Help choosing a flock to manage..

[dheltzel]

Wise words. They are wise words for humans, however, not for chickens. Having a variety of breeds will definitely give you spice, just not the good kind. Even the miniscule differences between birds will be enough to single them out. If you have two of each breed (for example), you'll be creating three sub-groups

I don't agree with this at all. I know of hundreds of backyard flocks with varied breeds that co-exist fine. In fact, I can't think of any first time chicken owner who bought a flock of all one kind of chicken from me. EVERYONE gets a mixture of breeds and it works out fine. There are very few breeds that are genetically mean (gamefowl and Leige Fighters - maybe), the vast majority do fine together, especially if they are raised as a group. We tend to project human qualities onto our pets and look for behaviors that support our theories and ignore those that don't. They are birds, not people. They can't look in a mirror, then at another chicken and think "that hen looks different from me - I hate her". Humans are peculiarly prone do doing things like that, birds have no inborn prejudice and they don't even learn them easily.

 

[tsgarvey]

how many people do you expect to eat eggs?
2 years ago I got 5 chicks in anticipation of 3 people eating eggs on a regular basis.
Then, as they started laying, my husband became gravely ill and my son didn't trust my system so it's only me now. I have on average 2-3 eggs a day from the 5 girls, even though they are moulting right now.

I have feed store chicks, 2 bared Rocks, 2 Ameraucana types, and one RIR (and she is the smallest bird in the flock)
I should give 3 away, but since they got named.....
So I would not name them again, it makes those decisions easier. I have to second the idea of starting small, with 3 birds, then adding more the next year. If for nothing else that you can goo and gaa over the troughs at the store again, having room to put another 2-3 chicks in.
I found it practical to have a variety of birds. I didn't know what I had no clue of. Having the chance of a variety of eggs makes it easier to pinpoint any issues.
Although having hatchery eggs, there are still surprises. I thought the RIR layed the brown eggs, but it was one of the Barred Rocks.

Plus stay well under the suggested minimum square footage.
my run is 8x8, on paper plenty big for 5 hens. this summer I encountered some behavioral issues that would probably not have manifested with more space.

I can also not let them range without supervision, as I know I have a hawk in residence in the neighborhood.

Good info.. thank you!

 

[dheltzel]

About an hour and forty. Appreciate it.. I'd like to find some young hens tho..

If you start with chicks in the spring, you will be able to raise them as pets. Children are particularly good at taming chicks. They can definitely tell people apart and will come running to you if you spend time with them. Starting with older birds seems like a good idea in our world of instant gratification, but starting with chicks has a number of advantages:
1. cheaper
2. get exactly what you want, the selection of older birds is very limited
3. safer, older birds are likely to bring some diseases onto your property, some that are hard or impossible eliminate.
4. Vaccinated - unless you are happy with commercial sexlinks from a growout farm, the chances you will find a vaccinated adult bird is very small. I know one grower who has a decent selection of vaccinated pullets of various breeds. Prices start at $50 each and go up.
5. Much easier to tame
6. No bad habits already developed - Egg eating? A reputable seller should tell you, but no one will take them back if they eat their eggs.
7. More fun - watching chicks grow and learn is fascinating for young and old alike.
8. Did I mention they are cheaper? And MUCH better selection. You really can't go wrong with chicks - unless you get a rooster you can't have. They are inevitably the ones the family gets most attached to. But I have that covered too.

 

[dheltzel]

New England can be wicked in the winter - cold hardy chickens for the win! I'm in CT and have gold laced wyanottes. They will be 3yrs in spring. I block winds in the winter and they do well.

Fortunately, PA is far nicer in the winter, especially in the southern part of the state. Any breed of chicken prospers here, no need to worry about frostbite on combs except for roosters with large combs. Since the poster is getting only pullets and lives in south central PA, I think any breed will be fine in the cold and heat. Heat is actually a bigger problem than the cold here. I build coops for summer conditions, then add tarps as needed for the winters. I suspect if I were living in CT, I might do the opposite, or not have chickens at all because I wouldn't want to leave the warm house in the winter.

 

[tsgarvey]

If you start with chicks in the spring, you will be able to raise them as pets. Children are particularly good at taming chicks. They can definitely tell people apart and will come running to you if you spend time with them. Starting with older birds seems like a good idea in our world of instant gratification, but starting with chicks has a number of advantages:
1. cheaper
2. get exactly what you want, the selection of older birds is very limited
3. safer, older birds are likely to bring some diseases onto your property, some that are hard or impossible eliminate.
4. Vaccinated - unless you are happy with commercial sexlinks from a growout farm, the chances you will find a vaccinated adult bird is very small. I know one grower who has a decent selection of vaccinated pullets of various breeds. Prices start at $50 each and go up.
5. Much easier to tame
6. No bad habits already developed - Egg eating? A reputable seller should tell you, but no one will take them back if they eat their eggs.
7. More fun - watching chicks grow and learn is fascinating for young and old alike.
8. Did I mention they are cheaper? And MUCH better selection. You really can't go wrong with chicks - unless you get a rooster you can't have. They are inevitably the ones the family gets most attached to. But I have that covered too.

Great info.. thanks! It's not about instant gratification for me.. I just wanted to avoid the whole raising chick process lol. However, you may have just changed my mind Thanks again....

 

[tsgarvey]

Fortunately, PA is far nicer in the winter, especially in the southern part of the state. Any breed of chicken prospers here, no need to worry about frostbite on combs except for roosters with large combs. Since the poster is getting only pullets and lives in south central PA, I think any breed will be fine in the cold and heat. Heat is actually a bigger problem than the cold here. I build coops for summer conditions, then add tarps as needed for the winters. I suspect if I were living in CT, I might do the opposite, or not have chickens at all because I wouldn't want to leave the warm house in the winter.

Yes, I read that heat could be a bigger issue. I took that into consideration with building and location of this coop. It faces south for winter and is placed under a large maple tree for summer shade during mid day sun. Top is completely open air and will be adding windows come spring for more air circulation. Here's a picture for reference before I built the run... Thanks

 

[Galaxy_rules]

I personally love having a mixed breed flock but some may disagree. Australorps, Rhode Island Reds, Leghorns, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, and Easter eggers are friendly and lay well hope this helps!

 

[tsgarvey]

I personally love having a mixed breed flock but some may disagree. Australorps, Rhode Island Reds, Leghorns, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, and Easter eggers are friendly and lay well hope this helps!

Yes.. thanks!

 

[dheltzel]

I really out to make a webpage on my site about this, because first time chicken owners have the same questions and miss the same questions they should be asking.

Breed selection:
1) "cold weather" breeds are just the ones without single combs. Unless you are in a very cold place, or keeping roosters, this is simply a non-issue.
2) Mix and match if you want, but avoid huge size differences (bantams and brahmas, for ex). Personalities can vary by breed, but are more nurture than nature. I personally think Rocks and RIR are naturally mean hens, but some people have raised them as pets and they are very sweet birds, so this should not be a major factor.
3) If you want lots of eggs, select breeds or hybrids known for that, not kept mostly for ornamental purposes. "Dual Purpose" should be partly between those 2, but often are rather disappointing in egg production. It is fine to mix a few of these into a laying flock, for example, getting a Copper Marans to lay super dark eggs even though she doesn't lay as many. She won't be the "backbone" of your laying flock, but might be your best layer in December when the others are taking a break. And each egg she lays will make your co-worker gasp in surprise.

Purchase considerations:
1) Always get birds vaccinated for Marek's Disease, unless you are in a place where Marek's is not seen (it is seen a LOT in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US). For a deeper dive into this, read the page I made: http://welbars.com/index.php/mareks/
2) Know if they are sexed or straight run. If you don't want roosters, never get straight run chicks. If they claim to be sexed, check that you can be sure. Hatchery sexing is only 90 to 95% accurate, not bad, but straight run is 50% accurate if sold as a pullet by mistake. You might want 100% accuracy, but only certain breeds or hybrids can guarantee that.

Housing:
1) Think about a winter blizzard, or whatever are the harshest of conditions. Can you coop survive that? Will the birds inside be OK? I've seen coops at TSC that would definitely be blown to bits by the winds we get here in SE PA. These things happen at the worst possible times, and you will rue the day you bought a coop based on price only.
2) Build or buy bigger than the recommendations. Extra space is always a nice thing. You will need to clean less often if your coop is oversized. Maintenance is one of the things that will make you wonder if this was such a great idea, especially if you have to clean and re-bed the coop every week in the middle of winter (or summer).
3) No heat or AC needed, let the birds adapt to the climate, they have been doing that for centuries. In the winter, cold is not the enemy, it is dampness. You need good ventilation in winter, but drafts across their roosting area is not good. Think about air flow that is continuous in the coop, but creates pockets of still air for them to retreat to when they are cold. Warm air rises, moist air tends to drop, if the vents are below the roosts, the chickens will be happily sleeping about the flow of cold air that pushes out the extra dampness. Frostbite is caused by water on their extremities, as it evaporates it sucks out a lot of heat from their combs and wattles. Think about your hands outside on a cold day, you don't want wet hands with temps are low.

Advice:
Groups are great for getting 4 different answers to a problem, all at least partially right. Experience is a great teacher. If you can find a local friend who has made a bunch of mistakes already, you can benefit greatly from their poor decisions, if you ask. Once you have made some of those yourself, try to make yourself available to others starting out in future years. At its heart, farming of any kind is a community activity. That is what adds to the fun, IMO.

 

[Red Mangrove]

We have the space to let them roam for a bit and would like to. Would need to figure how to go about that tho. We do have a resident hawk or two that I believe was watching me build my coop Like I said.. I have a pup that I feel will be a good guardian with a little training. Or.. I suppose I could build a nice chicken tractor to move about the yard. What would be an adequate amount of time to let them free range.. an hour? Why did you specify brahma hens?

The image in the OP looked like a typical suburb, so I mentioned Brahma because they're very large and peaceful chickens that will never hop a fence to bother neighbors. They're also very cold hardy, and I don't think a hawk would mess with something that large either

If you have enough room for it and can make the environment safe enough then you can honestly allow your chickens to free-range 24/7. My own flock never sees the inside of a coop except for dumping eggs there when they feel like it

They are birds, not people. They can't look in a mirror, then at another chicken and think "that hen looks different from me - I hate her". Humans are peculiarly prone do doing things like that, birds have no inborn prejudice and they don't even learn them easily.

It's funny because I've watched chickens do exactly that. There's only one hen here that hangs out with my Egyptian Fayoumi, and it's the one lavender Brahma that looks similar to them from the neck up. The Fayoumi are cruel to everyone but her

I have 12 different breeds on my homestead and despite being raised mostly in mixed families by broody game hens that sit on giant piles of eggs, as adults they near universally choose to associate together based on genetic lines. Everything that's half RIR for example will go to the RIR group, despite having a gamefowl adopted mom and gamefowl adopted siblings

All tribes and chickens here get along peacefully though (except the Fayoumi I suppose but I brought them here from the outside)