Planning For "First" Flock, What Breeds Should I get? - Page 2

my Speckled Hamburg was one of the coolest chickens Ive had thus far. not docile or cuddly but very smart and independent. she left the flock and refused to go back in the coop at night so she was out 24.7 and roosted up in a tree (which lead to her death via owl some weeks later) BUT since she was out all the time it was neat seeing her in the yard all the time and she would do the wildest things.. loved hanging out by the bird feeders and would chase away any squirrels away. I have a blue Andalusian who is very pretty and quite friendly (always comes running up to you), but our Andalusian rooster is very aggressive towards humans but is a great rooster- as he does his job keeping the hens together and protecting them. Easter Eggers are neat cuz no two really look the same and lay pretty eggs. our white Delaware hen is nice and shes so darn round and waddley we named her Egg

Here is a list of popular breeds.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/628129/most-popular-small-flock-chickens-resource-for-selecting-your-chickens

You should get some wyandottes, they are docile (or at least my were) they are quite pretty. http://feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Wyand/BRKWyand.html 

I love an eclectic flock, but my favorite all time chickens, to my surprise, are the Missouri super egg laying machine # 365s. I bought them from Marti Poultry. White Chicken, large combs, incredible layers, large white eggs. They are very sweet and docile.  Smaller type bird, therefore eats less. I will be getting more.

I love bantams of any type.

I have turkens also, great all purpose hen.  My little girl just hatched 8 of 8 eggs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by turney31 

I love an eclectic flock, but my favorite all time chickens, to my surprise, are the Missouri super egg laying machine # 365s. I bought them from Marti Poultry. White Chicken, large combs, incredible layers, large white eggs. They are very sweet and docile.  Smaller type bird, therefore eats less. I will be getting more.

 

Those sound like some variety of White Leghorn, but they have been bred to be more docile. Is that basically what they are?

I love Cochin's, they come is all kinds of colors and sizes , make good Broddie's, lay longer that production breeds ene if they don't lay every day sometimes, and they are fluffy looking which i love oh and all of mine are very sweet.

I got these from Idea hatchery in 2009

I just filled my coop to maximum capacity this year.  Most of my adults are "mutts", but the breeds that show in them are wyandotte, some type of EE and one of my roos is half-bantam.  I ordered my new chicks from Murray McMurray in March.  From them I have 5 Dominiques 2 Red Star, 2 Black Giants and 4 Blue Laced Red Wyandottes.  So far, my Dominique, Olive, and my Black Giant, Axle, are the friendliest of the baby girls.  I knew I would want the "Domineckers" as they are called around here, mainly because they are an American heritage breed.  The Black Giants have a rep for being really friendly, and I like the idea that in adulthood they will be big enough to keep Beakman in his place. ;-)  Jasper is Silver Laced Wyandotte and part EE of some sort.  She lays green eggs.  Jasper is also my biggest hen of the adults and she does great in the extreme heat of Texas as well as the cold wet winter we had.  I'll let you know how my BLRW turn out as they get older.  They are a little more shy than some of the other babies.  :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bullitt 

Quote:

Originally Posted by turney31 

I love an eclectic flock, but my favorite all time chickens, to my surprise, are the Missouri super egg laying machine # 365s. I bought them from Marti Poultry. White Chicken, large combs, incredible layers, large white eggs. They are very sweet and docile.  Smaller type bird, therefore eats less. I will be getting more.

 

Those sound like some variety of White Leghorn, but they have been bred to be more docile. Is that basically what they are?

I don't  know about more docile, but absolutely more prolific layers.

I love a mixed flock! We just got our first birds this spring, and have several varieties of chicken (red star, Brahmas, BR, OEGB (I think), and a couple of mystery chicks) and 3 types of ducks (Peking, Indian Runner, and Rouen)...I can't say too much about the different breeds temperament yet as ours are all still pretty little, but I have 3 Brahmas and they are adorable!!!  I love them all though, so it's hard to say which is my favorite.

I reccomend  wyandottes, silkies, and barred rocks for you. They are all so sweet and have a unique design.