Hi everyone !!

[kathyb10199]

My husband and I have 1 acre of land and want to raise some chickens, I found this site and must say I love it for it's information and help. I so excited to get started from the ground up including building our own coop . my hubby loves brown eggs while I love white eggs so i've spent alot of time this morning looking at chicken breeds but will welcome any advice. We do have grand children and want them involved as much as possible so I guess what i'm saying is I need kid friendly chickens lol. Thanks so much everyone.

 

[amelia123]

Hi Kathy!!!

SO nice to meet you!! I'm glad you joined our flock!!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

You have come to the right place for all the fun and learning!

Lots of good brown egg layers out there. If you are looking for a nice friendly breed, Orpingtons (Buff Orpingtons, Black Australorps) are great layers and are super friendly. As are Wynadottes, Sex Links, Cochins, Easter Eggers, etc.... The best white egg layer out there will be the Leghorn breed.

Good luck with what ever breed you choose. Have you stopped by our learning center yet? Lots of helpful reads on all the aspects of keeping chickens...https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

Welcome to our flock!!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Here are a couple of links to some nice chicken breed comparison charts you might like http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html and http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf when you have narrowed down your choices, don't forget to check the BYC Reviews section for member reviews on the different breeds. https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/chicken-breeds
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread and check out your state thread for what breeds people in your area are having success with
Depending what you want chickens for, mostly for pets or mostly for eggs, for pets, Silkies and Cochins are probably the two most popular breed pet breeds, they are not very good egg layers but are very friendly. So far as more layer breeds go, for egg numbers alone, the Red Sex Links (Golden Comet, Red Stars, ISA Browns etc) for brown eggs and the commercial White Leghorns for white eggs are probably the most popular layers around. If you want breeds that don't lay quite as well but will lay for a longer time, Black Australorps and Orpingtons (lots of people really like these, great pets and somewhat broody), Plymouth Rocks, Sussex, Delaware and Wyandottes are some other popular breeds that are usually pretty easy to get along with, they all lay different shades of brown eggs. If you like colorful eggs, the Easter Egger, often sold as Ameraucana by hatcheries, are a fun breed because they usually lay green/blue eggs that are fun for kids, and they tend to be very nice birds ... have fun deciding!

 

[drumstick diva]

You have already received so much good information and advice I will just say, Glad you joined the BYC flock, hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BackYard Chickens! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided join our flock. The best layers for brown egg are Black and Red Sex Links, which are egg laying machines. These are the hybrids used by laying houses for brown eggs as they consistently churn out more than 300 eggs per hen per year. The best white egg layers (the layers used by laying houses) are White Leghorns, however you should be aware that they are usually high strung and flighty. If you want a calmer bird that lays loads of white eggs, you could go with one of the hybrids such as California Whites or Austra Whites instead. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Whatever breed or hybrid you decide to get, good luck with your flock.