out to be very male boy... but I'll never go back to hybrids.

Got my girls from wylye valley chickens and I just can't fault them.

[Guest]

I'm very new re chickens - we have 2 Hybrids and 2 RIRs - its early days yet and apart from one of the Hybrids having a sneezy problem all has been well...so cant comment on a health point of view, i do, however find the 2 Hybrid girls much more laid back, couthy and gentle than the 2 RIRs - none of the hens had been handled prior to coming here, but nature wise, i probably prefer that of the Hybrids.

 

But, as i said, we are very new to chooks, so this is a comment only based on a few weeks and 4 hens!

[mostin]

I keep a bit of each .

 

I love my pure bred Sussex, have them in 2 colours now .

 

I love rescuing my ex-batts, even though they often don't last long .

 

However..........I also love having some eggs in the winter months, especially coloured ones . I borrowed Laurmurfs Aracauna cockerel and crossed him with my hybrid girls, and now I've started my own line of what I call are my own "healthy hybrids" . Fingers crossed they will do better healthwise than normal hybrids., but lay more in the winter than my pure breds.

[Dappy Chick]

Why one or the other? Have both - best of both worlds and an excuse to have more chooks

[goodinparts]

My 3 hybrids are great - friendly, beautiful & productive - but we only started with chooks last June, and I can imagine that all that laying will place a high stress on their little bodies...So now I have space for more girls, I'm looking at pure breeds - a couple more LF & a few bantams too...but think I will probably always have a couple of hybrids as the eggs are a really important weapon in my "chickens are the perfect pet" campaign with my OH.

So not either/or but both/and!

[Janty]

I love my pure breeds and never intended to get hybrids. However, when I got my original girls, the breeder advised me to get two hybrids for the eggs as well as my brahmas, cochins and pekins. She pointed out that my lad would get more out of the chickens if he had a steady supply of eggs to collect and eat. Now I have mainly pure breeds with a few hybrids to keep us supplied in eggs. Having said that, it was the mini Welsummers that kept us going in eggs over the winter.

[Egluntyne]

I like a mixture of both. Pure breeds for vigour and beauty, and hybrids for eggs over winter.

[quickcluck]

I have a mixture of both after starting out with 6 hybrids.

 

I like having eggs all year round, but didn't realise until I read this thay hybrids can be prone to so many health issues. We've had our fair shares of coughs and coughs, but lost 2 in close succession last year to prolapses it was horrid to see. So this could influence me in the future.

 

however, i've a beautiful cuckoo Maran huge and fluffy, but it's been heartbreaking to see her last year as she spent most of it in a broody cage, bald and lost half of her body weight so this makes me warey of having more pures...

 

We recently got 3 cute pekins who are fast and furious and we've yet to see what they will be like

 

It's a conundrum It's likely we'll have a couple of losses this year, and don't know what to do for the best when thinking about replacing them......

[Chicken shack]

I am a very new chicken mummy. I got my first girls in August: 3 hybrids a Bluebell, Rhode Island Red and Jasmin and one pure breed Light Sussex. They were all doing well and the 3 hybrids started to lay first and the light sussex started laying last then one morning she couldn't get up and despite two trips to the vets never recovered and we really don't know what was wrong with her. I am a vegetarian and I love the idea of taking good care of my girls in return for their eggs, after reading all the comments I now feel quite guilty. They lay an each most days even in this cold weather and I havn't had to buy an egg since August. I have a with two extra runs so I have room for more girls in the spring now a I don't know what to go for. I also wanted to rehome a couple of ex-batts. I am really confused. Advice would be welcome.

[Dolly]

Thanks all for your very helpful responses.

 

It looks like I'll probably go for 2 pure breeds, mainly because they appear to have less strain on their bodies egg laying wise, which hopefully will mean potentially fewer health problems. I'm really not too worried about egg quantities, they are pets first and foremost to me and their personalities are what I love most.

 

I know what you mean about wishing the hybrid girls would take a rest sometimes, Roxy gallantly continued to lay all through her recovery from her accident and I could have cried!

 

I'll spend the coming weeks doing some research and hopefully will be posting pictures of some new arrivals in a couple of months!

[Lavenders_Blue]

Hi chicken shack, I also am a vegetarian and room service to 4 ex batts. They are happy and healthy All have had/are still having ( ) a good break from egg laying over the winter as they moult. In an ideal world, where there were no battery cages and no commercial hens were culled after their first laying cycle, I would perhaps buy pure breeds. But as that sadly isn't the case, I wouldn't feel happy buying hens at POL when there are thousands of ex batt (and barn and FR) hens who would otherwise simply be sent to be culled. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing bald, frightened little hens learn to become 'proper' hens, and that's why I'll always have ex batts.

Just to add, this is not a criticism of people who choose to buy POL hens! We are all different and this is just how I feel. I sometimes look at all the lovely photos on here of different breeds and feel slightly envious but couldn't fill a potential ex batt space with a 'posh girl'.

[Dolly]

Hi Lavenders Blue! I do know exactly what you mean about the poor ex-batts, my wish was always to get some when we felt we had enough experience keeping hens, but with all our recent problems (and subsequent vet's bills which I daren't add up!) I don't think my long suffering DH would go for it now . I can't bear to see an animal suffer and Im so glad there are people like you who give these worthy girls great homes

[Mercedes55]

I love my 4 ex batts, in fact there are times I think OH and I love them a bit too much. We have however had quite a few worries with 2 of them. One had a really bad limp when we got her and it took ages before we knew she was okay. One of our other girls had suspected peritonitis, a bad cut on her face that needed treatment and also was eggbound too and had a prolapse. We aren't worried financially about taking them to the vets, more concerned when the vet tells us that this is what we should expect with ex batts, that they are egged out and come with potential health problems. I find it really hard to handle when they are so sick, especially when I know what a bad life they had before they came to us

[chuckmum6]

I have a mixture of both after starting out with 6 hybrids.

 

I like having eggs all year round, but didn't realise until I read this thay hybrids can be prone to so many health issues. We've had our fair shares of coughs and coughs, but lost 2 in close succession last year to prolapses it was horrid to see. So this could influence me in the future.

 

however, i've a beautiful cuckoo Maran huge and fluffy, but it's been heartbreaking to see her last year as she spent most of it in a broody cage, bald and lost half of her body weight so this makes me warey of having more pures...

 

We recently got 3 cute pekins who are fast and furious and we've yet to see what they will be like

 

It's a conundrum It's likely we'll have a couple of losses this year, and don't know what to do for the best when thinking about replacing them......

 

 

My pekins seem to be permanently broody, they lay tiddly eggs, and are totally bonkers! Fun to keep, as they have bags of personality, but good luck you'll need it!!!

[docsquid]

I have a real mixture - three hybrids, three pure-bred bantams and now a CLB and CLB cross.

 

I do worry about the stress on the little brown hens in particular: Gwennie is an absolutely adorable little chook, very intelligent and inquisitive and friendly, but her poor little body hasn't coped well with the winter or her moult. Although she is back in full feather, she had a spell of laying softies, and now her eggs don't have fantastic shells, despite supplements, and they are often broken in the nest box as she treads on them. The Pepperpot (Blodwyn) is a much sturdier bird, and I'd be inclined to go with this breed in future for hybrids. But she doesn't lay every day - has a day off every three or four days. She coped well with her moult and is top chook of my eight (although Dilys the Pekin thinks she is!).

 

The banties (Pekin, Silverlaced Wyandotte and Silkie Frizzle) I had last August as youngsters and two are now laying regularly. Eggs about 45 to 50g so not tiny. So far not broody, but we'll have to see! They have wonderful personalities, and only lay every other day, so I don't worry they are tiring themselves out. The CLB/CLB cross are POL but seem to be very sturdy birds.

 

I would tend to go with sturdier hybrids that don't lay every day, or egg-producing pure breeds. I will always have some bantams, as they are such fun. I would love to have ex batts - the plan was to get ex batts once we had more experience - but because you have to commit to at least three of them, we've not been able to do this, as we have only ever had space for 2 large fowl at a time.

[coco]

I have a mix of both. I have two ex batts,a Welsummer and a Light Sussex. My other five hens are cross breeds, three silkie crosses and a light sussex cross. up till now my light sussex cross has been my star layer although she is having a break for the winter at the moment.