Getting ready to order our first flock...

[Mahonri]

Meyer is a tad less expensive.... if you want to go that route.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not familiar with all these hatcheries. Many hatcheries will ship extra chicks so the extra body heat helps keep them alive during shipping. Others will put a heat pad of some type in with the chicks to keep them warm. Usually, these extra chicks are roosters, which would not go well in your subdivision. I'd suggest confirming their policy on packing peanuts before you order.

Have you seen the Henderson Chart? It gives great info on the individual breeds, including a rating on egg laying. In a suburb, I'd be skeptical about breeds that don't take confinement well or are flighty. And to see what the different breeds and colors look like, I think Feathersite is great. I'll give you the links, whether you need them or not.

Feathersite
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html

The Henderson chart
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

I see you have one sex link chicken, the Star, on your list. I'm not sure if it is a Black Star or Red Star. With your stated goals and in a subdivision, I'd give real consideration to both a red sex link and a black sex link. You may already know this, but sex links are not pure breeds. They are crosses that produce chicks that can easily be sexed at hatch, usually by color or a specific marking. There are many different names for them, Stars, Cinnamon Queen, Golden Comet, and many others, depending on the hatchery and the specific pure breeds that make up the parentage. I think you would be real pleased with one of each.

I see the Ameraucana on your list. I don't want to get into the difference between an Ameraucana and an Easter Egger. For your purposes there really isn't any of significance. This one would definitely be on my list for the egg color. Since these will probably vary in appearance from each other, you might consider getting more than one.

Another one I'd suggest you look at is the Maran. There is no guarantee that a hatchery Maran will actually lay an egg that dark, but Marans are known for laying really dark eggs. So are Welsummers. If you want the different breeds, different egg color may be something you would like to have.

I know you are going to have more breeds you want than you have room for, but I'd also suggest you consider the Speckled Sussex. I think it would meet your criteria well.

You are correct that one hatchery is unlikely to have everything you want, but there are a lot of different breeds that will meet your criteria very well. Especially with the Wyandottes and Rocks, you can get several different colors and patterns if you want to consider those different colors as separate "breeds". If you do your basic research, which it looks like you are, you are unlikely to be disappointed in anything you choose.

Good luck!!!

 

[FollowingMyNose]

Wow - lots of new info for me, and I really appreciate you taking the time to share all of that Ridgerunner! Very helpful!! I actually printed out the Henderson chart and went through, first looking for good layers and then using it and a few other sites to pick out some contenders. I appreciate the links, and looked at the other one some today. I need to digest all of this and see if I can narrow my list down to a dozen, or maybe even less. I want to make sure I don't get greedy and create an unhealthy environment for my birds! I'll defintiely take a look at the Maran and other breeds you mentioned.

And Mahonri, thanks again.

I really want healthy chicks and the right variety -- a few bucks will not be a factor in choosing where to place my order.