Coming here to get started with chickens... starting with breed advice

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FeatheredFish

FeatheredFish

Hatching
Oct 23, 2016
4
0
7
Santa Barbara, Southern California
I am enthusiastic about raising chickens and excited to have been directed to this resource.
So looking forward to getting good advice and examples to be able to set up a proper environment.
I'm in Southern California, where weather will not be an issue, but I want to get advice about the best breed to get. I'm very excited by lace Wyandottes, but the descriptions say they are "loud" and I don't want to get neighbors upset. So my first question for the forum is what is a good egg-laying attractive large hen that will be relatively quiet, and LESS likely to fly over fences. I can keep them contained during the night, but if I let them out in the daytime I want them large enough to deter cats and smart enough to stay in a fenced yard. Advice?
 
Hello there, and welcome to Backyard Chickens! Wyandottes make a great starter bird, and mine are not too noisy. I have golden and silver laced, and they are fairly quiet, lay a decent amount of eggs, and boy, are they pretty! The main thing I see being a problem for you, is Wyandotte's are more for cold weather, not so much hot, semi hope they would not get too overheated in your hot climate. Birds more bred for hot are breeds with larger, single combs. Welsummers might fit your bill a bit better,they have single combs, IMO, they are very pretty, they lay beautiful dark brown eggs, and they at very quiet. If you are new to chickens, I can think of no better place to start reading than the learning center! Yo can find it in this link., a valuable resource for all things chicken.https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. Also, you might like to join your state thread, you can find it in this link:https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you. Thanks for joining, I hope you enjoy BYC as much as I have!
 
Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you.

There are lots of good starter breeds. Wyandottes are certainly among them. No one breed is louder than the other, and every person you ask will have a different opinion of the "loudest" breed, simply because it's not breed based. Most birds are relatively quiet, a few might be exceptionally chatty.

Some other common breeds you might look into would be New Hampshires, Sussex, Plymouth Rocks, Brahmas, and, given your climate, Naked Necks.
 
FeatheredFish said:
I am enthusiastic about raising chickens and excited to have been directed to this resource.
So looking forward to getting good advice and examples to be able to set up a proper environment.
I'm in Southern California, where weather will not be an issue, but I want to get advice about the best breed to get. I'm very excited by lace Wyandottes, but the descriptions say they are "loud" and I don't want to get neighbors upset. So my first question for the forum is what is a good egg-laying attractive large hen that will be relatively quiet, and LESS likely to fly over fences. I can keep them contained during the night, but if I let them out in the daytime I want them large enough to deter cats and smart enough to stay in a fenced yard. Advice?
Click to expand...
Jersey Giants, astralorpes, and orpingtons can be excellent choices too. If you like any of the smaller breeds or a bird does fly over a fence, their wings can be clipped to prevent this.
 
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In addition to the other helpful links you've already received, you can check out the breed reviews that are written by members. Just click on the tab at the top of the screen labeled "Breeds". Have fun selecting your flock! You might enjoy getting a couple different breeds just so you can see how they differ...mixed flocks are really pretty IMO.

Thanks for joining us!
 
I AM totally engrossed in breeds., reading up on them now........ this is going to be really fun. Good idea to get two kinds, to watch the differences. Tomorrow I'm on my way to go sit and watch a flock, start my practical learning. Thanks for the welcome!
 
Greetings from Kansas, FeatheredFish, and :welcome! Great to have you aboard! I'm into the variety pack when it comes to breeds myself! I always have a different favorite but always 10 or more breeds in the flock. Best wishes to you in your breed research! :)
 

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