Hi! I'm Sheila. My husband and I are planning on raising our own chickens for eggs & as pets. I have been perusing the www for some coop plans & can't wait to get started. i couldn't stop thinking about chickens but seem to have more questions the more I read about raising them. We live in the White Mountains of AZ & we sometimes have heavy snowfalls at winter. We would like to get some advise as to what breed to get if we would like a good yield on eggs & still be able to handle them. And if there are any members here from our area, or if you have any information about breeders or hatcheries where we good get our chicks from..?
I live in Spokane, Washington and we have very cold winters with lots of snow. The chickens I have, which are my favorite breed, is Black Sex Links. They are a smart and friendly bird that lays large brown eggs. I had 5 Black Sex Links and I would get about 3 dozen eggs per week. They would lay, at least, one egg per day. I fed them a good layer crumble and they lay eggs like crazy, winter or summer. We have issues with the eggs in the winter because if it gets cold enough, the eggs freeze. The hens are extremely hardy and cold resistant. The rooster in my avatar is a Barred Rock Rooster I rescued, and he is impervious to the cold also. I am trying Red Star (Red Sex Link) hens and Speckled Sussex hens this year as they are also suppose to be resistant to cold weather. M y chickens have survived up to -10 below zero. I had a heat lamp in the chicken coop but the hens did not seem to be affected by the cold. As you see, my choice of chickens are any of the sex links. They come in Red, Black and Gold, Barred Rocks, Wynadotts (very pretty chicken and also good layer. Lays brown eggs), and the Sussex. It you buy any of these chickens, you will not be sorry. 
