About to be a chicken owner. Need help!!

[TedrickRumohr]

Greetings, I'm going to be a first time chicken owner and I was just curious as to what were good first time chickens. Also, if you have any tips or any great products you used, that would be appreciated. I have an aviary from previous zebra finches I used to have that I am going to store my chickens in. There are no local snakes roaming around in the area that I know of, so that shouldn't be a problem. Any type of constructive criticism or tips will be very much appreciated. Thanks for the help!!!

 

[luvchicks8]

I really like buff orps and easter eggers (EE's) for docile easy maintance chickens. Good luck enjoy

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
I'm in agreement with this statement. And welcome to BYC!!

 

[TedrickRumohr]

Thanks for the suggestion! What about fairground chickens? You know if they're okay? Also, do you know any good hatcheries that don't have a minimum order?

 

[bturbo87]

light brahmas are pretty good, our 3 month rooster actually follows me around the yard like a puppy, one hint i have is to start with nipple waterers, we figured the whole upside down 5 gal bucket and galvanized pan would be fine, but after cleaning and refilling it everyday, i would have much rather definatly gone with the niple waterers. also remember that grown birds need 2-3 SQ feet in the coop, and about 10 sq feet each in the run. good luck and try not to get to addicted, we started with 2 two months ago, and now were at 48 with 8 eggs in an incubator.

mypetchicken.com has a minimum order of 3

 

[catterbug]

I like Easter Eggers also known as Ameraucana's. They are very docile and great with kids and dogs. Also my Rhode Island Red Hens are pretty friendly.

 

[noodleroo]

If you want really good all round docile chickens, I'd go with the buff orps. Mine are absolute snuggle bunnys.

 

[akcountrygrrl]

Welcome. You will probably get a whole slew of recommendations for chickens. What you need to do is figure out what you like, what purpose you want the birds to serve, and the weather in your area. There are four basic "types" of chickens - egg layers, meaties, dual purpose (egg and meat), and ornamental. If you want high egg production, you want egg layers - that's what they are bred for and there are a lot of different very nice breeds and commercial cross breeds that would serve this purpose. Meaties are just that - meat birds. They are bred to grow a little faster and reach peak weight in minimal time. Again, there are some purebreds and commercial crosses here. Dual purpose birds are raised for meat and egg production. They don't have quite as good egg production as the layers but are still very respectable in their egg laying abilities, they are also built a little heavier than egg layers so make good meat birds too. Ornamentals will lay eggs and can be used for meat but their main purpose is to be a moving garden. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Many have crests, extra toes, curly feathers, hairy feathers, extremely long tails, extremely long crows, or a combination of these. You will find a wide variety of birds that fall into the ornamental category.

I'm not too sure what you mean by "fairground chickens". If you mean the birds that are shown at a local county or state fair, many of these will be fairly nice purebreds raised and shown by either 4-Hers or people who have a love for poultry. You may be able to buy some of them but not all of them will be for sale as most of the people exhibiting at the fair also breed and raise birds and will be unwilling to sell their best show stock. You may be able to make some good contacts with people at the fair and get stock that they don't have at the fair or chicks or get on a waiting list for some of their birds.

Now, here's some of my favorite chicken breeds.... Dual Purpose - Light Brahma, egg layers - Ameracauna (not easter egger but true Ameracaunas), ornamental - Phoenix and Polish

good luck in your search

 

[TedrickRumohr]

Quote:
Thanks for all this great information. I was looking for meat and egg layers, so I'm guessing I want dual purpose? But I'd also love to have some ornamentals. I'm excited to know I can get quality chickens at a local fair

 

[akcountrygrrl]

Of course, that depends on your fair. I know our local fair brings in an APA (American Poultry Association) judge and our birds are all judged against the APA Standard of Perfection. The fair at the southern part of the state has the owners of a local hatchery come out as judges and I can't begin to say what their criteria is. Last year their Grand Champ was a barred Plymouth Rock who had an extra toe on one foot and feather stubs down the legs. For the most part, you should be able to get some decent birds at the fair.