new to chickens

[hannahenriquez]

we have decided to add some chickens to the family. That being said, we have no idea what breeds to add. our friends have Buff Orpingtons and we love them (and their laying frequency) however each of my kids want their own distinct breed that can be "their" chicken. Now, I am ok with saying no if that is a bad idea, but I was wondering what breeds you think would go good together (4 total) and we share a back fence with a neighbor so nothing too noisy and breeds that would go well with children who may want to hold them. thanks

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Rhode Island Red,buff Orpington,black Australorp,barnevelder, but I would recommend the buff Orpington as there temperament they are more calm and laid back and as I have a Rhode Island Red hen who is the sweetest little thing and jumps up on my sholder and loves to be held and petted hope this helps

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi, you have some good advice already, so i will just check in and welcome you to BYC. I hope the whole family enjoys keeping chickens and being members of this community.

The learning centre is a great place to research for ideas etc that may suit you, as are threads, your state thread and of course, all the very helpful members we have here.

All the best
CT

 

[Paganrose]

Some other breeds that are calm and good layers are Wyandotte, and Australorps would be excellent.
I also liked the temperament of Jersey giants, Brahmas, and Cochins- but they are bigger, cold hardy, slower maturing birds.

Henderson's breed chart is excellent reference for chicken breeds, temperaments, productivity, broodiness, and hardiness. http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

That's actually why I didn't mention the jersey Giants and brahmas because of them being a larger breed with the kids wanting to hold them

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Silkies and Cochins (Cochins come in standard and bantam sizes, if size is a concern) are very docile, friendly breeds. But, they aren't known for being stellar layers (because both breeds are known for going broody). I've had barred Rocks, white Leghorns and Speckled Sussex hens that were so, so sweet. Our Speckled Sussex, Rosie, would come when we called her name. She especially loved my daughter. Old English games are another favorite of mine, I really like the bantams, so cute and tiny. They go broody a lot too though.

 

[hannahenriquez]

glad to see the black australorp mentioned, my daughter really liked the one we saw, she was hoping they would be good. Barred Rocks were another that were on my radar as a friend had a few of them and they allowed us to pet them. Any opinions on a Delaware? my son really liked how they looked....

 

[CoopDeDoo]

Are you going with hatchery or feed store chicks? If so, I would recommend staying away from any of the "over-produced" breeds such as hatchery BR, RIR or Orps. The reason being that they have been bred without regard to reproductive health concerns - ie they tend to start having internal laying and other issues after a year or two which leads to difficult decisions and very unhappy owners. (speaking from experience). If you are using a local breeder you should be fine.

My hatchery/feed store (since they just get them from hatcheries also) recommendations for docile and quiet would be:

Salmon Faverolles
Speckled Sussex
Silkies
Cochins
Austrolops
Non-buff Orps (blue, black other colors)
Wyandottes or EE (mine were all really loud though)

Best of luck to you whatever you decide

 

[Paganrose]

Coop brings up a great point about the popular hatchery breeds. I know my friend has had the same issues with her feed store barred rocks and RIR/production reds. I had that issue with a couple of ex battery hens (red sex links).

I have actually had goof luck with my hatchery Buff Orpintons in the past- at 4 years they were still laying 3 eggs a week and no health issues. I guess it depends on the hatchery.

On that note though if you have the option of getting day old chicks I highly recommend getting them vaccinated against Mareks.

 

[hannahenriquez]

Are you going with hatchery or feed store chicks? If so, I would recommend staying away from any of the "over-produced" breeds such as hatchery BR, RIR or Orps. The reason being that they have been bred without regard to reproductive health concerns - ie they tend to start having internal laying and other issues after a year or two which leads to difficult decisions and very unhappy owners. (speaking from experience). If you are using a local breeder you should be fine.

My hatchery/feed store (since they just get them from hatcheries also) recommendations for docile and quiet would be:

Salmon Faverolles
Speckled Sussex
Silkies
Cochins
Austrolops
Non-buff Orps (blue, black other colors)
Wyandottes or EE (mine were all really loud though)

Best of luck to you whatever you decide

my local feed store has a pretty good reputation and every year they have a "peep show" with over 70 breeds of chicks but I honestly never even thought about over-produced breeds- eeek, should I be scared? how would I know if they are good? ....I know they vaccinate them all against Mareks tho