Decisions, decisions

[Hen'nbiddies]

Being new to the chick world I have done a lot of reading in preparation for building a coop, ordering chicks etc. This site is so good for information and ideas!
I would like some input on a decision about what chickens to get. Do I get all of one kind to insure consistant brown eggs and pure bred chickens that I can sell or do I get a variety of breeds so that I can enjoy all of their beautiful colors of feathers and eggs and not worry about crosses or egg colors? Hmmmmm.

I will only want to have about 20 chickens and one roo total.

Thanks for your patience with a newby.

 

[Teach97]

if you are only planning one roo...get an assortment of hens...the colors and such will be more enjoyable and if you want pure bredd chicks you can pen those seperate...plus that way you will end up wanting more and the addiction will be fully set

 

[CarlaRiggs]

It's fun to have different breeds of hens because you can recognize them. And different colored eggs are nice, also.... this helps to keep better tabs on whose laying and what and when.

If you'll be selling eggs, no one cares what breeds the eggs are. Blue eggs are always a great selling point, though! Two of my hens lay medium eggs. I would rather they were all 'large' sizes, and these are generally the size in recipes.

Carla

 

[redoak]

If you get all the same breed you'll find yourself wanting different breeeds and colors. If you want to sell eggs a variety of colors sells best. If you want to sell some chicks you could get 6 hens of one breed that lays different colored eggs from the rest of your chickens and get a rooster of that breed. That way you can identify which eggs are pure breed. Good luck

 

[kbarrett]

I have an assorted flock of white layers. The only ones I would trade in are the Barred Hollands, I ordered them because they're supposed to be a calmer more friendly breed but honestly the lehorns are much more friendly than they are and they lay smaller eggs

I guess it's mostly going to depend on your personal preferance and what you intend them for (as far as breeding). Good luck and

 

[scooter147]

It sounds like it is going to be more of a hobby then a real money maker so I would definately go with as many different breeds that suit your fancy. You won't be sorry.

 

[Hen'nbiddies]

Thanks for your input.
I think I will go with an assortment of chickens. I didn't know that the differently colored eggs were in demand. That is great.
It will be fun to see what surprises are in store for me.
Thanks for being such a friendly group.
I started a mypage under my log in name and you can check things there from time to time if you want.

 

[HorseFeathers]

Quote:
Agreed and welcome!

 

[Hen'nbiddies]

Yes it will be a hobby but I hear some people make a little extra money from selling eggs.
Guess I didn't need to tell about MyPage. There the link is on the left! I am just learning how to get around the forum pages and how they work. Having trouble finding an avitar that is small enough to upload.

Thanks again for all of your kind comments.

 

[Chickenfortress]

Howdy!
I'll echo the mix idea. Although they are insane, I'm having great luck with my RIRs. I get eggs from each very nearly every day. Other than that I'd recommend easter eggers. They are a bit slow to lay, but they all look different. And poofy. Why worry about breed purity if you don't plan on selling the birds? The mutts are just as much fun.