This thing about organic chickens, when I inquired the price of organic laying pellets it was $16 a bag, the regular pellets were about $10, give or take. I have no interest in buying pellets that are so much more. Free range is how I define my eggs, and yes, table scraps, the greens, and lots of pasture chickenyard to forage on.
The hybrid brown ones that we got last year were called Sex Sal Links, they are only good for eggs, they are so puny as far as meat goes, I would barely consider them except for a soup, too meatless for anything else. I am not getting more of these when they all get old enough for the pot.
When I order my chick from McMurrays I am ordering:
Barred Rocks
Australorps (because of the size, meat birds as well as eggs). The two Australorps I have now have nice big sized eggs not smallish
Rhode Island reds
and yes, I saw the Red Stars, they were a thought too
I have a Rhode Island Red rooster who has been breeding a whole whack of chickens. I am going to take many eggs when I get back from Vegas and get the incubator going.
The red rooster and the Barred Rock hens will make offspring that are known as the Red Rocks. Excellent layers and meat birds. So, along with the chicks ordered and the chicks hatched in the incubator, I should have a nice flock by the time the fall comes and the small Sex Sal Links all go to the boneyard. Have a great and wonderful day, Cindi