Chicken check! are these the right chickens for me?

[Goneloopychooks]

Hi guys I'm in need of advice(from the best)

I am starting up a flock of 4
I need some idea's of what chickens would be suitable .
I have in mind:
2 Hy-line browns
1 ISA brown
1 Welsummer
But I need a character check of the chickens. Here are some questions I need answers to:

Can any of them fly high, or fly at all?
Will they have a long life span?
Are they generally friendly?
Do they pick on other hens(I'm not having any roosters)?
Do I need two of each breed?
My list could go on and on but I'm going to stop here

Cheers
Brittany

 

[BantamLover21]

Hi guys I'm in need of advice(from the best)

I am starting up a flock of 4
I need some idea's of what chickens would be suitable .
I have in mind:
2 Hy-line browns
1 ISA brown
1 Welsummer
But I need a character check of the chickens. Here are some questions I need answers to:

Can any of them fly high, or fly at all?: The breeds you mentioned are too heavy to fly high, but they can hop/fly a little bit. I would say that 5 ft. is about the maximum they could fly upward, and maybe 10 feet horizontally. If you're worried about them escaping through flight, you can use a scissors to cut their primary feathers on 1-2 wings.
Will they have a long life span?: It is hard to tell for sure. Except for your Welsummer, your breeds are considered "high production." High production breeds tend to succumb to egg laying problems (internal laying, etc.) earlier than others. The average life span for most chickens is 2-5 years. However, if given good care, they may certainly live longer.
Are they generally friendly?: I can't say for sure, since I've never raised the breeds that you mentioned.
Do they pick on other hens(I'm not having any roosters)?: Any chicken can pick on another bird; it is not breed specific. Some hens are natural bullies, and others seem destined to be innocently picked on. However, if you make sure your coop has plenty of floor, roost, feeding, and watering space, any pecking order problems should be minimized.
Do I need two of each breed?: No. When you have more than one of each breed, members of each breed tend to form their own group and segregate themselves from the others. If there is only one of each breed, though, the "odd ones" form their own mixed-breed group. Either way, everyone gets along fine.
My list could go on and on but I'm going to stop here

Cheers
Brittany

 

[Michael OShay]

2 Hy-line browns
1 ISA brown
1 Welsummer

Can any of them fly high, or fly at all?
Will they have a long life span?
Are they generally friendly?
Do they pick on other hens(I'm not having any roosters)?
Do I need two of each breed?

Hy-line Browns and Isa Browns are essentially the same chicken. These are two of many labels used by some hatcheries to market their Red Sex Links which are produced by crossing a red gene rooster (RIR, NHR, or Production Red) with a silver gene hen (WR, RIW, SLW, Delaware, or Light Sussex) to produce offspring that are not only better layers than either parent breed, but can be sexed by color from hatching (male chicks are whitish, females are reddish). Red Sex Links are also marketed under a number of other labels including Bovans Brown, Babcock Brown, Shaver Brown, Warrens, Red Star, Gold Star, Brown Star, Golden Comet, Hubbard's Golden Comet, Golden Buff, Cinnamon Queen, Gold Lines, etc., but no matter what label they are marketed under, they are all egg laying machines.

None of these on your list are good fliers, but without clipping one wing, they can probably get over a six foot fence.

The Red Sex Links (Hy-line and Isa Browns) do not have long life spans as chickens go as they burn out quickly from their high laying rates. The Welsummer will likely outlive them, but if you want breeds that have a reputation for long life spans you would do better to go with Black Australorps or Buff Orpingtons. Also, BAs and BOs are even poorer flyers than RSLs and Welsummers.

Red Sex Links and Welsummers are generally friendly, but I have had a few aggressive individuals over the years. Among the sex link chickens, I have found Black Sex Links, which are RIR rooster x BR hen crosses to be friendlier than Red Sex Links. If you are really looking for friendly, gentle breeds, again Australorps and Orpingtons would be your best bet. My children, and now my granddaughter, have made lap pets of them.

As far as picking on other hens, my previous comments on aggressiveness apply here as well.

No, you go not need two of each breed. Chickens of all different breeds (especially docile breeds) mix well together.

I hope this helps, Brittany. Good luck with whatever breeds you get. Cheers.

 

[Goneloopychooks]

Thanks that has helped me out a lot!

there was two more questions that has occurred to me.
Will the Hy-line browns form their own group away from the ISA brown and the Welsummer?
Or will the Welsummer be the odd one out?

cheers
Brittany

 

[Goneloopychooks]

Hy-line Browns and Isa Browns are essentially the same chicken. These are two of many labels used by some hatcheries to market their Red Sex Links which are produced by crossing a red gene rooster (RIR, NHR, or Production Red) with a silver gene hen (WR, RIW, SLW, Delaware, or Light Sussex) to produce offspring that are not only better layers than either parent breed, but can be sexed by color from hatching (male chicks are whitish, females are reddish). Red Sex Links are also marketed under a number of other labels including Bovans Brown, Babcock Brown, Shaver Brown, Warrens, Red Star, Gold Star, Brown Star, Golden Comet, Hubbard's Golden Comet, Golden Buff, Cinnamon Queen, Gold Lines, etc., but no matter what label they are marketed under, they are all egg laying machines.

None of these on your list are good fliers, but without clipping one wing, they can probably get over a six foot fence.

The Red Sex Links (Hy-line and Isa Browns) do not have long life spans as chickens go as they burn out quickly from their high laying rates. The Welsummer will likely outlive them, but if you want breeds that have a reputation for long life spans you would do better to go with Black Australorps or Buff Orpingtons. Also, BAs and BOs are even poorer flyers than RSLs and Welsummers.

Red Sex Links and Welsummers are generally friendly, but I have had a few aggressive individuals over the years. Among the sex link chickens, I have found Black Sex Links, which are RIR rooster x BR hen crosses to be friendlier than Red Sex Links. If you are really looking for friendly, gentle breeds, again Australorps and Orpingtons would be your best bet. My children, and now my granddaughter, have made lap pets of them.

As far as picking on other hens, my previous comments on aggressiveness apply here as well.

No, you go not need two of each breed. Chickens of all different breeds (especially docile breeds) mix well together.

I hope this helps, Brittany. Good luck with whatever breeds you get. Cheers.

Thanks for the info

I will definitely be changing one of the Hy- line brown to another Welsummer,as an early death would be unbearable(for me and the kids).

Thanks tonnes
Brittany