how should i start my flock?

[antonaustin1]

Im going to build a chicken coop in my garden soon for about 3-5 chickens. I have thought about what chickens i want, i don't want big boring chickens. i prefer silkie bantams, cochin bantams and pekin bantams. so i was thinking if i buy 1 adult silkie bantam, and them buy some other eggs of ebay, i know its ebay but lots of my friends have got eggs from ebay, and they hatched into nice birds. so do you think its a good idea to buy a silikie and there broody birds so it will hatch the eggs, but its now december and they are fragile birds and i don't know if it will be a good idea to keep her on her own?
please help!...

 

[roostersandhens]

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. Buying a silky he and hatching some chicks may be a good idea and fun, but realize that most likely half of those chicks will be cockerels.

 

[drumstick diva]

chickens are flock animals and one lone silkie isn't going to be very happy by herself. Also a lot of silkies become very good broodies, but, some never do. You can't make them go broody

either. When the want to, they do, on their terms. As Sour pointed out "what will you do if you get cockerels?" Many areas do not permit roosters. There are tons of roosters on the market, and most will end up as dinner or soup for someone else.

If you go to "where am I, where are you.", you can locate and post on your state thread. That may bring you in contact with people raising the breeds you are interested in. It's much better to get chicks or eggs locally, than have them shipped from half way across the country

 

[antonaustin1]

Ok I will think about that, thanks does anyone know any local places in West Sussex? And If I do get a cockerel would that be a problem?

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome to BYC! X2 what drumstick diva said, if you are looking for chickens locally, try finding your location on the Where Am I Where Are You board for members in your area with chicks. https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you You can also try the breed threads for the breeds you are interested in the Breeds, Genetics and Showing board. https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/14/breeds-genetics-showing With roosters, first you would need to check if they are legal where you live. They can often be a problem in small flocks because of the small number of hens getting overmated, lots of rooster threads on the Managing Your Flock board, and in the BYC Learning Center.

 

[liz9910]

Welcome to BYC! You've received some great advice, good luck to you.