Permaculture - Chicken breeds, how to choose the best one? (lesson 44)

Selecting the proper breed of chickens may be challenging. There are hundreds of different types of those birds, so the very first thing is to consider what do we want to achieve with our farm - do we want to get the eggs or meat? Or maybe we would like to find a compromise between those two options and enjoy both products? Then, another very important question is related to the patents. Most of the new breeds are patented and when we reproduce the animals without paying to the megacorporations, we are breaking the law. Of course, as long as we have the chickens just for ourselves, the chances that someone will control it are very low (it's quite different if we are going to make a business on the eggs or meat), but still, I would recommend you to select older breeds, to protect the biodiversity. Yes - biodiversity is not only about keeping Amazon forest untouched, it's also selecting proper chickens and carrots (who remember yellow and purple carrots? And yet they were as popular as orange a few centuries before...)

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Hens for the eggs

• they are smaller and not that heavy as other types
• they have 230 - 300 eggs per year.
• they do not brood.
• weight: 1.7 - 2.5 kg,
• the first eggs they have after 180 days.
• roosters maturity at the age of 40 weeks
• there are 13-15 females per male
• female back is in the shape that reminds triangles

Examples:

Leghorn	Red Star	Australorp
source	source	source
The most productive breed	Second most popular breed	Approx. 300 eggs per year

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General use hens

• good for meat production but eggs productivity is still quite high
• rectangular-shaped bodies
• first eggs in the age of 160-180 days
• chicken weight: 1.5-2.6 kg
• laying 160-200 eggs in a year
• sometimes the mother hens brood their eggs (depending on the breed)
• 20-25% more food is required compared to "hens for the eggs" breeds.
• there are 10-12 hens per rooster

Examples:

Green-legged Partridge	Rhode Island Red	New Hampshire
source	source	source
160-170 eggs/year	170-180 eggs/year	200 eggs/year
hen 1.6-1.8 kg, rooster 1.8 - 2.2 kg	hen 1.7-1.9 kg, rooster 2-2.4 kg	hen 1.7-1.9 kg, rooster 2-2.4 kg

Sussex	Plymouth Rock	White Rock
source	source	source
190 eggs/year	170 eggs/year	150-160 eggs/year
hen 1.7-2 kg, rooster 1.9-2.4 kg, tasty meat	hen 2.1-2.4 kg, rooster 2.7-3.3 kg	hen 2.4-2.6 kg, rooster 2.8-3.2 kg

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Hens for the meat

• the square shape of the body
• sexual maturity at the age of 200-210 days
• the weight of hens 2.7-3 kg, roosters 3.7-3.9 kg
• laying 110-120 eggs per year
• to reproduce, mate 8-9 females per one cock
• low percentage of successful hatching

Examples:

Hubbard Chicken	Jersey Giant	Orpington
source	source	source

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