First time chicken owner... which breed..

[tiffster011]

Hi Everyone

My husband and I are planning to get chickens in the fall, when it starts to be a more tolerable temperature. We live in Arizona, Queen Creek to be exact and It gets crazy hot here in the summer. So I want some friendly pullets that will make good pets when they are hens.

2 questions, which breeds and how many pullets.
(I was hoping for about 4 but need to know how much space) We are designing a chicken tractor to fit an area about 4 feet wide and up to 12 ish feet long. I plan to let the chickens out for a few hours everyday to roam in the yard.

Now for the breeds:
I was deciding between Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks and Buff Orpingtons. I wanted some opinions from personal experience acquired through owning these breeds. Seems like RIR would be the best egg layers for heat and cold. I like the look of the Buff Orpingtons and the Barred Rocks the best, I am just unsure of their heat hardiness. I have read that the Buff Orpingtons are really friendly and docile, but their egg seem like they are a bit smaller.

So if its possible I would like a good egg layer, heat hardy, very friendly bird that also has a full, soft (plump) look to them.

Any thoughts/ feed back as to the breed and the length needed for the chicken tractor would be wonderful!!

 

[truckerswife]

I like Buff Orpingtons and the Laced Wyandottes. Buffs are great on personality and lay beautiful eggs. Not sure on heat hardiness as I live in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[Slywoody]

I personally like the buff orpingtons, but any of the ones you mentioned should be good. I'd stick with 4 or 5 hens to start out with, considering the size of the cage.

 

[JennsPeeps]

We've got 1 of each.

RIR - fantastic egg-layer, minimal personality, skittish

BR - good personality, can be pushy/bossy, friendly, good layer

BO - best personality of them all, friendly, sweet, calm, too young to lay (only 3 months), HUGE bird!

Our australorps have the sweetest temperaments of them all. I love them dearly.

Why not get 1 of each & determine which you like best for yourself? That's what I did. As it comes time to replace birds, get the ones you liked the best.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

We just got 4 hens; also first-time chicken owners.

I have one Buff Orpington who is very calm and sweet. I read somewhere that BO's are the ideal chicken for first-timers.

But I think I might like my Light Brahma even more than the BO - she's got a bit more personality and those to-die-for feathered feet. Also quite calm and somewhat fearless.

I also have a Delaware and an EE - also both quite nice; a little less personable than the others, but, of course, that varies from chick to chick as much as from breed to breed.

Have heard great things about Australorps and Jersey Giants.

And I dream, literally, about Silkies. MUST HAVE A SILKIE!!!

Have an acquaintance whose favorite of her 30 hens is a Barred Rock, so that's another option.

ENJOY!!!

 

[tiffster011]

So it would be okay to mix the Barred Rocks and the Buff Orpingtons. I know the BO can be docile get picked on a bit so I assumed that you would want to get all the same breed. But Heck if I can mix the breeds that would be great. Can you mix the ages of the chickens as well? For instance can we add additional pullets later on if we decide to??

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[moonflowers]

You may have seen this chart, but just in case you haven't have a quick look:
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

I have 9 chickens currently though they are still too young to lay. As far as personality goes the Buff Orpingtons are so sweet, curious, and friendly. I would just die if something happened to one of them. The light brahma roo I got as a bonus is also charismatic. The Barred Rocks are okay but more aggressive (they like to pick on my younger ones) and not as friendly. My Silver Laced Wyandottes is also very sweet but I don't know how characteristic that is. My Easter Eggers are just very unique. They have cute little personalities. My only concern with the Buffs and Wyandottes is that I know they are cold hearty so I wonder how they'll be in such heat. Then again, mine have been panting lately in our 90-100 degree temperatures but are surviving as long as they stay in the shade and have cool water.

Overall, I would suggest getting four different breeds if you are only getting four just because the variety is nice. Then, since it sounds like you might have room to expand, you could get more of your favorites later.

Good luck to you!

 

[moonflowers]

I forgot to say if I had it to do over again I would change 2 things- I would order all of mine at the same time because the integration is difficult and I would probably get a Gold Laced Wyandotte or a Light Brahma hen instead of one of the Barred Rocks just because they haven't impressed me as much and the GLW are pretty and I love my LB roo. I would say I'd get 2 BOs and get both of the above but I love all three of them too much!!

 

[cthrash1]

I love the BRs... They are super smart and sweet as can be. We had a pair for a while and the male was my 18yo DDs bird...He was so spoiled she gave him a back massage every day and he would just hang his head and sleep the whole time. Then the hen LOVED the grapes and would jump up for them or sit in your lap to eat them if you weren't distributing them fast enough. She was very greedy with the grapes too and would steal the roos as we were handing them to him, but in her defence he let her have them most of the time. That pair was a match made in heaven. Gettin ready to acquire another BR hen soon, along with a BA, Cochin and EE.

 

[Kung Foo Chicken]

RIR-My roo is too brutal with the girls, going to cull him, hens are a little skittish and somewhat more stupid than the average chicken. I had two that flipped a very shallow 2" deep plastic bowl over their head and just laid down in the sun and died. The roo got his head stuck in chainlink fence (was ok).


BR- I have two of those. They seem ok. They are very curious about what I'm doing in the garden and follow me around seeing if anything I have done yields a treat. They have flown onto my shoulder when they think I have treats.

BO-Roo is friendly and even feeds chicks, Has sat on the nest here and there while the broody is away. The hens are very friendly and follow me around like puppy dogs. They let me pet them.