Beginner: What Chickens should I get?

[Robotmomma]

I hope this is the right place for this thread.

We have finished our coop and I need to figure out which hens would work best for us.
We are going to get six to raise for eggs but starting with pullets not, chicks.

My wants are:

nicest, friendliest with kids and each other
quiet, we are in the city
hardiest (we get all seasons)
good foragers and free rangers and hopefully they won't fly over my 4ft fence.

I am getting very confused with all the info out there. I heard you don't want big combs because they can freeze. I heard you don't want feathered feet because they get icy and dirty.

I don't want to pick the wrong breeds and have them hate each other. I had narrowed it down to Buff Orphingtons, Austrolorps and Red Cross. I was thinking of getting 2 of each just so I could experience more breeds but I don't know if I should just go with all one kind or just two kinds... Do they fight more with different breeds than with their own?

Thank for any advice or experience. I am also open to other breeds.

 

[Texas4T]

Sounds like you have really done your homework! I have had lots-and-lots of different breeds...and continue to explore new ones. The Australorps and Orpingtons, in my opinion, are very gentle and nice egg layers (I have both of those right now in my flock!). The Orpingtons are less heat tolerant than the Australorps. Both do well in the cold, free range, and stay in my 4 foot high fenced pasture (Of course, I had to trim flight feathers on one wing when they were young to train them not to fly over!). Both of these breeds have been calm and quiet for me, good with my children, with the Australorps being more dominant in my flock.

In my opinion (worth what you paid for it!) these breeds will mix nicely.

That said, be sure that you get chickens that you will enjoy looking at every day. If you hated barred coloring on chickens, for instance, then it doesn't matter that Barred Rocks are gentle, quiet, versatile egg-layers that forage well and stay in...because you would tire of having to see them every day and wouldn't really enjoy them as much as you could.

I have had breeds I love, breeds I soon found I didn't love, and breeds that were okay while I had them. Find out what works for you.
Hope this helped a little!

 

[Robotmomma]

Thanks for replying, Texas4T.
I think the barred are nice to look at. Are they Bantams? I was thinking my coop might be a bit on the small size for six so maybe choosing a couple of smaller ones in my mix would be a good thing.

Thanks for mentioning the Orphington's are less heat tolerant because we get up in the 90s quite a lot and very humid.

What do you think of the Wyandottes? I thought the silverlaced are quite pretty.

I was thinking of getting six different breeds too just to see what I like best. But didn't know if they like being around their own and might want to be in twos?

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided join our flock. I've raised Australorps and Orpingtons for years, and you can't go wrong with either breed as both of them are hardy, calm and gentle (my children and granddaughter made lap pets of them), and good layers of large, brown eggs. The two breeds will get along fine with each other as well as with other breeds that have a well deserved reputation for being calm and gentle such as Brahmas, Cochins, Sussex, and Faverolles. If I were going to raise only one of the two breeds, I would personally go with the Australorps as they are more heat hardy (both are very cold hardy) and the superior layers of the two breeds. However, you might want to get some Australorps and Orpingtons. Not only would it add constrasting colors to your flock, but it would give you an opportunity to see firsthand which breed you prefer. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Whatever brees you decide to get, good luck with your flock.

 

[dekel18042]

I hope this is the right place for this thread.

We have finished our coop and I need to figure out which hens would work best for us.
We are going to get six to raise for eggs but starting with pullets not, chicks.

My wants are:

nicest, friendliest with kids and each other
quiet, we are in the city
hardiest (we get all seasons)
good foragers and free rangers and hopefully they won't fly over my 4ft fence.

I am getting very confused with all the info out there. I heard you don't want big combs because they can freeze. I heard you don't want feathered feet because they get icy and dirty.

I don't want to pick the wrong breeds and have them hate each other. I had narrowed it down to Buff Orphingtons, Austrolorps and Red Cross. I was thinking of getting 2 of each just so I could experience more breeds but I don't know if I should just go with all one kind or just two kinds... Do they fight more with different breeds than with their own?

Thank for any advice or experience. I am also open to other breeds.

So many different breeds to choose from. Since I couldn't narrow it down, I have pretty many breeds and they all get along, especially if you get them at the same time. Another thought is do you want the same color eggs or a colorful egg basket? Both of the breeds you mentioned are good layers of brown eggs. But I wanted colored eggs so I threw in some Easter eggers which lay an array of colors and are my best layers. Pink is an interesting color and that was provided by some Jersey Giants, some mixes I bred and the buckeyes (also temperature hardy) lay both pinkish and brown eggs. Then there are the terra cotta (welsumer) and dark egg layers. I thought the feathered legs would be a problem, but I wanted some marans eggs and to make olive eggers. I've been pleasantly surprised that the heavy leg and toe feathering has caused no problems to the hens that have them and now the olive eggers I made have the same feathering. I've actually come to like and admire it. The marans are friendly, tolerant of different types of weather. Their only downside is they are my poorest layers so if egg production were a priority I probably wouldn't keep them.
So many choices to have to narrow it down. I probably would get one of each. Plus, especially if you have children, they love collecting eggs and being able to proudly state which hen each egg is from.

 

[ryanhodapp]

Mypetchicken.com has a breed selection tool. It is pretty good.

I like the barred rock, Easter eager (kids love the green eggs). I have a faverelle, but she is not a great layer for some reason. I have a Maran, dark eggs are unique but not my favorite breed.

Rhode Island reds are mean when introducing new chicks and at some point you will.

I loved my Cochin but doesn't lay a lot of eggs. Does not like heat. I still have a bantam Cochin.
Love my silkies too.

So my new strategy this year, I got a red sex link, Orpington, and silver laced Wyandotte for eggs. Then 2 Polish, because I love looking at them. I also got the rare breed brabanter and Hamburg. The local feed store had them.

We don't eat that many eggs so I like the eye candy.

Ps. I have never gotten the Australorpe because they are big. Since I like one of everything, I go for the smaller breeds.

Welcome to chickens. Search on here, "chicken math".

 

[Robotmomma]

Oh dekel18042, that's an interesting point about the egg colors. That would really give my kids a thrill to see many different colored eggs. I haven't even considered that yet because I was more focused on temperament, they really want to be able to hold them and pet them.

Thank you for the nice welcome Michael. I am going to have a closer look at the other breeds you mentioned, too. It is intimidating making this choice! I have been enjoying the building and planning even though it has taken me a couple of months to get it all done. But I can't believe the time has come!

 

[Robotmomma]

Ryanhodapp, I wish my feed store had some so I could just get four to start with. I am going to a hatchery and they make you take a min. Of six. I like all the eye candy ones I have seen especially with those big feather heads. But I really want the eggs most of all. I have a couple of autoimmune conditions and we spend a lot of money on pasture raised eggs. Hopefully this investment works out for us in the end. We eat a lot of eggs!

Gonna go see what chicken math is. Maybe exponents?

 

[Michael OShay]

Thank you for the nice welcome Michael. I am going to have a closer look at the other breeds you mentioned, too. It is intimidating making this choice! I have been enjoying the building and planning even though it has taken me a couple of months to get it all done. But I can't believe the time has come!

You're welcome.

 

[Robotmomma]

I mistakingly thought when the hatchery said pullets, they meant they weren't day old chicks but they are day old chicks!

I found someone who has ten weekers for $15. He has Austrolorps, Barred Rocks and "Americaunas" and someone else that has 12 week Buff Orphingtons for $15. This seems better to me than starting with chicks right now because I can just get a smaller amount instead of six and stagger my flock a little bit. Is this unwise? I was thinking of starting with three or four.

I was interested in the Barred Rocks but I keep reading they can be aggressive to the other birds.

Would anyone be willing to tell me which selection would be easiest of these choices?