Chicken Breeds for Survival

These breeds are my personal picks for surviving the “Great Awakening”..... or whatever we’re calling this.

Regardless, ANY chickens are better than no chickens! Tractor Supply currently (end of May 2021) still has chicks. Chicks will take 4-8 months to start laying depending on breed/season (of course only hens lay).

If you purchase “straight run” chicks this means they are not “sexed” or separated male from female. Usually when buying straight run you’ll end up with close to 50/50 males/females. I’d eat the extra males once big enough with that option.

“Pullets” are juvenile female chickens
“Cockerels” are juvenile male chickens

Remember when getting chicks that male chickens crow (once adults), hens tend to be less noisy. However, I still think chickens do better with at least one rooster (male chicken) in the flock to keep the hens (female chickens) in line. You could also hatch your own eggs if you had a rooster and have a perpetual meat/egg factory in very little space.

Link to the hatchery (I’m not affiliated with them, it’s just family tradition to use them)
https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com

And the Livestock Conservancy
https://livestockconservancy.org