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Pros & Cons About Keeping New Hampshire Chickens

Well, yet another Monday is here, and like every other Monday, since we started this page, it is time for our weekly Pros & Cons about keeping New Hampshire chickens.

We chose the New Hampshire chickens for today`s article because we want to share with our readers productive and famous breeds with all of their good and bad attributes.

Last week, we had our quick guide on raising Bantam chickens, their Pros & Cons and since we had a bantam chicken breed it is only fair to provide our readers with an article about one of the larger breeds available.

PROS:

1. Are New Hampshire chickens aggressive towards humans?

New Hampshire Chickens
via Flickr

The New Hampshire chickens love to watch their keepers work and maintain their yards and coops, so

They grow a bit big but still, their chicken keeper can pet them and have them in his/her lap.

There are tips on how to raise friendly chickens and if this breed is friendly it does not mean that you don`t need to use those tips on the New Hampshire chickens.

2. New Hampshire Chickens are smart & calm

Many chicken keepers we have talked to about this particular breed have said the same, the New Hampshire chickens are smart and calm.

When something new is happening around them they will watch and monitor the situation and then react, unlike some other chickens that panic and get aggressive.

This makes them very useful, especially if you have a garden near your coop you can work on it and leave it open without worrying about your chickens causing problems around it.

When you present a new toy to a New Hampshire chicken it is very likely that you will wait a bit until it goes and plays.

3. They Look Like A Chicken Should

A flock of New Hampshire chickens is one of the most beautiful chicken sights many keepers have agreed to have seen.

Brownish-red feathers are everywhere except for the black back feathers; when a person who does not have much interest in chickens thinks about chickens, a picture of a New Hampshire chicken comes to their mind.

CONS:

1.  Are New Hampshire chickens aggressive towards other chicken breeds?

New Hampshire Chickens
via Flickr

From our research, many chicken keepers have complained about this breed being unfriendly towards other chicken breeds.

This is maybe due to their size.

They feel authoritative and like to bully other chickens especially newcomers in the flock.
Read more: how to introduce a new chicken to your flock

2. They can be too big for some chicken coops

As we mentioned before chickens from this breed can grow big.

This may cause some problems if their chicken coop is not big enough for them.

Being in a smaller coop can make them uncomfortable, leading to bullying and feather pecking in the flock.

3. Not exactly the best mothers

Hens from this breed can get a bit aggressive towards those chicks that don`t follow them or if they notice a chick from a different breed among their own chicks.

So if you have a New Hampshire hen in your flock it would be good to monitor her behavior when the hen is with her chicks.

General questions regarding New Hampshire chickens.

There is a lot of questions regarding this breed, and not many answers on the web.
If you have any other questions, please let us know in the comment section.

Without further ado, let’s check the most asked questions.

How long do New Hampshire chickens live?

New Hampshire chickens tend to live from around six to seven years.

Some chicken keeper from Laredo, Texas stated that his New Hampshire rooster lived for 9 years.

He was very protective towards his flock, and didn’t like any other roosters around him!

What color eggs do New Hampshire Hens lay?

They lay dark to brown eggs, similar to Rhode Island Reds. Their eggs are BIG and PRETTY!

New Hampshire chickens lays light to brown eggs.

How many eggs do New Hampshire chickens lay a year?

Their egg productivity is high. These breeds lay like 200-240 eggs per year.

Productivity for egg-laying scales up in winter and goes down in summer. On average, they lay 3-5 eggs per week.

Also, this breed is dual-purpose so besides egg-laying it is also a meat producer.

Do you own a New Hampshire chicken in your flock?
What is your experience with this breed?

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire_chicken
https://www.backyardchickens.com/

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