Few Questions on which breed would be the best>????

[happyhens44]

My mom said when I get my incubator payed off I can buy eggs to hatch online. Well within the next week Ill have 55 dollers to give her, And I owe her 88 out of $138 I started with , So that means,By the time im done paying her ill owe her $33.00 which I would pay her that within 2 weeks, Between Babysitting allowence and doing wood. So spring I can buy eggs..

I have some ideas but first I have questions.

1.) Silkies.

- are they hardy for winter ranges in -30 below to 30 above

- are they a usually healther breed not pronded to sicknesses??


2.) Buff Orpingtons *pretty sure im definatly going to get some of these



3.) polish

Anything I should know, Can the handle cold weather in winter



4.) games ???

any info suggested?


5.) bantams?

I have one...

Any other suggested info

_____________________________________________

Thanks any help, would help

 

[jm93030]

first of all


what do you like your chickens for?

Eggs
Meat
Decoration (ornamental )

there are many breeds that are cold hardy but may not be what you want

for example Turkens or naked necks very cold hardy , illness resistant , good egg layers

silkies are the best for pets their feathers look more like fur and get dirty and wet very fast I don't think they are any cold hardy

 

[tnfarmeggs]

I have a mix of all those or have had them. We live in Tennessee, it gets down to single digits here and they all do fine with the snow and cold.

 

[magicpigeon]

Quote:
Sorry, but I would not recommend silkies for such cold weather unless you let them inside somewhere warmer or put in a heating device. That said, it never snows where I live and temperatures regularly get to 40 degrees (CELSIUS lol) in summer

They aren't very hardy and are quite a lot harder to hatch than "normal" eggs. I breed them but have broody hens for most of the incubation. I tried once with an incubator and got a much lower hatch rate. Games will need to be free-ranged, as they are mostly intolerant of confinement. Just my 0.02

Good luck

 

[tnfarmeggs]

Quote:
We do have a heat lamp in coop when it gets under freezing temp.

And will agree that game birds (we have OE) need to be free range birds

 

[happyhens44]

Ok, Im taking silkies out

Game hens will go, Because I cant free range tell spring

So BO an bantam im going with??? sound good.


I like design and eggs

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
Henderson's chart might help you.

 

[gumbii]

i recommend giant cochins... although, i don't have much time with them, and don't live in freezing climates, i think they will be an all around good choice for you...

 

[rebel yell]

We have Orpingtons & love them, great big birds.

 

[DTchickens]

Quote:
Don't single out games, they do not HAVE to be free ranged. This is coming from a 4 generation breeder of American gamefowl, and I also raise Shamo's which I just got into recently. I breed my birds in 4X5 pens which they stay in basically 24/7 because you can't allow cocks to get around each other and I don't want anything happening to my brood hens.

Which gamefowl are you considering? They are different in some ways. American game hens are decent layers, great broodies, and usually good mothers. They can sometimes be aggressive towards other hens, but this usually is not a big deal and will coexist peacefully with your layers if the layers stay out of their way. They can be flighty if not handled often, but if handled tend to be OK.

OEG large fowl, generally same thing except they aren't game like the Americans much anymore. The bantams will lay smaller eggs, some are poor broodies, but for the most part are in line with American's and large fowl OEG. All of these will bear cold and heat well, and do not require a whole lot of upkeep, they're fairly cheap on feed- one hen gets 1/2 a Vienna can of feed per day, a cock gets a whole can and they are in great shape. Bantams of course, eat less.

Oriental fowl can be poor layers, more aggressive than the Americans meaning I can't allow my Shamo hens to be near each other or they will fight. They also are not real cold hardy, truthfully for your situation I don't suggest getting any Orientals (Asil, Malay, Thai, etc.) So I won't go into more detail

. The Shamo however I do allow out quite often, under my supervision.

And before people think it, the birds may at times be aggressive towards others (cocks always are).. But they should be gentle as a puppy towards people. My Shamo's especially are.

-Daniel