i want to get some hens for there eggs but some people tell me to get something and others tell me to get something else so i was wondering what is a good egg layer who will do good in the north west?
leghorns are prolific layers and very hardy. not sure how they fare in colder climates, though. orpingtons are also good layers, even in winter. are you looking for heavy breeds or bantams? You can look through www.feathersite.com or even some of the hatcheries websites at the different breeds and find out breed specific info.
I live just above you in Washington, and I have 3 golden sex links , New Hampshire, and a Americauna, between the five of them i get 4 eggs a day on average, hope that helps.
I'm up in wa and leghorns do fine. I do not reccomend them though if you want pet chickens that lay alot. They are the most flighty things in the world. I call them popcorns. I recommend black and golden sexlinks. They do great up here and lay lots of big brown eggs.
I would basically say, it's your choice on what to get. Do some research, find what suits you. If you want something more friendly and calm, go for the breed(s) that are the best of those qualities. In any case, you can trim flight feathers off particularly flighty birds to keep them grounded.
I agree with everyone here, especially SkeeredChicken. To give you an idea, here's what I did: I wanted chickens for eggs, but also needed something that isn't aggressive (I have little kids). So out of what was at my local feedstore, I picked Barred Rock and New Hampshire Pullets. I've read that RIR can be aggressive, but thought I'd give the pullets a try anyway (I've read on here about people having great success with them), so I only got a couple of those in my order. They are supposed to be great egg layers, and if that was all I cared about I guess I would have stuck with them. Since it's WAY more important TO ME that they be friendly and fairly calm, I tried to pick breeds to match. They'll be here in a few more weeks, so we'll see how I did then! Also, I really wanted cold-hardy breeds. Thankfully, I read (and was told) that my choices would be able to tolerate our cold here very well. I'd love to get an Old English, since I think the Roosters are BEAUTIFUL, but have read that they are flighty, don't like to be caged, and are more likely to be aggressive (I haven't owned them though, so am open to other opinions!). So, again, check out the breeds you are thinking about (some of the hatcheries online give GREAT personality descriptions. Also, Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens also helped me make my choices), and see how well they match what you are looking for. Very likely you are getting different opinions because a.) Everyone has their own favorite! and b.) different people have their chickens for different reasons. Maybe you could ask those 'advice givers' what they loved so much about the specific breed they suggest? hth! Good luck! The picking of breeds was so much fun! -Meg
jeremy frenz, You've gotten some good advice here already. I just wanted to second the ones that recommended checking around with people, books and the internet to determine which breeds you want. I think Feathersite is a marvelous site. Another excellent site would be JHenderson's. Not only does he provide information, he has links to many other sites and breed charts. He has one chart that shows the differences between all the breeds he has personally raised in his backyard flock. http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chlinks.html If you're planning on getting just a few birds, I recommend reading Keep Chickens! Tending Small Flocks in Cities, suburbs, and Other Small Spaces by Barbara Kilarski, published by Storey Publishing. It may even be available from your local library system. I think if you spend time picking them up, holding, petting and talking to them, any bird will be friendlier and more like pets than those that are just backyard egg layers. Although, some birds will never be real keen on your friendship. I agree with Queen of the Lilliputians - making the choice is a lot of fun! I kept a small spreadsheet on each breed I liked or disliked, but you could just use a notebook. Then when you're ready to buy them, check through your notes and decide which you want. We started out ordering 25 different heritage standard breed pullets and got 23 pullets and 2 cockerels. Just like people, each has their own personality. regards, keljonma