Hello! I'm a first time chicken owner. We're thinking of getting 2-4 hens. They will be kept outside in a pen and chicken house all year round. We would like lots of eggs. Which type of chicken is best? Also, what's the best food to feed them?
Welcome. As folks on your other thread have mentioned, there's the "breed" section here on BYC. Take a look at it. Considerations: eggs only? or do you want dual purpose? (Many dual purpose are great layers) what's your climate like? Do you need cold hardy or heat hardy? what kind of space do you have for them? do you want very friendly birds or do you care if they're a little flight? etc. Take a look at the various breeds and see what you want. Also try the breed selector from mypetchicken. Good luck!
Heya! Thanks for replying so fast! I would rather lots of eggs instead of pretty looks. I live in England, so not very hot! And I would prefer friendly non-flying chickens! Thanks again!
What you need to do is find out where you can buy chickens and then look into the different breeds that will be available. Generally, you feed chick starter to baby chicks, grower in a few weeks, then layer when they start laying. And there really isn't such a thing as a non-flying chicken. They may not get many feet off the ground, but they all fly a little. Mine will flap and climb over their 6' fence if they really want to, though they usually don't. Probably you can find out when and where chicks or chickens are available wherever you will be buying feed, if it's like here and there are feed stores. Leghorns are probably the least friendly, though they are individuals and there are exceptions. I understand you basically have brown egg layers, though, and Leghorns lay white, so they may not even be an option. And, to my eye they're all pretty, though I guess some breeds are fancier looking than others. You will find plenty of basic information on this site about raising chickens. Check out the learning center, at the top of the page, for example.
