I am thinking about getting chickens what is the best breed?

[midnightandshadow]

as i said in my title i am thinking about getting chickens but I am not sure what is the best breed for a first time chicken owner. thanks

i would like the chickens for the eggs sorry i should have put more details

i live in North Carolina and it depends on the weather day to day so far it has been hot! very hot! but then in the winter it gets very cold sometimes

 

[chickendales]

Quote:
mater what you want them for there lot pretty chicken that lay eggs there allso chicken that well sett there eggs there some breed that u can also kill and eat

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

For the first time chickie owner it depends.
-If you want a pet that you can hold and cuddle: Bantam Cochins or Silkies
-Cool eggs and friendly: Easter Eggers, Olive Eggers, Ameraucanas
-If you want a good bird to let out to free range: Orpingtons, Plymoth Rocks, Wyandottes, or Rhode Island Reds
-If you just want them for eggs or meat: Red Sex Links, Black Sex Links, or Production Reds
-If you want some rare but hardy beauties: Barnevelders, Welsummers, Marans, or Wyandottes

from Arkansas!
Overall, I would recommend Orpingtons or Easter Eggers. They come in different colors. They are hardy healthy chickens that do good free ranging. They have sweet temperaments and are not skittish. They occasionally go broody, but not too often. They do well in most climates and are good layers.

 

[babyrnlc]

I am a big fan of the Easter egger. We have 4 and they are my favorites. They seem to be the most laid back tame ones of my girls. My Barred Rocks are very sweet too and lay huge eggs. My Ancona is cool looking (everyone thinks she is a roo cause of her giant comb) , but she is very flighty. My dark Cornish has been my best layer. Until this freak heat wave she gave us 7 eggs a week, for months straight. She is very shy. I have a new hampshire that is annoying and mean to all the chickens under her in the pecking order, but she lays a super dark brown egg. I have a black sex link that is very pretty, about to start laying.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

If you haven't checked out the breed section on this site, take a look. Then you will want to think about what you want out of your chickens. Is temperament most important? Do you want them for lots of eggs or for meat?

For instance, I wanted to get chickens who are friendly and lay nice sized eggs who are cold tolerant. Production breeds like ISA Brown or production leghorn, once they start laying, will lay once a day most every day, but may not lay for as many years as heritage breeds (I was not getting them for large quantities of eggs) I decided to get Buff Orpington, Cochin and Wyanadotte. I like having a few different breeds, because It just makes it more interesting and I have learned to tell their eggs apart.

 

[Elphaba2140]

Another thing to consider is where you live. If it is hot or cold it would be wise to choose a bird that is tolerant of your weather. I got two leghorns last year and love the egg production but didn't even consider their huge combs and our frigid Northern Illinois winters. We did loose a tiny bit off some of the tips of their combs to frostbite. This year when I ordered chicks I bought birds with smaller combs that are cold tolerant.

 

[midnightandshadow]

Quote:
I am looking for chickens that will lay good eggs that are worth selling. do easter eggers give good eggs

 

[AinaWGSD]

It depends in large part where you get your easter eggers, but mine lay almost an egg a day and they are usually large. The only thing is that they are often green (EE can actually lay a variety of colors, some lay blue, some lay green, some lay an almost pink pale brown, and some lay just regular brown eggs) and people react differently. Most people I know love the green eggs, but one of my husband's coworkers has requested that we only pack brown eggs for them when they buy eggs from us. The green eggs weird her out for some reason.

 

[Nicole01]

I love every breed I own! I couldn't decide on a single breed, so I went with a varity! Since I handled my chicks at a young age daily, they've all become lap chickens! I chose the more docile breeds.

I have 2 Easter eggers, rhode island red, speckled Sussex, golden laced Wyandotte, dark brahma, Mille fleur d'uccle, and a frizzle Cochin. My best layers will be the rhode island red, Easter egger, Wyandotte. I heard speckled Sussex lays well too. I'm still waiting for my first egg though. Good luck!

 

[midnightandshadow]

Quote:
My friend had 2 rhode island red and she said they were really mean. i even went and saw them they were really mean