New girl

[naturegrrl]

Hiya!

I am just beginning my foray into the joys of chickens, and am looking forward to reading all of the wonderful advice, stories, etc. by the folks on this forum.

My sweetie and I are the proud tenants of a sizable yard in Santa Cruz, CA, and are hoping for the company of a Buff Brahma and a Blue Orpington (I'm ridiculously picky, and have my heart completely set on these two *exact* breeds and varieties, but we'll see how it actually pans out

) in our garden.

We're looking for sexed hatchlings or slightly older pullets, so if anyone knows where we can find the chickens of our hearts' desires...

Cheers,

Nellie

 

[moms_pantry]

Welcome! We're glad you're here.

 

[speckledhen]

Welcome! You wont find any sexed Blue Orpingtons unless they are older. No one sexes day old Blue Orps and those of us who have them pretty much hang onto the girls for dear life. You can find Buff Brahmas sexed from most hatcheries.

 

[hoosier]

Welcome and good luck on getting exactly what you want!

 

[sara]

 

[Jena]

Welcome.

This is the place to find out all you need to know.

Jena.

 

[spook]

 

[The Chicken Lady]

The blue Orpingtons are tantalizing. It might be easier for you to hatch your own. Look around here for some information on hatching eggs. A lot of people here sell the hatching eggs, too.

Brahmas are really nice birds, too. Great choices!

Have you built a coop yet?

 

[naturegrrl]

Thanks for all the welcomes!

Thanks, too, for the advice on the blue orps

- I had no idea that sexing would be an issue, though I did begin to notice their rarity after visiting several hatchery websites. As lovely and sweet as they are, I may have to go for a more common/easily sexed breed. Because I'm in the city proper, I absolutely can't end up with a rooster (though I understand that is still a slight possibility even with "sexed" pullets of any breed). So I've ruled out ordering hatching eggs, on the grounds that trying to get rid of a roo or two before they get their crows would be more stress than I want to take on. Sigh.

I was also eying the Wyandottes (such beauties!!), but I was worried about the description of their personality as "tending toward dominance". Does anyone have any experience/advice to offer on that bit of conventional wisdom? I'm also considering Australorp (I'd say blue australorp, but I'm guessing the same sexing problems apply to them as to the blue orps, and they seem even rarer), and speckled sussex.

We are really looking for sweet, huggable, gentle birds who will provide a few eggs a week in exchange for a steady supply of scratch, slugs, and love. So if anyone wants to share their own personal faves, I'm definitely all ears!

 

[naturegrrl]

Quote:
No coop yet - we have some interesting little nooks around our house that we're looking into converting, which provide good shelter from any possible yard intruders, and should be easy enough to equip with nest boxes, food, water, and indoor play space for rainy days.