Looking for two incredible breeds for a new chicken owner, or just looking for two great breeds to have a care-free flock. Here are your two breeds!

This is my first yr with chickens. We have 4 RI Reds, 6 ISA Browns, and 9 silver Wyandottes. The brattiest ones are the ISA. One likes to bully all of the others and one likes to bite me. The one bites me until I pick her up and carry her around. The one that bites the others has to get separated sometimes because she makes their hind ends bleed. The other 2 breeds are very nice. We have 2000 sq ft for them plus their coop and an extra smaller run. I spoil them too much, so says my husband. Strange lol

@TheOldSwedesFarm

7 ай бұрын

Wow! That is wild. The ISA's have been the most mellow, easy-going hens we've had. Great layers and really quiet. We wouldn't get another RI Red. They were the worst bullies. The worst. Thanks for stopping by to share your experience!

Great info! We bought our first flock …4 golden comets, 4 Rhode Island reds and 4 white leghorns. Loved them. Hate they’re older girls now. Bomb diggity! So funny your barred rocks were great. Love it. Mine are bullies!

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

It is weird that your Rocks were bullies. I've never seen that. Ours are the sweetest hens. We've come such a long way since our first flock. What a long time ago that seems. Thanks for stopping by Lisa!

Excellent down to earth great solid advice! Happy Holidays you guys....thanks for the great educational help you provide to all of us....Kevin

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

Thanks for the kind words! We appreciate all your comments and for stopping by! Happy Thanksgiving Kevin!

Our first breeds were Cinnamon Queens, 'Rainbows', and we got two Wyandottes. Our rainbows are so incredibly mellow and affectionate with people! The cinnamons and wyandottes don't care for people much but arent aggressive at all. ☺️

@TheOldSwedesFarm

7 ай бұрын

I've heard that those are mellow hens. You've got a great group of hens and you'll be happy. If you expand, think about these two breeds. Cheers!

@lizardio666

7 ай бұрын

@@TheOldSwedesFarm oh yes they are awesome ☺️ have a great night!

I'm a beginner and have 1 Barred Rock and 1 Rhode island red, plus an older chicken that came as a rescue chicken. So far the Barred Rock is in charge. So glad I found your channel.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

We're so glad you found us too! We had RIR's at the start and won't again. They were bullies. Our Rocks have always been docile and great layers. While the Reds are great layers, they were too tough on the rest of the flock. Keep us updated on your flock!

Barred Rocks are super friendly birds. One of mine likes to jump up on my shoulder to get carried around. So cute!

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

That is funny. I've never had that happen. You've got your own egg-laying parrot! Cheers Sarah!

Love a Good Barred Rock! Happy Thanksgiving!

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

The Rocks are amazing hens! We just love them. They will always have a spot in our flock! Cheers Kathleen!

We have 5 ISAs and we LOOOVE THEM! such sweethearts ! Also have 3 Barred Rocks and one loves attention so much we named her Velcro!

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

Both these breeds love attention. We've had a few "velcros" over the years. It's like having a new puppy! Thanks for stopping by to watch and comment!

I have an ISA Brown named Sweetie. She is my profile picture. Her name says it all. Orpingtons are another great breed for beginners.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

We loved the disposition of the Buff Orpington but they were constantly going broody. We had a favorite, Lena, and she was a beautiful Buff. Unfortunately, an eagle took her away from us. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!! Cheers!

@nope5749

8 ай бұрын

@@TheOldSwedesFarm That's so sad 😢. I'm so sorry for your loss. I live in a forested mountain area so I'm constantly concerned about that as we have plenty of hawks and eagles. My Buff Whistle is my favorite girl. I have heard about the Orpingtons going broody but I guess I lucked out with her because she hasn't so far. I got her a Lavender Orpington sister only the sister turned out to be a rooster. 🤣 Mr. Dusty is huge, sweet, silly, and absolutely stunning.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

@@nope5749 I can only imagine how big the Orpington roosters are. Lena was a BIG girl! WE get our share of hawks and Bald Eagles stopping by our forest while cruising across the farm land. While we've probably only lost about ten hens, I bet six or seven have been due to hawks/eagles. I've only seen one dead, with an eagle circling, as the others seem to just disappear. Have a great weekend!

Interesting. We’re beginners and got a mix of 6 chicks in the spring. 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Easter Eggers, 1 Delaware, and 1 Black Australorp.. So far I’ve seen the Easter Eggers push others out of the way while going for treats. They all seem pretty docile but we’ve held them a lot from the beginning with the grandkids. The Delaware is the biggest and she lays the tiniest egg! And she’s most likely to wander off by herself for a bit. They sure are a lot of fun!

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

When you renew your flock, I'd consider these two. You'll love the production and the attitude. Our gals get along so well and really are egg machines. The eight hens give us 7-8 eggs daily. Very consistent! Keep us posted on how your flock grows. Cheers!

Good Morning Rich and Holly. When we got our first chickens 10-12 years ago I had no idea what to buy. Surprisingly it was those two breeds (lucked out I guess) we then tried others. Yesterday after asking you about a video you did a while back about your top picks, we bought some more Isa Browns and Barred Rocks for this year (and a couple others, Black Sexlink, silver laced Wyandotte and sapphire sky) This video will be very helpful, thanks for making it.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

4 ай бұрын

Luck, or not, you've got a couple great breeds! We've had the Black Sexlink too. Great layers and one of the most beautiful hens around. I hope all your breeds work out well for you this season! Cheers!

Interesting input. Before my time my Grandmother kept a flock of Rhode Island Reds. At home we kept 100 Leghorns because Stork Brothers in New Ulm paid more for white eggs. Also 100 Cornish Rock broilers because we were a large family. More recently my Mother inlaw kept a dozen Barred Plymouth Rocks. Poultry interests me. Happy Thanksgiving.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

We'd never go back to the Rhode Island Reds. For us, they were mean birds and picked on the other hens. Not as good layers as the ISA Browns. We love our Rocks and the ISA's. So gentle and great layers. Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Cheers!

Good morning! We have two ISA Browns and they are like puppies. Best and most beautiful egg layers, don't know how they do it! Large eggs at that. We also have Cuckoo Marans, which look like your Barred Rocks, and they are quiet quiet birds, not the friendliest, but never-the-less, no maintenance. Now my Australorps are big birds, will be meat birds this spring and are a pain in the arse! Loud and grumpy. Not a breed I'd get again...my Easter Eggers are touch and go. I have two that are also like puppies and then the other two are questionable...BUT with all that said, my NEW NEW favorite, are Turkens. They are the most sweetest birds ever. They do not fuss and are quite lovable. If you've never had these, or maybe you can't in your cold region(we're in Michigan), they are delightful and prove to be both a friendly and dual purpose bird, can't say enough about this breed. Thanks for sharing! always love your content. All the best to you both.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

We usually have hens just for eggs, not meat. I'll look into the Turkens. I'm with you. I just don't know how they lay every day! They don't seem to eat enough! Thanks for watching and commenting! Happy Thanksgiving!

I agree with the Isa brown. Our barred Plymouth Rock aren’t super friendly, though I understand that is opposite of their personality. Our Rhode Island Red are super layers for 2 years and then they drop off. If you are looking for egg laying machines the Rhode Island Red and White Leghorn layers are your best option. We have some retired birds in our flock, it’s my soft heart that keeps them roaming after 8-9 years… that includes the Barred Plymouth Rock and a few Easter Eggers that grace us with their presence. 😉😍 Happy Thanksgiving Rich and Holly. 🌺

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

I just wouldn't go back to the RIR's. They picked on the others and were nasty hens. They weren't as good layers as the ISA's. I'll take our calm, gentle, great-laying ISA Browns and Rocks! It's fun to hear about everyone else's experiences. Cheers Annette!

@TheCowEmporium

8 ай бұрын

@@TheOldSwedesFarm who knows how environment and location affects our chickens? Happy day! 🌺

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

@@TheCowEmporium I've wondered that. I've also wondered about hatchery. Are some flocks more docile from one hatchery versus another? I'll have to get three dozen chicks. I'll keep a dozen, give a dozen to Lisa in SD and bring a dozen to you. That would sure be interesting. Have a great weekend!!

@YogiHollowFarm

8 ай бұрын

agreed! I’m not a fan of the barred rocks. The power layers lay heavily but trail off

Happy Holidays Rich and Hollie! This is my new channel. I will still have the old one but I started this because my watch hours were stuck on the farm channel. I love the Barred Plymouth rocks. Really a great chicken. I have Blue Plymouth Rocks and they are the same temperament, sweet as can be! I have the Easter eggers they are nice but are the meanest to the new Rooster I got from my daughter. He still is not with the flock. And the Buff Orphingtons. None of my chcikens are broody. Furthermore, my Buffs are the pigs of the bunch. All are very docile and I really love them. Merry Christmas. Wendy🎄⛄

@TheOldSwedesFarm

7 ай бұрын

Sounds like a good flock. We love our Rocks! Our Buffs were always broody! More on that another time! We will go over to your new channel! Let us know how we can help!

We have 4 NH Reds, 2 RI Reds and 2 Australorps. The RI Reds are definitely dominant! I will look into the Isa browns. Thank you for sharing!

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

You'd love the ISA's. Great layers and no attitude! Unlike the RI Reds! Have a great weekend!!

Have a couple of ISA's. Don't think they have missed an egg day since they started laying. Sweet birds even if they do insist on pecking on me and biting me all the time. Not viciously by no means. They aren't bullies but definitely sit in the top of the pecking order. I agree, if you want eggs and friendly birds they should definitely be high on the list.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

I have never had an ISA Brown peck me. They seem so timid and mild. For me, these are great to have around the Grandkids and other small children. I agree about having them on the nest. They don't miss a day!! Cheers!

Thanks Rich!!! I'm hoping to get chickens next spring. This video was very helpful. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

Let us know if you have any questions or if we can help you in any way. You will love chickens. Get these two breeds and your learning curve will be a lot easier! Cheers Matt!

Hope you guys had a great Thanks giving. new friend here

@TheOldSwedesFarm

6 ай бұрын

The holidays were good to us. Thanks for joining us on the channel! Happy New Year!

ol' swedoed yes

Thank You for this valuable information. We have Easter Eggers and Orphingtons.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

We had Buff Orpingtons in the past but they were always broody. They never wanted to lay eggs. Haven't had the Easter Eggers but their eggs sure look beautiful! If you add to your flock, check out these two breeds and let us know what you think. Cheers!

@ericsplace3004

5 ай бұрын

Have you all ever had Black Australorp chickens?

Australorps are also wonderful.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

11 күн бұрын

We're hearing more and more about the Australorps. We'll need to look into them. Thanks for commenting!!

I have silver and golden sebrights, porcelain and mille fleur duccles, porcelain and mille fleur sablepoots aka dutch booted bantams as well as a buff orpington hen and a BBS ameracauna rooster.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

That's a heck of a flock. We've had a Buff Orpington but I don't have a clue about the other breeds you listed. Thanks for stopping by to share. I'll go check out those breeds.

@voiceofmanywaters3720

19 күн бұрын

I LOVE mille fleur Belgium D'Uccles. My fave!

Good video and information. Long ago I asked my uncle what's his choice of chickens and he said Isa Brown.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

Smart man!! We really love the ISA's. Egg machines.....all year 'round. Check them out next time you add to your flock. Happy Thanksgiving Dawn!

great video

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching and commenting! We appreciate your support!

Golden Comets! I have them and Barred Rocks. My Comets are total feathered dogs🤭

@dougroberts3643

8 ай бұрын

It's my understanding that Golden Comets and Isa Browns are the same breed. They are also called Red Star and a few other names that I can't remember

@kimbean8920

8 ай бұрын

@@dougroberts3643 you are right. I just love the name Golden Comets 🥰

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

I think the ISA Brown has a secret formula for how to breed them. The Golden Comet is a proprietary breeding from one manufacturer (Hoover's?). We had some Comets and they look nothing like the ISA Browns.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

The Comets we had were great hens. I can see why you'd call them feathered dogs!!

Nice looking chickens. Where do you get your barred rocks? 👍

@TheOldSwedesFarm

6 ай бұрын

We get them as day old chicks from Hoover's Hatchery in Iowa. They ship them to our local feed store and we pick them up there.

Hi Rich, I have got 6 Isa Brown, one unfortunately got sick and passed away, I want to see how they are as previously I had black star and they are 2 years old now and I didn't get too many eggs out of them.This are very friendly birds and very talkative compared with the other one.I got them at 16 weeks old.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

I love the look of the Black Star. Some can be absolutely gorgeous! The Black Star seemed to go broody and didn't lay as well. You will love the ISA Brown. Keep me posted on what you think! Cheers!

Hello! I am new to your channel and I am going to get my first chickens this spring. I saw your videos on different breeds of chickens and was very excited about the Buff Orpington, Sapphire Gem, Sapphire Splash and Easter Egger and am looking at getting 1 of each of those breeds. After seeing this video I am starting to second guess myself. I am getting chickens for eggs and for pets for myself and my two young boys. I want chickens that will live a longtime since they will be family pets and ones that are super easy going and that love to be held. I just hope that I am making the right choice and would love any input that you have. Thank you!

@TheOldSwedesFarm

6 ай бұрын

Glad you found our channel! If we can be of any help, don't hesitate to reach out (oldswedesfarm@gmail.com). Obviously, we have our favorites (featured here). If we were to get four breeds, we'd get Barred Rock, ISA Brown, Golden Comet, Black Star (also called Black Sex Link). All four lay a LOT of eggs and they are well behaved. The Buffs were broody all the time and we're not good layers. The Gems got to be thugs and picked on others. The Splash are awesome too but not as good layers as the four I listed. Let us know what you decide and let us know if we can help. Now is the time to plan, build a great coop/run and get your security in order. Cheers!

I was pretty sure these would be the two you guys suggested :) Hope you are having a great Thanksgiving Cheers 🌱🤞🦃

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

We had a great day of food, relatives and good beverage! Even got in a short nap! Have a great weekend! Cheers!

Hope you guys had a great Thanksgiving.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

Thanks for stopping by! We appreciate your support! Happy Thanksgiving!

Cool video! Do you have any tips on combining two flocks in a run?

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

We did film a video on "Merging Our Chicken Flocks." Check it out and let me know if this answers your questions. Cheers!

@terrimilliken5257

8 ай бұрын

We did, but we have a run, and there is a lot of pecking going on.

They're the Relatives of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Tarbosaurus Bataar, Velociraptors, Utahraptors, Deinonychus, Allosaurus, Therizinosaurus, & other Bird-Like Dinosaurs.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

You can see the dinosaur tendencies when they hunt. Seeing them run after a mouse is like a raptor chasing food. Cheers Olivia!

@oliviaquijano9018

8 ай бұрын

It's like what my Father told me, before he died five years ago.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

@@oliviaquijano9018 I sure miss my Father's knowledge, especially regarding the garden. My Dad passed on all sorts of knowledge the night before he passed away. I think he knew he was going and was passing on all his garden knowledge. He was doing a great data dump for me before I moved to the Farm. You can hear about it on our video about the name of the Old Swede's Farm. Thanks for sharing your memory, Olivia! It made my day!

@oliviaquijano9018

8 ай бұрын

@TheOldSwedesFarm , you're Welcome & I hope those Velociraptor Chickens stay warm, with their feathers, too.

@oliviaquijano9018

8 ай бұрын

@TheOldSwedesFarm , cool! Speaking of Dinosaurs, which one of the Biggest Chicken Dinosaurs you like, best?

Got our 1st egg they are 20 weeks from one, and then found an egg that was dropped out off the roosting bar so not sure if from the same bird or what, have you even had one drop from a roosting bar?

@TheOldSwedesFarm

7 ай бұрын

I've only seen one egg fall from the roosting bar. One other time we had an egg actually "on" on the bar! Most times they will find a spot on the ground before laying. I doubt you'll ever see another egg like the one you found. Cheers!

@DailyRollcall

7 ай бұрын

@@TheOldSwedesFarm thanks

Question being my micro climate here, there are 2 springs and 2 summers 1 "false spring" like now, it is around 72 sunny I got my chicks in July even though 18weeks does the light change things 6:25 -4:43 around 10 hours of light ? ;) good Morning

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

We keep lights on in the barn from 6am to 10pm. That way the seasons don't affect our hens. Either breed would work perfect in your area. Truly delightful hens and great layers!

@DailyRollcall

8 ай бұрын

@@TheOldSwedesFarm thanks my shed is 7 by 6 and they go in all by their selves no training, I put on a small t4 light so even with a light I noticed they are sleeping ;) no barn no garage ..... nice barn you have

@TheOldSwedesFarm

8 ай бұрын

@@DailyRollcall We had a small nightlight in the smaller coop and the hens were fine with it. Sounds like you've got a great facility for them! Have a great day!

My buddy and I have recently (4 weeks ago) Barred Rock and Brown leghorns. They're just feathering in good. How can you tell pullets among the Barred Rock? They were supposed to be all female, but I feel like 2 are males. The leghorn seem to be dominant. I haven't looked through your playlist yet. If you have a video, I'll watch it. Thanks, I'm really excited about this new endeavor.

@TheOldSwedesFarm

3 ай бұрын

Glad you bought some Rocks. They are awesome. I don't know much about the Leghorns as we haven't had them. We have always bought hens so I've never had to check for Roosters. We had one Rock that grew faster than the others. We thought she might be a rooster but she just grew quicker. She laid eggs a week before the others. I think there is a way to tell via their wing shape but I'm not sure if it is 100% accurate. You might want to look into that. Sorry I'm not being much help on this question. You could always wait another month and you'll know for sure (crowing!). Keep us posted on what happens. We'd love to hear! Take care!

@MrSnafu-1973

3 ай бұрын

Thanks, I will let you know how things go.

We’re is black Australop ?

@TheOldSwedesFarm

4 ай бұрын

We have never had any of the Australorp. It might be a breed we need to look into for our next chicks. Others have mentioned this breed. Thanks for watching and adding another vote to a breed we need to try.

@alinatotok

4 ай бұрын

@@TheOldSwedesFarm Black Australops laying more then 320 eggs a year.