Good, quiet breeds for a beginner?

[Kikiriki]

Production Reds certainly seem to be popular. Maybe I will have to consider them.

It's looking like my flock will probably wind up consisting of Orpingtons and Australorps, with maybe a RIR or PR thrown in, possibly a Wyandotte. I've heard White Leghorns are great layers too, anyone else have any experience with them? I'm worried they may be more flightly or aggressive, to me or each other. 

If you get BO please name one "Chickenista" for me! My sis who died of cancer named her BO that...it would delight me to see the name live on!

I had 3 PR. They have been very healthy, great layers, and all with distinctive personalities. Minik got too badly injured to be rehabilitated because she was a clever escape artist and found her way into trouble, but she was also my favorite. She was the "pet" where the other two were mostly human disinterested. (My avatar is Minik)

Last month I got 2 Easter Eggers from the feed store (mislabeled as Ameraucana) and so far, I am not thrilled with them. They fly like mad when they are not running like mad, they are very resistant to handling and mainly just will not relax when I am working around them. Note that these are hatchery birds. They were about 4 weeks old when I got them and I made a concerted effort to sit with them, tempt with treats, and gain their trust.

I got Lavender Ameraucana a week later from a home breeder. They were 3 weeks younger when I got them than the EE's, but I did not handle them much...mostly just when cleaning the brooder out. Now they are six and seven weeks old and they will sit perched on my hands, and run to me when they are frightened. (I am in FL and it is warm, so they are outside now). I can walk slowly up to them and they are pretty calm. I peck at the ground with my fingers and they come to investigate...

Hatcheries, I think, do not follow up on something like personality, while a small scale breeder is absolutely going to include that in their list of qualities, and they are more likely to get feedback from the people who get chicks so they will know if they have a problem with unfriendly chickens.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I have delt with leghorns.
They are fkiers,mines have flew in a large oak tree,because bbc.co of a fox

She was docile and never mean towards mean.
Ox

That's good that she was docile but I'm not sure a flier would be good, most of the trees surrounding our property are like 70 ft pine trees xD

So many wonderful breeds would fit the bill....so little space. I'm one of them who want one of everything.....a candy store of chickens.....

You can go to the website of www.mypetchicken.com and fill out a questionnaire about what is most important to you and they will list suggestions.
In Massachusetts I would assume you want cold hardy breeds. We're in Pa and it gets pretty cold here. Last winter was a bear with temps down to -10*
We've chosen breeds that have done very well. For cold weather tolerant and laying my favorites are the EE's (or Ameraucanas) with their pea combs and buckeyes, which were initially a variety of Rhode Island Red, if you were thinking of getting them. The buckeye is more cold tolerant, lays a large egg, and is calm and friendly. Previously we had RIR, even had RIR when I was a child and I like buckeyes better.
We've also had Jersey Giants that laid well, very large eggs and were calm and winter hardy.
Those and the orpingtons, and perhaps astrolorpes would probably be your largest birds, and consequently eat more if feed to egg ratio is a concern.
Our best feed to egg ratio are my EE's, my smallest birds, but our mixes (bred for production and egg color,) aren't far behind, and the buckeyes.
I could make up my entire flock of these three, but there are still a few breeds I would like to try (astralorpe, astrawhite, speckled Sussex, maybe Delaware)

Yesss! I find myself wanting a candy store of chickens too! xD

Thanks for all the info!

I did the survey a while ago but I just did it again, twice, and most of the breeds mentioned/that I've been considering are on there

Yes, definitely interested in cold hardy. the feed ratio I don't think is as big a deal since they'll probably be free range anyways and if not, feed isn't too bad price-wise, i don't think

Jersey Giants definitely seem interesting, maybe I'll look into them too. And the buckeye. I've never heard of those guys.

If you get BO please name one "Chickenista" for me! My sis who died of cancer named her BO that...it would delight me to see the name live on!

I had 3 PR. They have been very healthy, great layers, and all with distinctive personalities. Minik got too badly injured to be rehabilitated because she was a clever escape artist and found her way into trouble, but she was also my favorite. She was the "pet" where the other two were mostly human disinterested. (My avatar is Minik)

Last month I got 2 Easter Eggers from the feed store (mislabeled as Ameraucana) and so far, I am not thrilled with them. They fly like mad when they are not running like mad, they are very resistant to handling and mainly just will not relax when I am working around them. Note that these are hatchery birds. They were about 4 weeks old when I got them and I made a concerted effort to sit with them, tempt with treats, and gain their trust.

I got Lavender Ameraucana a week later from a home breeder. They were 3 weeks younger when I got them than the EE's, but I did not handle them much...mostly just when cleaning the brooder out. Now they are six and seven weeks old and they will sit perched on my hands, and run to me when they are frightened. (I am in FL and it is warm, so they are outside now). I can walk slowly up to them and they are pretty calm. I peck at the ground with my fingers and they come to investigate...

Hatcheries, I think, do not follow up on something like personality, while a small scale breeder is absolutely going to include that in their list of qualities, and they are more likely to get feedback from the people who get chicks so they will know if they have a problem with unfriendly chickens.

Aw I'm sorry about your sister I can definitely do that though!!! It would be an honor

Wow, they sound great. I'll have to look into them. Do you think it was just personality or the breed?

Really? wow, thats unfortunate :/ although, it seems to me a lot of the hatchery ones are like that.

that's awesome about the others though

Yeah, they seem to care more about quantity, money, and/or production, be it their meat ratio or egg laying capabilities or what-have-you, over personality. :/


That's another thing I'm concerned about, that maybe you guys can help with, is that it seems like hatcheries are the easiest route to go, and cheaper, and I want to do that, but then I hear stories about the birds being unfriendly or mean or sickly or whatever and it worries me. and I know it's not every bird but it's worrying :/ so then I'm thinking maybe feed store or breeder but feed store is hatchery birds, usually, and people put them back in the wrong bin, touch them, etc. so greater chance of illness or mix sexed or wrong breed, and then breeder or local farm seems great but they're really expensive, it seems, or don't have vaccinations, so now I have no clue :/

 

[ThePRfan]

I believe Minik is a Red sexlinks.From your Profile pic it looks.I got a few red sexlinks from the PR tub,it happens.
If she lays light brown eggs,she probably is 1.PR's lay large dark browns.

(A pic of my Production Red hen.)
Hugs to you,and i'm VERYYYYYYYY sorry for your death.

If you get BO please name one "Chickenista" for me! My sis who died of cancer named her BO that...it would delight me to see the name live on!

I had 3 PR. They have been very healthy, great layers, and all with distinctive personalities. Minik got too badly injured to be rehabilitated because she was a clever escape artist and found her way into trouble, but she was also my favorite. She was the "pet" where the other two were mostly human disinterested. (My avatar is Minik)

Last month I got 2 Easter Eggers from the feed store (mislabeled as Ameraucana) and so far, I am not thrilled with them. They fly like mad when they are not running like mad, they are very resistant to handling and mainly just will not relax when I am working around them. Note that these are hatchery birds. They were about 4 weeks old when I got them and I made a concerted effort to sit with them, tempt with treats, and gain their trust.

I got Lavender Ameraucana a week later from a home breeder. They were 3 weeks younger when I got them than the EE's, but I did not handle them much...mostly just when cleaning the brooder out. Now they are six and seven weeks old and they will sit perched on my hands, and run to me when they are frightened. (I am in FL and it is warm, so they are outside now). I can walk slowly up to them and they are pretty calm. I peck at the ground with my fingers and they come to investigate...

Hatcheries, I think, do not follow up on something like personality, while a small scale breeder is absolutely going to include that in their list of qualities, and they are more likely to get feedback from the people who get chicks so they will know if they have a problem with unfriendly chickens.

 

[WNCcluck]

KDOGG331, are there farms at all close to you? We found a farm very close to us that was rehoming some birds because their flock had gotten too large. We had recommendations from people we trust saying the farmers are good folks who do a good job with all their animals.

We told the farmers what we wanted to do ... start a very small flock of four hens for egg laying only. We have a black lab who is 5 going on puppy who would likely make raising from chicks tough, so we wanted to start with adults that had been raised well.

The farmers picked four birds for us - 2 EE's, an Australorp, and a Speckled Sussex. We fell in love with all of them. We asked the farmers if they had more girls to rehome. We got another EE, 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes, and a Buff Orpington. We know they're all cold hardy because they've lived here in the mountains with the cold and snow and wind.

My first choice will always be a local farmer or someone recommended by that local farmer.

 

[ShrekDawg]

KDOGG331, are there farms at all close to you? We found a farm very close to us that was rehoming some birds because their flock had gotten too large. We had recommendations from people we trust saying the farmers are good folks who do a good job with all their animals.

We told the farmers what we wanted to do ... start a very small flock of four hens for egg laying only. We have a black lab who is 5 going on puppy who would likely make raising from chicks tough, so we wanted to start with adults that had been raised well.

The famers picked four birds for us - 2 EE's, an Australorp, and a Speckled Sussex. We fell in love with all of them. We asked the farmers if they had more girls to rehome. We got another EE, 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes, and a Buff Orpington. We know they're all cold hardy because they've lived here in the mountains with the cold and snow and wind.

My first choice will always be a local farmer or someone recommended by that local farmer.

I'm not sure if there are but I'd imagine there are.

Those are all really good points and sound like great options.

Perhaps I could even go to a fair or something and see if there's any birds there?

 

[Michael OShay]

Production Reds certainly seem to be popular. Maybe I will have to consider them.

It's looking like my flock will probably wind up consisting of Orpingtons and Australorps, with maybe a RIR or PR thrown in, possibly a Wyandotte. I've heard White Leghorns are great layers too, anyone else have any experience with them? I'm worried they may be more flightly or aggressive, to me or each other.

If you're not opposed to hybrids, you should consider Black Sex Links (Black Stars), which are hardy and friendly, egg laying machines. Over the past 50 years, I have had nearly every breed and hybrid mentioned in this post and my Black Sex Links (Black Stars) have been my best layers, consistently churning out more than 300 egg per hen per year.

My White Leghorns have had comparable lay rates, but my Black Sex Links have outlayed them in really cold weather. As far as temperament goes, the White Leghorns are definitely high strung and flighty, which is why I no longer have any in my flock. Everytime I handled them, they screamed bloody murder, and my children hated them.

 

[ShrekDawg]

If you're not opposed to hybrids, you should consider Black Sex Links (Black Stars), which are hardy and friendly, egg laying machines. Over the past 50 years, I have had nearly every breed and hybrid mentioned in this post and my Black Sex Links (Black Stars) have been my best layers, consistently churning out more than 300 egg per hen per year.

My White Leghorns have had comparable lay rates, but my Black Sex Links have outlayed them in really cold weather. As far as temperament goes, the White Leghorns are definitely high strung and flighty, which is why I no longer have any in my flock. Everytime I handled them, they screamed bloody murder, and my children hated them.

I'm definitely not opposed to them and had actually considered them a while ago but the reason they weren't on the list anymore is because I'd heard a lot of them (and the red ones) have a lot of health problems? Or, mostly, egg binding issues? I don't know how true that is or if it's easy to fix but if it is true, it's a little worrying and nerve-wracking to me as a complete beginner hahah they do seem like great birds though and I definitely want to try them if that's not true or easy to deal with.

Hmm, definitely doesn't sound like the bird for me then xD

 

[ThePRfan]

I'm definitely not opposed to them and had actually considered them a while ago but the reason they weren't on the list anymore is because I'd heard a lot of them (and the red ones) have a lot of health problems? Or, mostly, egg binding issues? I don't know how true that is or if it's easy to fix but if it is true, it's a little worrying and nerve-wracking to me as a complete beginner hahah they do seem like great birds though and I definitely want to try them if that's not true or easy to deal with.

Hmm, definitely doesn't sound like the bird for me then xD

Actually black sexlinks are known not to get sick often.
Mines are the healthiest in my flock.
Great layers,and docile.
We plan on getting more because they have stronger immune
systems and of course dont get sick easily.

Same with redsexlinks.Never had any additional health issues,etc.
They lay great,but not the most docilest,inmy opion
but your decision.

Good luck!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Actually black sexlinks are known not to get sick often.
Mines are the healthiest in my flock.
Great layers,and docile.
We plan on getting more because they have stronger immune
systems and of course dont get sick easily.

Same with redsexlinks.Never had any additional health issues,etc.
They lay great,but not the most docilest,inmy opion
but your decision.

Good luck!

Really? well that's good to know!! I don't know where I heard that, thought it was from people on here but it must depend on the individual bird or strain too.

thanks for the info

I think if I did get any sex links, it would probably be black anyways.

Although, I'm curious just because I forget, what are the mixes that make up the two?

 

[ThePRfan]

Now,the egg producing I suppose is violent.
My 1 hen had a egg sack stuck hanging from her vent.
I just tore it out.

I have had this happen once.The bird is fine and continues her life
like as ll the others,happyand healthy.