Chicken compatibility

[AmericanKraut]

Cluckies, I am went to My Pet Chicken because they have the lowest minimum orders I found. I could have purchased some chickens locally but they are from very large farms and I was a little wary of what type of tiny unseen traveling foes coming along with them for my new, and first time, flock. I also wanted to have some more choices of types of hens than what's in the poultry farms near me. It sounds like you have your chickens and beyond me (I'm really new!), but for anyone that might come upon this thread in the future that is going to order chickens for the first time, I poured and delighted over My Pet Chicken's Breed List first and dreamed about the beautiful variety of these hens all over my yard. Then I got my practical brain on and went to the Cold-Hardy Chickens page because I live in a state that is really cold in the winter. I used those two pages to find cold-hardy chickens that well tolerate confinement in a coop (just for the long-winter months, I'll have them out in the warm months), and because I'm new, additionally for chickens that are docile and friendly. You can also search by "Heat-Hardy", and color of eggs laid, and use the breed list to find which breeds are the most robust layers. But for now I'm just looking for really friendly chickens that get along with each other and gentle people well and will not hate me for having them shipped to chilly Minnesota in the winters

. Who's in your flock? I love to learn, too!

I used the friendly advice here in the forums to get at least two of each variety, and a few different varieties for my first flock. I ordered a Buff and Blue Orpington, a Silver-Laced and Partridge Cochin, and two Buff Brahmas and one Australorp. None are bantams. I originally wanted just bantams so I could get away with a smaller coop, but now I'm just going to go with a big coop with lots of room to grow and big birds because I fell in love with one or two of them and another BYC member said then I have to match the size of the other birds. I do have the Australorp as a loner, so maybe I need to add a second one to the order? My town allows up to 10 but I really don't want too many for my first time! I already ordered more than I wanted to try but I have to do 7 to meet the minimum order.

Another very helpful BYC member said I should avoid chickens with feathered feet because of mud in the spring. We have a lot of snow melt here. But I just love those chickens! How did they jump in my online shopping cart? I don't know!

I probably should have heeded her advice because I'm so new at this, but I think if it's a bad problem there are so many chicken lovers in Minnesota, both urban, and rural, I'll find a homes easily. We also have a lot of dry yard area that doesn't get the mud zones.

I hope there aren't any other blaring disasters with my chicken order? I have time to fix the order, but they'll charge me a fee. I can easily add to it, though, as long as I find hens with the same ship date available, and I can just re-home the ones that you experienced chicken wranglers know won't be a good fit.

Can I add that I really would like a Cream Legbar? They're said to be cold-hardy, friendly, docile, and with lovely blue eggs? But at the price I think that's something for me as a new girl to the chicken scene to wait on. I got to earn my keep! Or is that coop?

 

[Cluckies]

Sounds like a beautiful assortment. That being said, I've decided for my next chickens (I'm in MN too) I'm not getting any with a single comb.
My Buff Orpington is battling frostbite this whole year. They say keep the humidity down in the coop, but when the humidity is 70-90 outside, it is hard to get the coop below that. Then the temperature swings from 35 degrees and wet to -25 is terrible. I have 6 chickens, 2 Silver laced Wyandottes, 2 Easter Eggers, 1 Buff orpington, and 1 Gold Commet. the SLW's and EE's are fairing the best as far as no frostbite as they have very little combs. The Buff Orpingson and Gold Commet have more of an issue. I put bag balm on them daily. Just my thoughts on this. I wish when they say "cold hardy" they don't include single comb varieties. Don't get me wrong, the chickens (outside of the frostbite) do really well in the winter, it doesn't seem to bother them at all, but for me it is a constant worry and applying bag balm.

Here is a Minnesota thread that has been very helpful to me. Many of the people breed and sell chickens and are very helpful. and also helpful in dealing with MN weather which, unless you are here, you just can't imagine. I just shake my head when I see threads where it is going to get below "freezing" 32 degrees and they put heat in their coops. I do not consider 32 degrees cold...

 

[AmericanKraut]

That's really good to know about now. I appreciate it. I wonder if I shouldn't get Orpingtons. I've been hearing on the forum that I don't need to do a heater in the winter but like you said, to us really "below freezing" doesn't really mean below 32* it means more below 0*. With the last weeks that hit -20* with windchill pushing -40*, that's 50* below freezing! We really do enjoy the days in the 30s during the winter. I can see how frostbite could be an issue with the below zero temps. Even all the public schools have outdoor recess unless it gets below 0*, but that's a half hour and running kids lol. I could see from what you're saying that little combs could be an issue.

Maybe I should call the hatchery and switch the orpingtons for easter eggers? Anyone have thoughts on it? Otherwise I could insulate the coop and add an outdoor heat pad? I value your frostbite experience.

 

[Cluckies]

I just added heat to my coop last week, on the -24 degree day it was a balmy 7 degrees in there. It is a flat panel wall heater, radiant heater that I got from target online. But mine spend all day out in the run. They only sleep and lay eggs in the coop. it was -20 at 8 in the morning and when my husband opened the door they all came running out and stayed out. So no matter if you heat the coop or not, there is no telling if they will stay in there, mine won't stay in given the choice, even with frost bite. Like I said, people are saying great things about the buckeyes and how cold tolerant they are, no combs to speak of either. I do love me EE's, one of mine lays blue green eggs, the other one green, it is fun. I love my orpington too, just she has me worried alot about the frostbite. if you are not a worrier, then I would go ahead and get them. maybe someone else will weigh in, or try the Minnesota thread. I think they had this discussion within the last two weeks.

 

[AmericanKraut]

Thank you! I was wondering if they'll use the run or not in the winter. That's good. I imagine being stuck in a coop for months and months isn't comfortable. I think I'd like to try an EE. Getting blue or green eggs would be fun. I heard they can give brown or white, too? But if I happened to get one that gave another color it'd be neat to see in the egg carton and to send home with friends.

Do you know anyone with Legbars and the cold?

 

[dekel18042]

Buckeyes are also chickens that do well in extremely cold weather. I have just a few welsumers (love their egg color) and they fit well into my flock with no problems.

 

[AmericanKraut]

I was considering Welsummers and hadn't looked at Buckeyes yet at all. Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[dekel18042]

I was considering Welsummers and hadn't looked at Buckeyes yet at all. Thank you for the suggestion!

Buckeyes are terrific and cold hardy. They have small combs and are layers of very large brown eggs. Some lay a darker shade of brown but mine all have a rosy tint I like.
I had gotten my welsumers to make olive eggers. They waited to 8 months to start laying but seem to have missed the pullet sized eggs. Of all my hens they have the largest combs, but even that isn't large. That's a welsumer in my avator.
I also tried hatching chanteclers which are supposed to be extremely cold hardy, and they have cushion combs which is the smallest comb of any chickens I have. The only problem is I lost some in the hot humid days of summer and at the age of seven and a half months, none seem ready to lay yet.
The buckeyes were laying by 6 months and they seem able to handle both extremes of temperature.

 

[AmericanKraut]

The Chanteclers look like nice hens, too. Did you get your olive eggers with the Welsummers? The idea of inter-mixing breeds is intriguing.

 

[dekel18042]

The Chanteclers look like nice hens, too. Did you get your olive eggers with the Welsummers? The idea of inter-mixing breeds is intriguing.

I couldn't decide which breed I liked. Had one breed and then got some Easter Eggers for the colored eggs and fell in love with them. Then my husband wanted a heritage breed which is how we got chanteclers, but the buckeyes are much more heat resistant in addition to being cold hardy.
Meanwhile I decided I wanted a colored egg basket so I got some black copper marans, blue splash marans and the welsumers last spring and I have a cream legbar rooster so I can make my own olive eggers. At the end of each day I look at my eggs and decide whether to put them in the refrigerator or incubator. So far the refrigerator has won. I don't want to brood chicks in the house this winter so won't fill up the incubator until Mid February (If I can hold out that long.)
The black copper marans lay the darkest eggs and they are beautiful and shiny but they aren't very good layers. I'm lucky if I get three eggs per week per hen. They take lots of egg laying vacations. Among the dark egg layers, my welsumers have been the most consistent so I have a feeling I'll get the best and most OE from them. They lay pretty terra cotta eggs.
The blue splash marans lay much lighter eggs then I would have thought and several people have told me their cuckoo marans lay light eggs too.