由 njrookie » 2014-04-23 0:00
after first year, chicken will molt each summer. each time, it loses 20% efficiency in feed to egg conversion ratio. i usually keep them for 2-3 years, and then it goes to pot.
RIR is pretty smart chicken. tough as well. however in terms of brown egg layers, nothing beats red star/black star, or sex-linked commercial layers.
if you want a dual purpose chicken (meat and egg), barred rock is a good choice. buff orpington makes a good mom though.
my chickens are my investment with highest dividend yield. a hen can lay 250-300 eggs a year.