Top 10 Chicken Breeds For Your Backyard

To many people, raising chickens at home may seem to be  impossible , or to much of a hassle.  You just may not be cut out for it. I'm not writing this for those of us who have excuses. I mean, so what if  every once in a while, we hear news about dangerous bacteria laden eggs and chickens, so our health is being put at risk, and we have to trust the USDA to catch these things before someone dies.this doesn't always happen. Besides, for the most part, we don't even know what goes into those chickens and eggs to get them to market. Here's a fact,Food just doesn't taste as good as it's used to. In just over 30 years, we have managed to process food so much that we have to dope it down just to make us believe that there is flavor in it. Okay, let me get back to the topic at hand.

Raising chickens are a great way to get familiar with the process of raising animals for their meat and other by-products. It can be done whether you have a small backyard or 40 acres in rural USA. Chickens give you meat, eggs and offer fertilizer for your garden, plants and trees. You can purchase many things online these days and chickens with the equipment for care of them and housing them is right there at your fingertips.

There are hybrid and heirloom breeds. there are breeds for tasty meat and breeds for laying eggs. There are also those breeds that lay eggs well and are good for eating. There are pretty chickens and ugly chickens. There are calm chickens and those who need anger management. The fact is, chickens have groups like people do. some are cool and some are not. If you want to see more of them, you should go to www.feathersite.com or www.backyardchickens.com and you will become familiar with the many types of chickens there are.

If you are thinking about getting some chickens, think about a few things. Do you have room for them and where will you put them. If you live in an urban area, is it legal to keep some chickens there?(It should be , if it isn't) do you want them for eggs, meat, as a friendly pet or to keep the garden clean? the thing about not knowing a whole lot about chickens is that if you get a breed and discover you don't like it, you can put it in a pot or fry it and enjoy it. You can't do that with that crazy Jack Russell or house cat you saw some celebrity with and thought it would be cool to have.

Chickens are a great asset to the home and the family. Of course, we had chickens when I was young. It didn't bother me to see one in the morning out in the yard and that evening it was on a platter. It was a necessity and a scrumptious meal also.

You must do a little research to find the breeds you want and find a good hatchery because even if the birds are of the same breed it doesn't mean they all will have the same characteristics. It usually ends up being all about the breeding.

Most people want egg laying chickens and the top hybrids that are good at laying eggs are:

• Indian River
• Golden Comet
  
• Hy-Line Brown
• California White
• Cherry Egger

I tend to like what I call the heirloom breeds or heritage breeds myself such as:

• Rhode Island Reds
• Leghorns
• Australorps
• Plymoth Rocks
• White-Faced Black Spanish (One of my favorite's)
• Rhode Island Whites

Some young hens can lay eggs when they're 17 weeks old and some don't start laying until they are 26 weeks old. If you want those eggs soon then you should choose breeds such as:

• Cherry eggers
• Pearl Longhorns
• ISA Browns
• Golden Comets

On the other hand if you want eggs from those heirloom hens then I would suggest you get:

• White-Faced Black Spanish
• Anconas
• Red Caps
• Minorcas

Welsummers, Barnevelders, and Marans lay the darkest brown eggs.

As far as meat quality is concerned, Buckeyes, Dorkings, Cornish and Le Fleche are said to be the tastiest. Plymoth Rocks, Buckeyes, Orpingtons and Rhode island Whites were also a good and dependable breed. It is not suggested to go the hybrid route because of their unnaturally fast growth, they were more susceptible to disease and illnesses.

If you want your chickens to have the full package, that is, temperament (one who can tell you a good joke every once in a while), egg production and size, tolerant of hot or cold weather, good meat and maturity then you should go with:

• Plymoth Rocks
• New Hampshires
• Australorps
• Rhode Island Whites
• Orpingtons

These breeds have great meat and are good at laying eggs.