Hello from central Missouri...

[Book Em Danno25]

Welcome to BYC!!! So glad you joined this wonderful flock!!! Good luck with all of your chicken experiences and enjoy it while you can!!!

Signed,

Turkenstein25

 

[Michael OShay]

Standard or bantam, doesn't matter, I just want to be sure I have birds that can handle the extreme weather changes of any Missouri summer or winter. I also want birds that lay any color egg except white. I guess the size doesn't matter a whole lot, I like dual purpose so any extra birds I hatch get big enough that they can feed a few folks.

And I like to stay with heritage breeds listed with the Livestock Conservancy.....or rare breeds.

Based on your criteria, would recommend Australorps for your second breed. They are extremely hardy. I've raised them where winter temperatures have reached 30 F below zero, and where summer temperatures frequently reached 117-118 F (123 F once), and in both temperature extremes they came through like troopers. Australorps are also calm and gentle. My children, and now my granddaughter, made lap pets of ours. And they are the best layers of the standard brown egg laying breeds. An 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 have still had a few of them lay over 300 eggs in a year.

 

[BantamLover21]

Glad you joined us!

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

We're glad to have you.

 

[Dinkyjean]

Thank you, everyone....I am happy to be here!!