My Family And I Want To Start A Flock!!!

[chicmom]

Hello and welcome to BYC from Ohio!

Why not consider bantams. You can get nearly every breed, just in the smaller size, and the produce eggs too, just a small egg. I have bantam Cochins and they are just darling! They eat less, poo is smaller, and you can have more of them. Kids love a little chicken.....Adoreable and cuddly.....

 

[Nimby Chickens]

Buff orps are great! Mine is super friendly. Sussex are great too, my speckled is friendly and talkative... maybe too much. She is LOUD! The gentlest roosters are Faverolles (some can be mean but they seem to be very across-the-board docile) so I would maybe consider one.

My friendliest chicken is a cross-beaked Black Star (Bird), followed by my Sultan (Fragglesweetie), then my little porcelain d'uccle (Lemondrop) and my 2 silkie crosses (Chocobowie and Ziggy)

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

Thanks for serving, or serving those who serve!

Has your research included Henderson's Handy-Dandy Chicken Chart? http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

I agree that some of the best times with chickens is when they're on my lap, eating scratch out of my hand. But it's not just about the breed, I think how you interact with them as chicks is at least as important. And within a breed, some birds are just more or less friendly than others, even as broodermates raised the same way.

I don't have experience with Jersey Giants, but would strongly suggest making sure the roo would be compatible with ALL the hens.... you wouldn't want him breeding a little banty gal, and in my opinion it's best to have the roo with the hens rather than separated.

Thanks again, and good luck with your first poultry project!

Bryan

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

You are on a great start. Research first! My kids are loving silkies as they are the right size for them to hold. I don't think the standards are too hard to handle but at first even I was intimidated (now I have turkeys to do that

. ). My kids joined 4-h and are now into showing their chickens.

Trick to well mannered chickens is to handle them often. I don't trust my roosters with the kids.

Good luck on selecting the chickens!

 

[trainfullachickens14]

Quote:
Now, I'm not an EXPERT so I may not have the BEST choices, but (if it was me) I would get:
1. Jersey Giant-Rooster
2. 1 Sussex hen
3. 1 Buff Orpington hen
4. 1 Jersey Giant hen
5. 1 New Hampshire Red hen
6. 1 Easter Egger or Ameraucana hen
You can look up these breeds on this site to see what you think of them but, if it were me and I could only get 4-5 hens and a cock, this is what I would get. (there are several variations of some of these breeds and some are quite pretty, as far as the JG's, I would get Splash JG's)

 

[BlazeJester]

Since you're new, I bet you don't know... deliberately and obviously bumping a post is frowned upon and can get you a "warning" from the moderators.

And since you're new,

!!!!

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[CochinBrahmaLover]

Oh ya thanks for serving soo much, my dad is in afghan right now too hope you the best of safety and god bless you and all your platoon

 

[vjbakke]

Welcome!

We have red sex links and Dominiques. They are both very sweet girls and great with kids. Are you planning on getting a roo so you can breed some of them? Just curious because the girls will be happy with or without a roo. We don't have one as we live in town and cannot have one.

 

[DanEP]

I vote buff orps, my three year old grand son had a lot of fun spoiling them and they loved it. You might want to rethink the roo tho they can see the little guys as a threat and attack never a good situation. Small children can be a little excited around chickens and move fast toward them. A hen will just run away but a rooster may flogg or spur them to protect the girls. Since you don't need a roo to get eggs and seem to be looking for the kids to have fun with them a hen only flock might be better at least till your kids are a little older. I have 4 roo's right now and 3 are great but the smallest one came running to the girls defense and flogged the grandson. I adjusted his attitude but still have to wach him around Ben to be safe. If the grandkids lived here he would have to go or be locked up all the time.



Hope you come home safe and have fun with your new flock Dan

 

[Cindilou]

Quote:
Just 6 birds to start? Check into chicken math because I'm pretty sure I said the same thing and now we have about 20...and that's without a rooster to fertilize my own chicks.

I am a fan of Easter Eggers and mutt chickens. It is so fun to get a blue egg every day. I also have a Jersey Giant with a great disposition but with fairly small eggs for a bird her size. The best bird we have is a black sex link that lets our daughter carry her around and comes when treats are near and she lays a large brown egg nearly every day. All chickens are different and even ones bred for certain characteristics may lack something you wish for. I have a Speckled Sussex pullet that is about 4 months and she is very sweet but she will not lay for a while yet. You could also look into who breeds and sells close to your home and get some local input and buy locally.

Similar to other types of pets and even people, temperaments can be different depending on each bird. Getting chicks, rearing them yourself and handling them daily will aid in them being less shy. As chickens begin to mature and find you to be one of "their roosters" they may squat for you and allow you to handle them even if they were flighty as younger chicks.

I am sure whatever you finally choose will be a wonderful family adventure as it is at my home.
Good luck!