Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided join to our flock. It depends on what your criteria is for your chickens. If egg production is your main priority, I would suggest Black Sex Links (Black Stars), which are hardy and friendly, egg laying machines. I've raised them for years (along with dozens of other breeds and hybrids), and they have been my best layers, consistently churning out more than 300 eggs per hen per year. If you are wanting very docile breeds that can be easily turned into lap pets, I would suggest going with one of the breeds that has a well deserved reputation for being calm and gentle, such as Australorps, Orpingtons, Brahmas, Cochins, Sussex, or Faverolles. If egg production is also important, Australorps are the best layers on this list. For meat birds, Cornish cross is the way to go. With their incredible growth rate, they are ready for butchering at 8 weeks. In fact, if you wait much beyond that, they will begin having serious health problems due to their abnormal growth rate. How many chickens you should start with depends again on your purpose. If eggs are priority, you need to figure out how many eggs a week you will need. A Black Sex Link will give you 6-7 eggs per hen per week. Australorps 5-6 eggs per hen per week. Other breeds on the list of docile breeds I gave you will lay somewhat less how many will depend on the breed). If you just want friendly chickens for pets, I would recommend starting with just a few and see how that works out for you. You can always add more later. Just be sure and build your coop large enough to add more later. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Whatever breed you decide to get, good luck with your flock.
and Welcome To BYC!
