Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. I'm sorry about the loss of your Silkies to a predator. It's always sad to lose some of our flock. I would recommend Black Australorps. I've raised them for years (along with dozens of other breeds) and they are extremely hardy. I've raised them where winter temperatures dropped to 30 F below zero, and where summer temperatures frequently reached 117-118 F (123 F once), and in both climate extremes, they came through like troopers. They are also very calm and gentle. My children, and now my granddaughter (pictured in my avatar) made lap pets of them. And they are the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds. A Black Australorp holds the brown egg laying record with 364 eggs in 365 days, and while none of mine have ever reached that kind of production (and likely never will), I've still had a few of them lay over 300 eggs in a year. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Whatever breeds you decide to get, good luck with your flock.
. So, I'll be off to a fresh start in the spring. If you guys have some favorite chickens breeds that are great layers, cold hardy, and friendly it would be great if you could answer below. Anyway, I'm looking for good incubator brand so, if you could also put that below! Thank you guys so much!
