At this point, I can't yet say from personal experience, as I haven't had enough of each kind to compare in any meaningful way.

Most our birds are supposed to be purebreds, aside from the two hen crosses between our Blue-laced Red Wyandotte rooster and the Silver-laced Red Wyandotte hens; but in their case, they are crosses between varieties of the same breed, and not between two separate breeds.

And make that three crosses, because I completely forgot that they have a brother, as our next-to-largest roo is also a cross between our blue-laced and silver-laced Wyandottes, so silly me, I can't believe I left him out.

So they've actually successfully raised three adult chickens from their eggs thus far.

Chickens don't have breed registries, as dogs, cats, or horses do, so in any case, you're relying on the truthfulness and reliability of your seller.

We just suffered another loss, as one of our two Svart Hona roos bit the bullet, but that won't actually affects the genetics much, as they were brothers from the same hatching.

And, even once we have my goal of a minimum of 25 breeding chickens of each breed we decide to keep breeding long term, with four or five roosters to twenty or twenty-one hens; in the grand scheme of things, we'd still be considered quite a small operation.

Especially when considered against one of the big factory farms, that keep literally thousands of chickens in each building, most of which never see sunshine, or get to step on a blade of grass in their lifetimes.

Considering the cruelty inherent in that sort of operation, I'm quite content to stay small, and to give our birds a good life, where they can naturally do what chickens want to do.

Whether pure breeds or hybrids are better really comes down to personal choice, and your reasons for keeping chickens in the first place, as well as your ultimate intentions.

I want to raise less common heritage breed chickens, especially those that are rare and/or declining in numbers, as well as dual purpose birds, that are raised for both eggs and meat, and increase their numbers, while selecting breeders with an eye toward improving their genetics. And, in the process, to introduce those breeds to others who will appreciate their qualities.

As one example, Swedish Flower Chickens, the landrace breed I discussed in this post, while smaller than commercial breeds, are still good layers of light brown eggs, often continue to lay through the winter months (though most of mine are pullets and will likely start in spring), and yet provide fine meat for the table, although obviously less of it than larger breeds.

They are also quite able fliers, hence why mine are contained in a coop, and their mottled feather patterns give them excellent camouflage, so they can free range fairly successfully despite predators.

The hens are also good at hatching their own eggs, and are good mothers, a trait that has unfortunately been bred out of most of the modern breeds.

So I will likely breed them for the foreseeable future, using my best birds as breeders, selling some others, and keeping some of those not of breeder quality for a mixed flock, just to see what comes of their interbreeding long term.

I have little interest in the "modern" breeds, that can't breed naturally, typically won't sit on their eggs consistently enough to hatch them, and often can't even stand and walk around properly as adults, because their bodies are too heavy for their legs to support.