Flock choice? Advice for a newbie....

[wjallen05]

Okay let's just cut to the chase. Here is what will happen. You will fall in love with your chicks- all of them. So much in fact, that you will decide that you want to try out another breed or two. And then a couple more. And you'll love them all so much that you won't be able to decide which breed you like the best, and you'll wonder how you ended up with so many chickens.

I got sucked right in and never had a chance. My husband had to talk me into getting a few hens for eggs. I am not sure what happened but now I have 55 chickens, 2 incubators, and no intentions of slowing down any time soon.

Good luck with your chicks... you will be very happy with them. They sound like good choices.

 

[Kieyamama]

haha-i'm sooo loving everyone's responses. That includes yours, Davaroo!

You guys are just as much a hinderance as a help. Now I want them all!!

My husband was leaning toward a single breed flock. But how do you choose when there are so many exciting options?! My husband is thinking eggs are eggs...and i'm thinking...but this one is so cute! LOL

wjallen05 - i'm pretty sure you nailed it! I am already falling in love with chickens and I don't even have any yet!!

*sigh*-maybe it's because I grew up on a farm.

 

[fordmommy]

I have a BA and she' just awsome. I love her and actually plan on getting a few more in spring. She just started to lay Thursday. I've gotten 3 eggs from her.

I also have a EE and she's the softest chicken I've ever felt. We call her the chinchilla!

She's very quite too. I have a buttercup/game hen mix. She's my favorite. She's the sweetest little girl in the world, hands down. We named her "Honey" because she's so sweet and from her head to her shoulders is the color of honey.

I have a few other breeds too. They are Okay. Nothing to write home about. They are Barred Rock, RIR, and a few mixes.

Besides getting some more Black Australopes, I am going to get a few Buff Orpingtons and Blue Orpingtons. They are supposed to be very good natured and friendly. I love the looks of them.

Hope this helps you. Please let us know what you finally get.

And....

 

[Davis5454]

"Aw, that Davaroo is an old poop - don't listen to anything he says."

HAHAHA....I got to be the one !!!


To clarify what I was saying earlier. I was going to go to only Buff Orphs....eliminate the Lorps and the Giants....and keep a few silkies for fun and egg sitting.

I may still do this if the Buff Orphs pull back up on their production....If not, i'm working on a cross breed that looks really pretty so far. If I can get the look and the egg production....I may go to all of that for my flock in the long run.

Hope that is not too confusing.

I will say though....my BA's are somewhat varied in size and are stand-offish to the point that I had lost interest in them due to lack of personality (except for 1 roo that got ALOT of attention from an injury being nursed and became a little more of a pet even though he is a cool customer)

I'll stick by Buffs as the best personality....and silkies as broodies / novelty. I keep my flocks seperated in different stalls. I used to let them out seperately.....but now let them intermingle most of the time unless I want to start breeding pure strains. Even coming out at the same time, they tend to stick together by flock (at least the hens....the roo's arent that picky - hahaha!!!)​

 

[PunkinPeep]

Welcome to the world of chickens!

I was reading all your responses, and i thought i would comment on Buff Orpingtons. My husband and i decided on buff orps for our first flock, and they definitely all have different personalities. But my one buff orp who i have now can make a LOT of noise, throughout the day. Someone mentioned the honking, and she is a honker. She also sings the egg song a lot more than she lays eggs.

But i love her to death. She actually comes and knocks on the door when she thinks she should be getting a treat. And i LOVE the egg song. That is one of my favorite new noises around the house. Sometimes when she hears me laughing she'll respond by singing the egg song loud and clear.

 

[kcfuerst]

A flock that grows together, "knows" together.
They think they're kin, and that's good enough for me!

Davaroo, stop being so narrow-flocked. : )

 

[Kieyamama]

decision was made! It's the 3 Australorps, 3 EE's and 2 Delawares!

Now I am impatiently waiting to hear my ship date!! AHHHH!!!!


Haha-"narrow-flocked" that made me LOL.

It's waaaaay to hard to choose just one breed. Just couldn't do it. plus if I can survive cancer, then I can surely survive a mixed flock of chickens!

 

[mightieskeeper]

Good luck with your new chicks! I love my buff Orpingtons and Dominiques.

 

[chickerdoodle]

I hope I'm not being rude jumping onto this question but I am also brand spanking new in this group (lurked a bit first). We are planning on getting chickens next spring. I've been reading a bunch (I have read and now own 11 books about chickens!) and our goal is for a happy, friendly and hopefully productive backyard flock. We live in the burbs in Oregon and have a fenced backyard of about 45x70 feet. Our coop plans (at the moment) is for a covered 5x12 coop/run. We also have a nice area to extend the run even further or tractor the girls around.

My hubby is leaving the choice of chickens to me and Ive narrowed it down to:

Barnevelder
Australop
Easter Egger
Plymouth Rock (barred or buff)
Speckled Sussex
Welsummer

We don't want very broody hens--just friendly layers. Any thoughts on these?? Will they mix OK? I can't just have one of each but I like qualities in all of them and need to narrow it further! We wish to start with only 4-5 hens.

Thank you all soooo very much!!!!

 

[Kieyamama]

You're not being rude at all! Jump away!

It sounds like you have been doing a lot of research. You'll be happy with your choices!