A little over excited about chickens next sping.

[Rich Marshall]

My wife and I plus 3 dogs are looking to raise 3 hens as fun features to our lives and egg production.
My wife wants me to slow down and gain as much knowledge and advice as possible before we commit next spring to 3 young hens in the spring.
Our town will only permit 3 on the 1 acre that we live on.
I am thinking of building a chicking tractor with a 10'x 4' run to fertalize my grass and keep the ladies interested.
We live about 1 hour north of NYC to extreme weather is possible both in summer and winter.
The main questions that I have right now are what breed are best for this area as in hardiness, egg worthy and friendly.
My second question is how do I winterize for them? ( do they stay in the chicken house when the weather is bad?) and if I decide to free range them when we are around the yard etc how do they not run off.
Any help or advise to new hen owners will be helpful.
Thanks

 

[CrestedGirl]

&

From North Texas

So glad you joined us

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Quote:
No such thing as being "over excited" about chickens!

You might take a look at the Learning Center. The link is at the very top of the page.

Chickens tend to do surprisingly well in cold temperatures, but some of the heavier breeds suffer in extreme heat. A great thread about winter is titled, "Think it's too cold for your chickens" https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=421122

My best advice? Always build it (coop, run...) bigger than you think you need

Have fun with your research and know that most people on BYC will be enablers of your eggscitement.

 

[willowbranchfarm]

I just got chicks and I have two Silver laced wyandotte, three black australorps, and three buff orpington. I've heard there all really good for winter.

 

[kidcody]

from WA. glad you joined us

 

[dawg53]

Welcome to BYC. Barred Rocks are a great choice. They tolerate the heat and cold very well and are friendly birds. Good luck.

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[Magic Birdie]

You can't be too excited! When I was "supposed" to get my chicks, I annoyed EVERYONE at school by being chicken crazy.

Bad news=I didn't get them

 

[CarolJ]

Welcome to BYC! If I could only have 3 hens, I would an EE, an Ancona and a NHR. That's because I love a variety of egg colors - and that combination would give you white, brown and (hopefully) blue-green layers. I have those three breeds (actually an EE isn't a breed) - and they're wonderful birds. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Welcome!