Welcome to BYC
Glad you could join us.
If your city has rules against chicken keeping -
You can choose to keep stealth chickens - there are coop plans and everything.
I would suggest you only have hens - many chicken vendors will send you sexed chicks.
My pet Chicken
Murry McMurry
to name a couple
You might pick bantams - They lay perfect snack sized eggs I love cochin bantams but they are not the greatest layers. The cochin females are very quiet. Fuzzy little feather balls
Australops are big enormous chickens but I found them to be very quiet and good at not leaving the chicken run - very good layers - very sweet and loving, pretty too (They are black)
I have had good luck with Orpingtons - Buff, I swear are the nicest but they would jump out of the run all the time, I have had black orps and Blue orps - beautiful sweet chickens - great layers
Once chickens start to lay eggs you get 1 egg per chicken per day.
Be careful about chicken math - sometimes we get so excited, we order more chickens than we need and you can only eat so much quiche.
I love New Hamshire Reds - great layers - quiet - My rhode island reds liked to announce they were laying eggs, leg horns too - great Layers but LOUD layers.
So if you have to be stealthy - ask about the different breeds.
I grew up in San Jose California and in my suburban neighborhood, many of the neighbors kept chickens. They hired me as a teen to house sit and feed them. The surrounding neighbors often had no idea. Parrots are so much more obnoxious and louder than any chicken I ever had. They have rooster collars now too that quiet the crowing.
Good Luck to you in your adventures in Chicken Keeping.
Caroline
