New to all things chicken.

jmj91

Chirping
5 Years
Jun 29, 2015
13
3
72
Hey ya'll, won't be starting a flock for another two months or so but I am non-stop reading/learning about the art of keeping backyard chickens. Me and the wife are finally getting a house and out of apartments and a flock will be one of our first additions to the new home. Looking forward to officially joining the club!
 
Welcome to BYC and the wonderful world of chickens!

Feel free to ask any questions you may have. We also love to just talk about poultry, so you can share any stories you have as well.


Best of luck!
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Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is loads of useful information there that will keep you from making beginners' mistakes. :eek:) Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in getting your flock.
 
Welcome to BYC!

Congratulations on getting a house and on your upcoming flock
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What breed(s) of chickens are you planning on raising?

There is so much to learn about chickens, I don't know that anyone ever learns it all, but all that reading will help get you started. If you have questions, please feel free to post...there is a ton of good information available here and a lot of helpful, knowledgeable members.

It's nice to have you join us!
 
Thank you all for the kind welcome! The wife for sure wants an Easter Egger, but besides that I am not sure what else yet. We want some good producers that are on the quiet side so we don't annoy the new neighbors right off the bat!

Any suggestions would be more than welcome.
 
Thank you all for the kind welcome! The wife for sure wants an Easter Egger, but besides that I am not sure what else yet. We want some good producers that are on the quiet side so we don't annoy the new neighbors right off the bat!

Any suggestions would be more than welcome.

We have a mixed flock and based on the girls we have, our quietest birds are the Red Sex Links and Easter Egger. Everyone else (Barred Plymouth Rock, Speckled Sussex, Black Australorps, Rhode Island Red) is pretty vocal. Of the two quieter breeds, the RSL's are prolific layers and give us huge brown eggs almost every single day.
 
Thank you all for the kind welcome! The wife for sure wants an Easter Egger, but besides that I am not sure what else yet. We want some good producers that are on the quiet side so we don't annoy the new neighbors right off the bat!

Any suggestions would be more than welcome.
We have a mixed flock and based on the girls we have, our quietest birds are the Red Sex Links and Easter Egger. Everyone else (Barred Plymouth Rock, Speckled Sussex, Black Australorps, Rhode Island Red) is pretty vocal. Of the two quieter breeds, the RSL's are prolific layers and give us huge brown eggs almost every single day.
NorthFLChick's response shows how much diversity there can be within a given breed or variety of chicken. Some of the noisiest birds I've had have been Red Sex Links and Easter Eggers. Of course, being hybrids, the different breeds used in them can make a difference in their temperament. For example, my Red Sex Links that have been RIR rooster X Light Sussex hen cross have been considerably quieter and more gentle than my RSLs that were RIR rooster X RIW hen cross. My Barred Rocks and RIRs have been pretty noisy, but my Black Australorps have generally been pretty quiet (as chickens go). My Speckled Sussex were noisy, but they were always friendly and gentle birds. Other good laying breeds that I've had that have been good layers and pretty quiet (as chickens go) are Orpingtons and Brahmas. In fact (with the exception of Silkies which are poor layers) Brahmas are probably the quietest breed that I've ever owned over the past 50 years. Of course with any breed, there can always be temperament exceptions. One thing that NorthFLChick said though that I think is a constant is that Red Sex Links are egg laying machines, consistently churning out more than 300 large, brown eggs per hen per year. Black Sex Links lay just as prolifically, and if you are in a cold winter area, seem to be even a little more persistent layers in really cold temperatures. Of course NorthFLChick doesn't have those issues in Florida. :eek:) My Black Sex Links have typically been friendlier than my Red Sex Links as well, but again this can vary quite a bit depending on which silver gene hens are used in the Red Sex Link cross.
 
NorthFLChick's response shows how much diversity there can be within a given breed or variety of chicken. Some of the noisiest birds I've had have been Red Sex Links and Easter Eggers. Of course, being hybrids, the different breeds used in them can make a difference in their temperament. For example, my Red Sex Links that have been RIR rooster X Light Sussex hen cross have been considerably quieter and more gentle than my RSLs that were RIR rooster X RIW hen cross. My Barred Rocks and RIRs have been pretty noisy, but my Black Australorps have generally been pretty quiet (as chickens go). My Speckled Sussex were noisy, but they were always friendly and gentle birds. Other good laying breeds that I've had that have been good layers and pretty quiet (as chickens go) are Orpingtons and Brahmas. In fact (with the exception of Silkies which are poor layers) Brahmas are probably the quietest breed that I've ever owned over the past 50 years. Of course with any breed, there can always be temperament exceptions. One thing that NorthFLChick said though that I think is a constant is that Red Sex Links are egg laying machines, consistently churning out more than 300 large, brown eggs per hen per year. Black Sex Links lay just as prolifically, and if you are in a cold winter area, seem to be even a little more persistent layers in really cold temperatures. Of course NorthFLChick doesn't have those issues in Florida. :eek:) My Black Sex Links have typically been friendlier than my Red Sex Links as well, but again this can vary quite a bit depending on which silver gene hens are used in the Red Sex Link cross.

You're right on target Michael about the diversity within a breed. We currently have 2 SS...one of them just sort of mumbles and chuckles to herself all day long. The other one sounds like a raspy voiced banshee (love her but she is LOUD). We got them from the same place, at the same time but just like parents comparing their kids, you'll find differences.

And hey, we get cold here...just at a higher temperature then you northerners!
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