Egg laying/Dual breed

[Hatching2024]

I was fully intending to raise my chickens for eggs only, but I recently learned that 4 (2 RIR and 2 white Plymouth rocks) of them are apparently excellent for dual purpose. I know that I do not want to use the other 4 for dual purpose, just eggs. Is there any conflict with having I guess you could say a 'mixed-purpose' flock? Any suggestions?

 

[nuthatched]

What type of conflict are you meaning?
Most people keep mixed flocks no problem.

 

[NatJ]

I was fully intending to raise my chickens for eggs only, but I recently learned that 4 (2 RIR and 2 white Plymouth rocks) of them are apparently excellent for dual purpose. I know that I do not want to use the other 4 for dual purpose, just eggs.

I don't really understand what you are talking about.

Dual purpose usually means you eat the chicken. Are you making plans for what to do when they get old and lay fewer eggs? You can eat all of them at that time. The dual purpose ones will be a bit bigger, so they will have a bit more meat per chicken, but other breeds are just as edible.

Or are you planning to hatch chicks from them, and eat those chicks? In that case, chicks that have a dual purpose mother will probably grow bigger and faster than chicks that have a smaller breed for their mother. It makes sense to only incubate the eggs from the dual purpose hens, not the hens of smaller breeds, if you want to raise their chicks to butcher for meat.

Is there any conflict with having I guess you could say a 'mixed-purpose' flock? Any suggestions?

If you just want to have hens that lay eggs, then it doesn't really matter whether they are dual purpose or not. They can all live together just fine.

 

[Mrs. K]

I have a mix of dual purpose and egg laying. I went to more egg laying cause I just was not getting enough eggs for my needs in my available space. They all get along just fine.

The dual purpose do tend to go broody a bit more often (Know that my first broody was a breed that was NEVER suppose to go broody, so go figure?).

Once I read, that if you need meat, well get meat birds, and if you want eggs, get egg birds, AND dual purpose birds are really not very good at either. They lay fewer eggs, and take forever to get to butcher size.

If you want KFC type chicken - meat birds. If you just want eggs, egg birds, and if you just like some birds to get you breakfast - have a mix and just enjoy being with them.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

IMO, all chickens are dual purpose, some breeds might be better at one or the other.
But they all have flesh that can be eaten if cooked properly.
I've eaten plenty of young cockerels and old hens of laying breeds.

 

[K0k0shka]

Any conflict you should be careful of is breeds that don't fit well together - like dominant with submissive breeds. Not all chickens will get along equally well together and if you mix breeds that are prone to bullying others (like RIRs) with breeds that are prone to being bullied (like silkies or Orpingtons) then you have conflict waiting to happen. Read about breed specifics and temperaments before choosing what to add to your mixed flock. Yes, individuals will always vary, but there are clear breed tendencies that up your chances for success or failure, and they are not to be ignored.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I was fully intending to raise my chickens for eggs only, but I recently learned that 4 (2 RIR and 2 white Plymouth rocks) of them are apparently excellent for dual purpose. I know that I do not want to use the other 4 for dual purpose, just eggs. Is there any conflict with having I guess you could say a 'mixed-purpose' flock? Any suggestions?

Does this mean you want to breed them and raise chicks for meat or to replace your egg layers when they age out? Or are you just planning on eating those four when they slack off in egg production. There are a lot of different ways you could go with this and somebody on this forum is doing what you are asking about.

Dual purpose breeds were developed for this very reason, to have a flock that lays eggs and can be eaten. They are not great at either but reasonable at both. And you can eat any chicken whether laying, meat, or decorative breeds. If I knew what your general thoughts were about how you would manage them I and many others might be able to help, but there are so many different ways you could go with this it's hard to make suggestions.