Welcome!Hello everyone! I am very new to the chicken world...We are planning on getting our first flock this spring! I live in rural missouri, I'm a stay at home mommy to two littles, and #3 due in June. I'm in the research stage right now, so any advice would be helpful!!I'm looking for a flock of about 10-12 chickens that will be prolific egg layers, will tolerate the hot/cold seasons of Missouri, and will be friendly with my kids. I'm excited to learn and happy to be here!
Wow, thank you for the info and the links!! I have lots of reading to do!You just verified a lot of the breeds I have been looking at, so that makes me happy! Buff orpingtons and black australorps were already on my list, so I'm glad to know they will be a good match to what I'm looking for.
I'm so glad I could help!Keep us posted on your future flock!
The breeds that have a well deserved reputation for being calm and gentle such as Australorps, Orpingtons, Brahmas, Cochins, Sussex, and Faverolles usually have the most gentle roosters as well (although there can always be an exception with any breed). A good question to ask is, "Why do you want a rooster?" The only reason you really need a rooster is to fertilize eggs for hatching and 1 rooster can easily handle 10-12 hens in that regard. I currently have 25 hens and no roosters in my flock, and I get loads of eggs without all the aggression, fights, biting and feather plucking, feeding of non-productive mouths, crowing in the middle of the night, drop off in egg production due to stressed hens, and over-breeding and battering of hens that goes along with having roosters (especially too many). My hens are stress free and enjoying life without a rooster around. If you do decide to get a rooster, I would only get 1 with a flock of 10-12 hens.
