As some of you may know I am working on an on-line poultry club for beginners. This club will also be ran in conjunction with the 4-H poultry club in Pike County Indiana. It is hard for me to find a day that all of the 4-H'ers can meet so I am trying something new.

My question to you is, What is you favorite breed of poultry and why?

I am posting this same question on other boards and I will show everyone the percentages and the most common answer

Are you looking for a hard to find breed of bird? Tell me what you are looking for. 95% of the time I can find you a breeder here in the USA. There is no fee, Just trying to share my knowledge. (My wife says I don't have that much to share.)

-- grant (organicgrange@yahoo.com), July 23, 2001

Answers

Hi Grant! My favorite batch of chickens came from the hatchery advertised as a brown egg layer special - it was so neat to look at the little chickies and try to figure out what they were going to grow up to be; and then trying to figure out what they were when they grew up!

For eggs, I like Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks; for temperament I like Buff Orpingtons. Brown Leghorns are nice birds for white egg layers, and their roosters are gorgeous; as are Golden Wyandottes.

I went in with some 4-H kids on their chick order this year and let them choose the breeds; so I now have Black Austrolorps, Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, White Rocks, and Buff Rocks. And one Barred Rock rooster - ooops!! In the past, I have had all the birds named above plus Black Cornish, Black Giants, Silver Laced Wyandottes, Leghorns and Aracunas (sp). Also a flock of mixed banties (never again!).

Murray McMurray always throws in a free fancy chick with their order - seems like I have always gotten a Crested Polish. Are there any good hatcheries in our area that I should patronize? (I am in E. Central Illinois)

Have you seen the other Lusenet forum - something to do with Chicken Q&A? And can I direct the 4-H kids who got me my chicks to your web site?

Thanks for the info!

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), July 24, 2001.

It's "The Chicken Zone Q&A"

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), July 24, 2001.

Polly - here's a list of hatcheries, I'm sure you can probably find one near you:

Feathersi te's list of Hatcheries

-- Sojourner (notime4@summer.spam), July 24, 2001.

Grant, my favorite poultry for the last few years has been Australian Spotted ducks. They are bantams and are just as cute as the dickens. They are too small to bother eating, hatch out their own eggs with no fuss, and are perfect for the person who doesn't want to get out the axe too often (did enough poultry in years ago). They seems naturally tamer than many breeds of ducks I've raised, too. I keep them only for decoration and entertainment and they pay big dividends in smiles they generate when you watch them. They are flyers, as well, and a couple of years ago I had a pair of drakes that always flew out with the dogs and me when we got the cows. They'd circle all of us a few times and head back to the barn to be waiting for us when we got back with the herd. Show me a chicken who can do that! :) Oh, and since they are bantams, not such a dirt problem on the yard, either. :) They are just wonderful birds. I've had ducks most of my life but none have been as good as these little charmers.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), July 24, 2001.

Thanks for the link, Sojo!

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), July 26, 2001.