Planning ahead for the Chicken Flock

[MaryN]

I have been keeping chickens now for quite a while. It's enjoyable and of course provides for those lovely eggs, and meat if you are that way inclined. With the idea of keeping my flock going, I have decided to concentrate on particular breeds of chicken, rather than the factory-hybrid types.

Although my little ex-battery hens are tremendously rewarding (It's nice to have rescued something from horrible living conditions), they have their limitations for future flock planning. Granted, they do lay really nice eggs, and at quite a rate of knots, but they are not bred for longevity. In fact the lifespan of a normal egg-laying commercial hen is about 18 months, and after that they become nuggets unless some kindly people rescue them. The other problem is that the natural urge to go broody has been bred out of them, and indeed I doubt if the mothering instinct remains either. So, they are just egg laying machines with no chance of laying, hatching and rearing their own "family". This may be a definite plus for some people; after all not everyone wants the bother of rearing young stock and the potential of hatching out unwanted cockerels, but I am tryuing to look long term with a vew to keeping my flock in self-perpetuating mode.

I have done a bit of research into the various old breeds of chickens available. My criteria are: the hens must have the normal broody cycles. I know that their egg-laying drops during their broody period, but if you want chickens you need chicks; the hens in particular must be able to forage well for their food and not be unduly reliant on being fed by their owner. My ex-bats are fearless and friendly but they lack the normal scratch response that seems to be very strong in the older breeds; and lastly, the hens must have a long laying period. I don't mind a reduction in the number of eggs produced, but I would like them to be produced over a longer period. Ex battery hens are almost programmed to respond to light, and as soon as the normal daylight hours reduce their laying drops off.

I have kept Light Sussex, Brahmas and Orpingtons, and they are old and reliable breeds, although the last two are not well-known for laying large numbers of eggs, and being soft feather birds they can suffer a bit in bad weather.

I have come to the conclusion that the breed that will provide what I need is one of the older ones - the Dorking. It is a hardy, heavy utility bird that lays a reasonable number of eggs. It is reputed to be docile and steady, and is known for being a good mother. Just the attributes I need. Now, having decided on the breed, do you think I can find any?? No, they appear to be as rare as hens' teeth.