I live in a suburban area, I have just over 1/4 acre & I have 8 standard size hens, no roosters. I picked breeds based on their beauty, ability to lay even in cold weather, cold hardiness, no white eggs, friendly & not flighty. I originally wanted 6 birds of 6 breeds but I now have 8. I ordered 25 from MM hacthery in March of 2006 & adopted the rest out to other local chicken pet people. I thought one was a rooster, but she was my DH's favorite-so I kept another one like her in case we had to give her away. I also had a sick chick that I thought would die, so I kept another of her breed but she turned out fine. So now I have 1 barred rock-mine is not really friendly like most are but she's pretty & a great layer 1 black australorp-she is an ok layer, the leader of my flock, beautiful & a total lap chicken 1 silver laced wyandotte-she is a good layer, very pretty & friendly 1 redstar(sex-link)-a prolific layer of big brown eggs, pretty & friendly 2 buff orpingtons-one lays regularly, the other that was sick doesn't lay at all yet. They are super friendly & loveable & so elegant looking 2 Easter egger mutts-one lays bluish eggs, the other sage green. They are by far the most flighty and skittish, but are so unique with their muffs & beards & great markings. They are quite docile when being handled by me. The blue/green eggs are a must have for us. My flock has a small coop & run, but they free range my fenced backyard everyday. They eat tons of bugs & more grass, flowers, plants than you can imagine. There is something about the same/similar breeds sticking together and I can see why some people don't like to have a small flock comprised of so many breeds. Have you considered predators in your area? will your tractor be secure enough? Good luck, deciding to keep chickens has been very rewarding & more fun than I imagined.

thanks all, I didn't even think of cl. "Lady Hillingdon" and I do want the bush form of Lady Hillingdon, but for the house would prefer a more lemony hue to go against the pale gray house. I just added "Lamarque" to my order from rogue valley, yesterday, I'm getting two "Westside Road Cream Tea" rosebushes to flank the front of the pathway to my front door, they will be side by side with "Mlle. Cecille Brunner"( the smaller c. 4' tall form) with an arbor in back of these with yellow climbing roses "Marachel NIel" and "Cecline Foreestier" and French lavender on the other side of the arbor so the view from my front door will be of lavender, yellow climbers, and "Mme. Berkeley" and "Clementina Carboinieri" off to one side, where I'm planting a mandarin orange tree for evergreen winter interest. The yellow climber I'm searching for will be on this side of the house. Originally I planned for cl. "Cramoisi Superieur" but decided I love yellow roses more than red roses. I still can't decide although I'm leaning towards "Alistair Stella Gray"which I've grown before, or "Leys Perpetual" although I swore I'd never again buy a rose that I have never seen in "person". so many beautiful roses, and finite rose real estate. Lux.

Coming in a bit late here, as often--- I don't think of 'Dupontii' as a species hybrid (I don't know whether anyone knows where it comes from) but it's a good handsome rose, sweetly scented, with grayish foliage. Nobody has mentioned R. palustris as far as I can tell after skimming this post. I like this rose, which I believe is native to your part of the world: its willowlike foliage, red canes, and flowers are all handsome; it's thornless, or nearly so; it colors well in autumn, a great advantage here; and in spite of its name it handles drought and alkaline soil gracefully. It roots easily from cuttings, unlike many species roses. My plant is young; I don't know what a mature specimen looks like. I like the foetida cultivars myself, including R. foetida bicolor, which is so exceptionally showy in its bloom period that I'm willing to give it garden room for the whole year on that strength. Black spot is no problem for me, so I can have these roses, but I'd be hesitant about them in an area where that's a problem. On their showing so far I'd say they like my sun, dry summers, and alkaline clay. The flowers of R. foetida are the brightest yellow there is, and the foliage is lettuce green. I love the Musk Rose, though my plant is doing badly and may have to be replaced. I think it's suited to this area, but my grafted plant got off to a bad start and has sunk ever deeper in illness and distress. Or perhaps this is wishful thinking. At any rate, if your conditions suit it it's a lovely rose to have in the garden. It's very fragrant, and once it starts blooming in late summer it goes on until darkness and cold shut it down. The Cherokee Rose is beautiful, I think, with a very oriental and exotic look to the flowers and foliage, the latter strongly reminiscent of that of camelias, which unfortunately I can't grow. This, and my failure to keep the Cherokee Rose alive and prosperous, may be why I long for this rose. If it's warm enough where you live it might do well for you. If R. anemoneflora is the R. laevigata hybrid 'Anemone', I believe it has a similarly exotic look to it, as does 'Anemone's color sport 'Ramona'. The rugosas look fat and prosperous; they rebloom; they have round orange hips, also fat, as well as edible; they have a very good clove fragrance. They're thorny. I would plant rugosas if I thought they were good roses for my garden, which I don't, but am not heartbroken not to have them. When I dared call them fat on the Italian forum, various rugosa enthusiasts countered that they were beautifully exotic and oriental roses. In fact, this is true. They're great shrubs. Perhaps because R. canina is so common here, I tend to take it for granted. It's attractive in flower, and would probably make a good shrub if pruned to shape it. The hips are oval, gleaming scarlet, and handsome: I use them in Christmas wreaths as we don't have holly. Some clones are definitely prettier than others. I've only had 'Canary Bird' for a year, but it's been growing great guns. It has ferny foliage and good fall color, and I think I'm going to like it a lot. R. rubrifolia (R. glauca) has very good foliage and is a handsome plant: I just got one myself. R. roxburghii 'Plena' has fascinating foliage, bark, and hips (the flowers are nice, too) and I've seen it grown as an outstanding specimen rose. These are the roses on your list, or not on it, that I've grown or know something about from direct experience. My growing conditions are different from yours, and I suspect that a lot of roses that grow well for me might suffer for you, and vice-versa. Then there are those that tolerate a wide range of conditions, like R. palustris.

I realize this response might be a bit late. But what they hay! I agree with Kate about the Austins. The relatively few I've grown have been blackspot magnets. I'm in a different climate that you, so take that into consideration. I also agree with Kate's endorsement of Chamblee's and Roses Unlimited. Chamblee's, in particular has quite a lot of Buck roses you may want to give some consideration (or keep in mind for future reference.) Quietness is a great example. Some of the Bucks also suffer from Blackspot but others do great. But you mentioned 3 alternatives. I can say Deep Secret and Heirloom both have some fine qualities, one of which is terrific disease resistance for hybrid teas. Deep Secret tends to lose flower quality in the hottest part of the summer (smaller and weaker bloom form) but makes up for it with stunningly beautiful deep deep red blooms in the more temperate parts of the growing season. Here in New Orleans, Mine is currently turning out some gorgeous blooms, and its after Christmas! We've had a couple of light freezes the past couple weeks, but the roses are still going. Heirloom and Deep Secret are also Fragrant! Deep Secret, to my nose, is on par with other classic red rose greats like Chrysler Imperial and Papa Meilland and Mr. Lincoln. More modest sized blooms, but better diseas resistance than all of those. Worth a try, in my opinion. As for the 5 hours of sunlight, I've grown roses in similar conditions; for me it results in somewhat fewer blooms, leggier, less bushy plants, and more disease susceptibility. But if you are willing to pamper them as best you can and consider spraying regularly for disease prevention, it can work. It's better than not growing any roses. Mike