Might move to land and if so I will get more chickens. What breeds and advice?

[Riverbend Farms]

My family is thinking about moving to acreage. I have 9 hens, none of which would ever being involved in breeding. 6 of them are a feedstore laying flock and the other 3 are show hens. If we end up moving, I would possibly get 19 hens and 1 rooster. Should I have two roosters? The breeds I am think about are: Green Queens, EEs, Orpingtons, and some eggers. What breeds are very cold tolerant? Also what hatcheries have the best chick mortality rate (hopefully very low)? I would probably do Mcmurray or Meyer. Though I have heard mcmurrays birds are inbred?

 

[Mrs. K]

I think that choice would give you a beautiful egg basket. Where are you from in a general sort of way? Cold varies from place to place.

I live in SD and we get cold, but it generally does not stay around all winter. I have had all those breeds and done well with them.
Personally I would not keep a second rooster until you get closer to 25 head. But depending on your space, maybe people do more roosters with a flock that size.


Mrs K

 

[OzarkChooks]

I think the chick mortality would depend on how far they have to be shipped and the temperature. So I would buy from whichever hatchery is closest to you.

I have bought from Meyer on several occasions. If I lost any chicks within 48 hours they always reimbursed me.

My Brahmas, Green Queens and Ameraucanas tolerate the cold very well.

From my continous learning curve regarding Roosters, I would suggest getting hens first before rooster. If they are all the same age, your adolescent cockerel could potentially terrorize the pullets with unwanted and rough mating. We had to separate our cockerels from hens for this very reason.

 

[Riverbend Farms]

@Mrs. K
We would most likely move to the coast since were we are now gets into the late 90s and early 100s daily. And were we want to move (wont say for privacy reasons) is about 10 degrees colder. My hens do pretty well in the heat. For us, it is nice and cool when it is 50 out. I am kinda odd though and my family acts like there freezing and I am out in a t-shirt and shorts. Thank you for answering my rooster question! I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't overbreed them.

@OzarkChooks
For the rooster, would you recommend either I get a batch of hens (about 10) and wait for them to be pullets, then order get a roo off of say craigslist, then put him in with them. Or order them with say 25-30 hens and two roos then seperate the roos for a few months till they are a little older?

 

[Shadrach]

My family is thinking about moving to acreage. I have 9 hens, none of which would ever being involved in breeding. 6 of them are a feedstore laying flock and the other 3 are show hens. If we end up moving, I would possibly get 19 hens and 1 rooster. Should I have two roosters? The breeds I am think about are: Green Queens, EEs, Orpingtons, and some eggers. What breeds are very cold tolerant? Also what hatcheries have the best chick mortality rate (hopefully very low)? I would probably do Mcmurray or Meyer. Though I have heard mcmurrays birds are inbred?

An awful lot depends on what you want from your chickens and how you intend to keep them.
If you mainly keep them for their eggs and 3 for show and you keep them confined to a coop and run you don't need a rooster.
If you are interested in great chicken TV, prepared to take the losses from predation, hunt for the inevitable hidden nests, fix up the injured and in general take up the role of chicken social services, housing officer and medicare team, not to mention predator deterent, then two rooster, with a few hens in two coops but otherwise free ranging will keeep you entertained and maybe a bit stressed for years.
I would go for the free ranging two tribe option every time but apparently I've got a few screws loose.

 

[nuthatched]

McMurray, cackle hatchery, meyer, ideal, Mt. Healthy, and strombergs are all good hatcheries. Avoid hoovers, poor quality and sexing. The time 9f year and distance, as someone has already said is the decided factor for shipping death. I lost a few chicks this year since they came through phoenix, got stuck there an extra day during a heat wave.