After much research on dual purpose chicken breeds, we've settled on the Delaware Chickens. We were looking for a breed of chicken that was an excellent laying of large-jumbo eggs, and one that would lay well for over 1 year. Plus, have some nice chicken for the family table. Delawares are a cross between a New Hampshire (selection from Rhode Island Red) and a Plymouth Rock. Great egg laying and meat attributes.
We've found the Delawares to be prolific egg layers, the roosters grow quite quickly and make a nice bird for roasting as well. They are excellent foragers, and the roosters tend to look out for their girls, often alerting them to approaching hawks - or finding tasty tid-bits in the fields and calling the hens to "Come and get it!". One rooster I observed picked up an earthworm and dropped it - then made his special call " Took took took" the hens. He picked the earthworm up again and dropped it, and made his call again- then hens came running towards him - than another rooster - when then grabbed the worm intending for the hens and ate it!
Next to our pastures we have nesting Red-Tailed hawks, I've also seen Merlins and Eagles on occasion. We haven't lost a Delaware chicken yet to the hawks. They are a big chicken - perhaps the hawks realize this. Even though our neighbor have told stories about "Seeing a chicken fall out of the sky" - it wasn't one of ours.
By choosing one breed of heritage chicken to focus on - we decided to choose only the largest and fastest growing roosters with the best conformation - and hens that lay only size large or larger eggs. Our hatching eggs are collected several times a day - we use lots of pine shavings to keep the next boxes clean. I'm looking into an incubator and we are all looking forward to improving this wonderful breed of American chicken!
Our free-range pastured chicken eggs have a dark yolk full of flavor - we feed a
locally milled pellet that is soy and corn-free - sourced mostly from locally grown grains here in Oregon. Since we also offer hatching eggs - there are certain minerals and vitamins that the baby chicks need for proper development - hence using a feed that is correctly formulated by a nutritionist.
Food for thought - literally
