New to Chickens

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sunflower2

sunflower2

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Sep 28, 2015
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Hello everyone.. I'm want to learn everything I can about chickens!!! Can anyone tell me from experience, the best kind if chickens to have together? We're wanting some good laying chickens, as well as friendly. Any advuce, I would greatly appreciate it!! Thank you, have a Blessed Day!! Patricia
 
Hello! There is so much to learn about chickens and I don't want to make this post to long!! Chickens are great for food, pets, egg layers and other things. There are so many of each kind but these are the breeds I would suggest for the types of chicken:
Layers: Astrolarp, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Reds, and Ameruacanas.
Pets: Silkie

I don't know all of the types of chickens so the list was limited. I will mostly talk about layers because that is the type that I have. I have 6 chickens and they are all different types. I have 1, Astrolarp, Ameruacana, Minorca, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red, and a Wyandotte. I just started with chickens last spring so my info might not be the best but the ones that I have tend to be pretty popular breeds for laying.

I think I will only talk about 2 things. Broody hens and keeping them stress free.

Sometimes when you have laying hens without a rooster, they will think that their eggs will hatch but they really won't. They will sit on their eggs and not move from them. If you do not have rooster, get the hen off of her eggs and take them. She will go back in and find that they are not there and will not be broody anymore. Broody hens do get feisty and can peck you. I haven't learned that much on broody hens that have eggs that will hatch so hopefully someone else tells you about that.

To help with egg production, they need to be kept stress free. They need a sturdy hen house with roosts that keep them from seeing a raccoon or fox that may stalk the coop at night. There needs to be enough room on the roost so some of them are not sleeping on the floor. Barking dogs that chase them around also stresses them, and not feeding them enough food can also delay egg production.

I hope that this post helped you learn a little bit more about chickens! The people who I have told about chickens realize that chickens are much more than dinner.
yippiechickie.gif
 
Ellanora said:
Hello! There is so much to learn about chickens and I don't want to make this post to long!! Chickens are great for food, pets, egg layers and other things. There are so many of each kind but these are the breeds I would suggest for the types of chicken:
Layers: Astrolarp, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Reds, and Ameruacanas.
Pets: Silkie

I don't know all of the types of chickens so the list was limited. I will mostly talk about layers because that is the type that I have. I have 6 chickens and they are all different types. I have 1, Astrolarp, Ameruacana, Minorca, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red, and a Wyandotte. I just started with chickens last spring so my info might not be the best but the ones that I have tend to be pretty popular breeds for laying. 

 I think I will only talk about 2 things. Broody hens and keeping them stress free.

Sometimes when you have laying hens without a rooster, they will think that their eggs will hatch but they really won't. They will sit on their eggs and not move from them. If you do not have rooster, get the hen off of her eggs and take them. She will go back in and find that they are not there and will not be broody anymore. Broody hens do get feisty and can peck you. I haven't learned that much on broody hens that have eggs that will hatch so hopefully someone else tells you about that.

To help with egg production, they need to be kept stress free. They need a sturdy hen house with roosts that keep them from seeing a raccoon or fox that may stalk the coop at night. There needs to be enough room on the roost so some of them are not sleeping on the floor. Barking dogs that chase them around also stresses them, and not feeding them enough food can also delay egg production.

I hope that this post helped you learn a little bit more about chickens! The people who I have told about chickens realize that chickens are much more than dinner. :yiipchick
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Welcome to Backyard chickens. Please visit the Learning Center, it will probably have answers to all your questions - as well as questions you haven't thought of yet.
 
Thank you Ellanora for all your helpful advice. We just built our chicken coop, Its a 4×12. We're going to get 6-8 chickens. I'm really excited. I've never been around chickens, so I'm really looking forward to raising some chickens. This is going to be a great experience. Thank you again for all your helpful advice. Have a Blessed Day!!
 
Welcome to BYC, Patricia. Glad you decided to join our flock. Any of the breeds that have a well deserved reputation for being calm and gentle (potential lap pets) such as Australorps, Orpingtons, Cochins, Brahmas, Sussex, and Faverolles will do great together as long as they are not overcrowded. Overcrowding can quickly lead to aggression, fights, biting and feather plucking, and even cannibalism with any breeds. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.
 
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There's a great article in the Learning Center that might help you choose the chickens that are right for you. It covers different factors such as climatic hardiness, temperament, egg production, etc. Here's a link to get you there:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...cken-guide-to-picking-backyard-chicken-breeds

Selecting your flock is fun and it's amazing all the various breeds to choose from. The hard part is narrowing the possibilities down to the number you can have!
 

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