I feel like a kid in a candy store!

[mamahen]

I need to get a  few hens this year to replace some non-layers.  Now a local farm orders in large batches & resells.  Great!  A great way to just get a few of each breed I want.  Now the hard part.  There are sooo many I want!  And some just are not big egg producers. But I want!!  Like the Malay - When I first saw them, I wanted one.  Now the farm is ordering them!!  They are classified as poor producers.  And aggressive.  But  they're almost 3 ft tall!!  So cool!

Anyone have personal, first hand experience with the Malay breed?

This is the list the farm has.....how to choose??!!

Also - I had a friend that passed away and her husband gave me her flock.   They would lay the deepest shade of reddish brown eggs.  The hen was black and heavy.  What breed do you think?  The other black hens laid regular brown eggs.

4/6: Straight run Bourbon Red, Blue Slate, Narragansett, and Chocolate TURKEY

4/7: Female Easter eggers, Rhode Island Red, Barred rock, Brown Leghorn, Buff Orpington, black australorp, mottled java, Speckled Sussex, Turken(naked neck), golden laced Wyandotte, BLRW, Buff Brahma, Dark Brahma, Ancona, Sicilian Buttercup, Cuckoo Maran, Welsummer, Russian Orloff, Columbian Wyandotte, barnevelders, silver laced wyandotte, asst standard Cochin, black jersey giants

Straight run French GUINEA, Asst silkies, Cornish cross BROILERS.

Straight run asst Runner and asst Crested DUCKLINGS

Male and Female gray saddleback Pomeranian GOSLINGS

4/11: Female BLRW*, Polish, Sultan

4/13: Male Broad Breasted White TURKEY

4/14: Female golden Brabanter, Easter eggers, Buff Orpington, Black Australorp, Turken, Asst Wyandotte, BLRW
Straight run French GUINEA, Cornish cross BROILERS

4/21: Female cream brabanter, malay, silver laced Cochin

4/25: Female BLRW*, Polish, Sultan

4/27: Straight run bourbon red TURKEY

4/28: Female BLRW, Easter eggers, asst Wyandotte

5/5: Female khaki Campbell DUCKLINGS

5/26: Female BLRW, Easter eggers, asst Wyandotte

6/2: Female speckled sussex, BLRW, buff Orpington

6/15: Straight run asst GUINEA

6/23, 7/28, 8/25, 9/1, 9/29, 10/27 Female BLRW

*Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, includes blue, black, and splash laced

[woolybear]

Easter Eggers - I love the blue eggs, but they are poor layers. I have 2 standard cochins, a very calm chicken, but not sure how good a layer they are. Have a couple of buff orpingtons that are now a couple of years old, not sure if they are still laying but I like the girls and they do go broody in the spring. Also have 2 brown leghorns that lay white eggs and 2 white leghorns - these guys are laying machines. Always got 3-5 eggs every day.
This year I'm going to stuff some eggs under a broody and see what happens. I have the barnyard mix of chickens - barred rocks that lay bluish eggs, all the chickens that came in my cackle hatchery surprise box. Five different types of roosters. So hatching eggs this spring will be a real genetic mix/mess. I would like to pick up a couple of rhode island reds. They were always a good layer and laid some good sized eggs.

[Skandi]

I wouldn't be surprised if the black girl who layed a red/brown egg was a maran, or had some maran in there, they are bulky and certainly lay dark, redish eggs. they also come in black. Hatcheries don't exist here, so when one wants chicks, it's to the free adds one must go!

[aoconnor]

That is a lot of chicks!! Good luck, have fun!

[countrymom22]

You're lucky. Our Tractor Supply store is the only one around that still sells chicks. And they get mainly straight run chicks, with the exception of the Red sex links.

A friend of my son's parents have a farm and this year they are going to sell chicks of many different breeds, so I think I'll try there.

Enjoy!