Another "NEWBE"!!! :)

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VickieLowry

VickieLowry

In the Brooder
5 Years
Oct 15, 2014
7
2
11
(1) NEW to Chickens, so new I’ve not gotten any yet….. (2) We have a great start on our chicken coop, and I’ve read the county regulations for our region, and coop will be ready for “occupation” in the spring, depending on age of chickens we obtain. If young, I’ll keep them in my spare room to ensure they are healthy and warm….and ok to be outside. (3) Unsure of what breeds to look at. I love the breeds that allow you to handle them, like the Cochin and Java, as I want to “love them” too…. Not just take their eggs….. (4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com? Searching for information regarding chicken raising, and this looked the best! (5) Love to garden, fish and occasionally run the quads around when camping. We’re not away from home very often. (6) My husband is self-employed and I left the Forest Service after 25 years. I need something fun and positive to do when not doing the “regular” household and garden stuff…. We’re grandparents of 4, and my daughter is due with #5 in December. We have two cats, and another cat that apparently has adopted us, (Can’t seem to shoo him away…..) I enjoy the “city wildlife” we have squirrels, sometimes deer come into our yard (and we live just outside town!), turkeys, and other peoples cats…. I feed the squirrels, and have them eating out of my hand. Not to mention I feed the birds, humming birds, and plant things in my yard and garden for them. We have the grandchildren involved in taking care of our “visitors” to the yard as well.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! Be sure to check out the BYC Learning Center, lots of good articles on all aspects of chicken keeping you'll find useful with your new flock!. https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

In the spring, it is usually pretty easy to find chicks, most feed stores and farm stores will have "Chick Days" where they have them available, some will even let you place special orders if you do it ahead of time. If you want really tame chickens, it is usually easier if you start with babies.

Here are a couple of links to some nice chicken breed comparison charts you might like http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html and http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf and http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/breed-list.aspx
when you have narrowed down your choices, don't forget to check the BYC Reviews section for member reviews on the different breeds. https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/chicken-breeds

For pets,especially for children, Silkies and Cochins are probably the two most popular breeds, they are not very good egg layers but are really friendly and very good broodies if you ever want to hatch chicks. So far as more layer breeds go, for egg numbers alone, the Black and Red Sex Links (Golden Comet, Red Stars, ISA Browns etc) for brown eggs are probably the most popular layers around. If you want breeds that don't lay quite as well but will lay for a longer time, Black Australorps and Orpingtons are popular lots of people really like these, they are also great pets though broody, Plymouth Rocks, Sussex, Delaware and Wyandottes are some other popular breeds that are usually pretty easy to get along with, they all lay different shades of brown eggs. The Easter Egger, (often sold as Ameraucana by hatcheries), are a fun breed because they usually lay green/blue eggs, and they tend to be very nice birds also.
You might also like to check out your state/country thread to see what people in your area have. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. You have a very good and thorough introduction. Standard breeds that are good layers that have well deserved reputations for being friendly and gentle include Australorps, Orpingtons, Cochins, Brahmas, and Sussex. My children, and my granddaughter (pictured in my avatar), have made lap pets of all of these breeds. The best layer on this list is the Australorp and the poorest layer is the Cochin (although they are the best brooders and mothers). Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.
 
Welcome to BYC
frow.gif
Glad you joined the flock!
 
Thanks so much.... I'll be reading a lot, raining her in Oregon anyway...what do ya do? Thanks!!! V
 

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