Hi! New backyard chicken owner

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MaPoule5

MaPoule5

Hatching
6 Years
Dec 12, 2013
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Happy New Year!

Well, I've read so many threads and I don't want to be repetitive. I really like the fancy chickens: faverolles, polish and silkies. I'm buying a black copper marans and a buff orpington. Not sure which combination of breeds will get along. So any insight on which breeds to avoid in the list I've mentioned above, is greatly appreciated. I'm in California, so snow isn't an issue, though it gets cold in the winter at night, say 36 degrees, sometimes.

One more question: Why is it when you order chicks from breeders online, they have minimum orders of 15 or more chicks? I live in a city, I can't have that many birds (even if a few do not survive the travel). I'll end up trying to sell them or give them away to the local feed store - particularly if it's a straight run, which may include roosters which the city ordinances prohibit.

Thanks for the input in advance
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Happy New Year and
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great to have ya onboard
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Shippers have minimum orders because the chicks help keep each other warm so if they shipped only three you might only get nothing and most buyers would want their money back
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gander007
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Thanks for the explanation. Do you think the combo of silkies, favs, (1) buff orpington and (1) black copper maran is good? Or should I just have all one breed? Or it doesn't really matter.

Thanks, Happy New Year to you!
 
I have a neighbor who has some silkies and some orpingtons and they get along fine. I have all one breed but if you have all different breeds they probably won't gang up on one.
 
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to BYC!

Great to have you aboard and enjoy BYC!

Some feed stores sell only "pullets". So you might go that route instead of straight runs. Keeping several breeds together can help them not pick on the odd looking chickens, although sometimes it still happens. Polish tend to get picked on due to their tassly heads. But not always.

Good luck!
 
Do you know any other people that want chickens too? If so, you can all order at the same time to get the total over 15 chicks. I'm trying to do that now. I got a coupon from the hatchery I used last year giving me 25 free chicks if I buy 50. Only problem is I don't have room for 75 at once!
 
Hello :frow Welcome To BYC and Happy Holidays! Meyers Hatchery and My Pet Chicken (which is a broker) both have three chick minimums, they use heat packs etc to keep small numbers of chicks warm, shipping is really high because of that. Chickens that are of similar types and sizes usually get along together, I would expect the Orp, Marans and Favs to be fine. With the Silkies and Polish, chickens with a lot of head feathering are often picked on by other birds, so while they may be fine, you should be prepared to separate them if you are unlucky... I have had some of both breeds that got along with the main flocks no problem and others that would have needed to be kept separate. You might want to look at some breeds that come in a really wide range of fancy colors, like the Wyandottes. If you are interested in colored eggs, Easter Eggers or Ameraucana are another thought.
 

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