Breed Suggestions for Southern New England

[Oktober]

Hello,

My wife and I are in the discussing/planning phases of putting chickens on our 2 acre property. BYC has been a great resource, but there has certainly been a lot of information to digest.

One of the questions I wanted to ask other (hopefully local) forum users is what breeds should we focus our attention on? We are looking for dual use birds (4-6) that have good egg production (white eggs or light brown) that can handle the rough winters we sometimes get here in Southern New England. We'd like the birds to be easy to handle and friendly (we have small kids), while still being interesting to watch and enjoy. Additionally, we want to only keep hens to keep the noise down and not have early morning crowing.

Secondly, I have read in some places that you can keep one or two ornamental birds in the coop/run with the layers - is this true? If so, we were looking to get one or two ornamental hens for the yard to add a little variety to the mix. I know my kids really like the little bantams, but I'm just not sure if they mix with a group of layers.

Any and all advice is well. Thanks!

-Okt

 

[Cats Critters]

First you might try these to get an idea on breeds:
http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/which-breed-is-right-for-me.aspx
https://www.backyardchickens.com/breeds/breed-search.php

and I've never had bantams so I can't help you there.

 

[punky rooster]

Hey, we are in southern NE too!

Now, I have decided to breed Buckeyes. Good layers, meat, hardy birds & have a great temperament.

You can add an ornamental bird if you like (its your flock) especially if you raise the Bantam with the big girls it should be fine.

 

[Oktober]

Quote:
Thanks Cats - I've been through the BYC breed database, but this I have never been on MyPetChicken.com. I'll check it out.

-Okt

 

[vnsseed]

I am extremely partial to Dominiques.... they are a great dual purpose bird, friendly with kids, and weather hardy. I will be setup with a historical poultry display at the Freetown Historical Society in Freetown, MA this weekend if you want to come by and chat about chickens, I would be happy to talk with you.

 

[rhs7111]

I'm also in New England. Some great friendly breed choices include Buff Orpington, Speckled Sussex, RIRs, EEs (they are great layers and kids love the blue and blue/green colored eggs), Golden Comets, and Plymouth Barred Rocks. They are all cold-hardy breeds as well.

 

[Oktober]

Thank you to all the New Englanders - this has been great advice. It sounds like all of you are to our north (we're in RI), but its nice to hear your (digital) voices.

Does anyone know what ornamentals do well in New England?

-Okt