My Top 3 Chickens
Let’s start out with my top three chickens for beginners or someone wanting the best chickens for their flock.
- Barred Plymouth Rock
- White Leghorn
- ISA Brown
These make my top three chickens because of their laying ability, temperament, foraging abilities, and two of them for their dual purpose of laying and meat. To provide for my family I wanted chickens that would be consistent layers and be able to forage for their own food to help keep feed costs down. Let’s start out by breaking down my top three chickens and what makes them my top chickens.
Barred Plymouth Rock
The barred Plymouth rock is my first pick because of the temperament, laying ability, foraging abilities and the best part is the ability for it to be used as a meat bird. The bared rocks lay medium sized brown eggs and can lay anywhere between 4-6 eggs per week. They are excellent foragers and, on my farm, can be seen eating grasshoppers and anything they can catch.
Barred rocks have calm disposition and are very friendly. While I am working outside, they will come up to me looking for a snack or just following me around. While my chickens are still young, barred rocks can be used as meat birds. The male chickens can grow to 9.5 pounds and the females can grow to 7.5 pounds. These chickens are heat and cold tolerant continuing lay no matter the temperature. They mature and start laying at the 20-week mark.
White Leghorn
The White Leghorn is my second favorite chicken because of the number of eggs that they lay. Leghorns lay large white eggs and almost 300 a year. I have some leghorns that are laying an egg every day. The leghorn was developed in Italy and brought to the US in 1835 and soon became one of the most popular breeds. Leghorns have white feathers and a single red comb. These birds are great foragers and their feed to egg ration is great helping keep feed costs down.
They are very active and flighty birds that help them avoid predators. Leghorns can handle the heat and the cold. The best part of these birds is they mature anywhere between 17-20 weeks. Meaning they will produce eggs sooner than any other chicken and they lay up to 10 weeks longer than other birds. This bird is a great addition to any flock and will have a permanent spot in my coop.
ISA Brown
The ISA Brown is my third favorite chicken. These chickens lay large brown eggs and can lay 300-350 eggs per year. Mature hens are red with white specks throughout the body. They can mature very quickly anywhere from 16 -22 weeks. The ISA is extremely personable and gets along with humans and other animals. They are great foragers and are cold and heat tolerant. In my opinion these chickens are great egg layers and are large enough to be used as meat birds in a pinch. Due to their egg laying ability, I would keep them in the coop laying eggs instead of meat.
Conclusion
The barred rock, white leghorn, and ISA Brown are my top three chickens for any farm or homestead. The barred rock is on top of my list because of it dual purpose and it has the history to back it up. The white leghorn is a pure egg layer that I like to have around in the slow times of the year, and it is just a powerhouse. The ISA brown is another powerhouse in the egg laying department, and it is an excellent forager. Any one of these chickens would be great first birds or additions to any flock. Check out tractor supply for all your chicken needs. It is where I buy mine and their supplies.