I have only raised the Buff Orpingtons, and I have found them to be the best all-around breed for the average home flock owner.
If it's a breathing incubator you're looking for, the only one I have seen that can top this breed is the Silky. I have had one Buff hen go broody three years in a row before she died, successfully hatching out a brood of chicks each year. One year she hatched chicks, raised them, then took two weeks off before going right back to her nest for round two!
They're very cold-hardy birds, also, and mine have withstood temperatures of up to -20 degrees F, not counting windchill, although they were in their coop for the worst of it, shielded from the wind.
They aren't great chickens to have if you have very high temperatures in the summer, but they aren't bad, either.
Egg production is average, as they are a dual purpose heavy breed, and not bred exclusively for eggs. However they do lay well when in their prime.
If it's a breathing incubator you're looking for, the only one I have seen that can top this breed is the Silky. I have had one Buff hen go broody three years in a row before she died, successfully hatching out a brood of chicks each year. One year she hatched chicks, raised them, then took two weeks off before going right back to her nest for round two!
They're very cold-hardy birds, also, and mine have withstood temperatures of up to -20 degrees F, not counting windchill, although they were in their coop for the worst of it, shielded from the wind.
They aren't great chickens to have if you have very high temperatures in the summer, but they aren't bad, either.
Egg production is average, as they are a dual purpose heavy breed, and not bred exclusively for eggs. However they do lay well when in their prime.
