New Hampshires

Striking BirdA gorgeous bird- mine is a firey shade of brilliant orange red.
I have six breeds in my flock and this is one of the prettiest (the prettiest according to people who like red chickens). She’s even tempered, friendly and smart. She’s a very athletic bird also, she keeps up well with my smaller breeds. I was amazed by how fast she grew, she was full sized weeks ahead of her flock mates and was the first to lay an egg (even before my red and black star). Despite being a larger bird, her eggs are on the small side, not sure if that will change over time. She lays quite regularly though, almost every day. I would recommend if you want something pretty that can free range and lay regularly. A very good back yard family bird.

Truly Disappointed in this breedFirst of all, we wanted to wait until butchering and egg laying commenced in order to offer the best overall review.

We purchased 40 New Hampshire Reds (10 rooster and 30 hen) chicks the last week in Jan. Upon arrival, all were doing well. The chicks were thriving for the first week and then after 7 days, we lost 11. After calling the hatchery, they kindly refunded for the now deceased chicks. Thank you!

We enjoyed watching the rest grow and develop. After 5 solid months of feeding and nurturing, it was time to cull the flock. To our surprise...our mature roosters, according to the website this is 20 weeks, were a complete disappointment. The Quick Stats indicate that they are excellent birds for meat production and that the mature males weigh in @ 8.5lbs. If only this were true! I am not sure if it is the breed or if there was an error somewhere. We have spent a lot of time, money, and energy into these birds. Unfortunately, our desire to raise our own meat birds has taken a long detour. We will need to conduct additional research to determine what route to take.

On a positive note, our ladies have just started laying and are doing well now that we have culled some of the roosters out of the flock. We are pleased with the quality of the eggs.

Just some food for thought...they are excellent layers and they are very friendly. Our girls interact with them daily. Just a warning: If you are looking to get a substantial amount of meat off of them, pick a different breed.