Beginner's Chicken Question

[Hillary and friend's eggs]

Hello everyone!

I have 3 pullets (Black Austrolorp, White Leghorn, and Americauna) and am thinking of getting more. I mainly want egg layers so what would be the best (or nearly best) chickens for the job?

Also, these chickens are pets so if I get lets say, 2 Rhode Island Reds will I be able to tell the 2 apart so I can name them and know who's who?

Thanks!

 

[Imp]

Hillary and friend's eggs :

Hello everyone!

I have 3 pullets (Black Austrolorp, White Leghorn, and Americauna) and am thinking of getting more. I mainly want egg layers so what would be the best (or nearly best) chickens for the job?

Also, these chickens are pets so if I get lets say, 2 Rhode Island Reds will I be able to tell the 2 apart so I can name them and know who's who?

Thanks!

Most of my chickens have been good layers. Barred Rock, White Rock, Gold Laced Wyandotte, Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Speckled Sussex.

Telling 2 RIR apart might be tough unless you get a roo and hen. Course that cuts down on eggs.

You could try to get them from different sources, but brings it own set of problems, or you could mark them.

Imp​

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

We have a couple buff orpingtons, and I can tell them apart by their comb. IMO, it's just how much time you spend with them!

They lay eggs pretty well, but I'm gonna change it up this spring, so I don't know!

Unless, of course, you wanted some white production leghorns; they are pretty funny and pretty birds! I was shocked that they were leghorns when I saw them! The rooster had a four to five inch comb on him; WOW.

 

[chickenmamalp]

I like barred rocks and sex links

 

[Ridgerunner]

It is often hard to tell some apart if they are the same breed and from good breeders. Sometimes hatchery chicks are a little easier to tell apart since they do not conform to the standards as well as most breeder's stock. Not that there is anything wrong with hatchery chicks. Actually, since you are after eggs, the hatchery chicks could be your best choice. Hatcheries select for egg laying. Most breeders select for conforming to standards.

As far as breeds, I'd suggest the sex links, maybe one black sex link and one red sex link. These are crosses of two breeds that produce chicks that can be separated by sex at hatch due to specific coloring or markings. They are usually great egg layers, very friendly, and your odds of not getting a rooster are real good. They also seldom go broody. Other than the sex links, I suggest you go through the Henderson Breed Chart and select from the good egg layers. Here's a link.

The Henderson chart
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

If you do want the same breed, you can always mark them. There are several different ways, but I'd suggest you consider leg bands. If you put different colored leg bands on them, or different combinations of colors, you can identify a whole lot of chickens, even if they look identical.

 

[Dixiedoodle]

My nephew has red sex-links and he loves them.. He has ten hens and gets 9-10 every day--even thru the winter. I love my Barred Rocks, they lay almost every day.. plus they are pretty..LOL

 

[Hillary and friend's eggs]

Marking them seems like a good idea. How old should a chicken be when I use a leg band? I don't want to put the band on when the chicken is little and have the chicken grow so much that the band is tight around it's leg.






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1WL,1EE,1BA

Hillary and friend's eggs is my egg "company", Hillary being the name of my first chicken.

 

[patandchickens]

A tip about telling chickens apart -- look at their combs. Nice show-bred stock will all have more or less identical combs (but even there, often *some* individual differences if you look closely), but hatchery stock typically have very ah individualistic combs

And unlike feathers, the comb is always there and always the same, barring injury.

Pat

 

[adkchickmama]

to BYC. I have had good luck with Barred Rocks and Red sex link for reliable laying , even through our cold winters. Can't say for sure which are the most friendly. IMHO it depends on the personality of the hen as I have SLW, BO, BA, RSL, and EE's in each group there are lovable friendly ones and very standoffish ones. And we held and cuddled all our chicks from babyhood.

When mine were small just from the hatchery I wanted to band them for the reason you are stating. Especially the 8 Black Autralorps that we could not tell apart at all. Could not find a place to buy a small amount of mixed color bands cheaply. Finally came upon the idea to use the round plastic colored hairbands for little girls that I found at the dollar store. They come in a package of 3 sizes, the largest being perfect for grown hens. I stretched them around 3 of my fingers and slid on to their leg. Worked like a charm, now they all have names and I keep track of their progress better. I'm sure the smaller band would work on chicks. Just remember to keep checking as they grow and cut them off when they get too tight. We ended up using colored magic markers when they were small so we could tell the EE's and RSL apart. THe BA got colored toenails!! Good luck with your chicks.

adkchickmama