Need chicken recommendations

[chickenschickens]

I'm planning on getting about 10 chickens. I have never had chickens before, and I'm not sure what kind to get. Here's my situation and what I'm looking for:

-chickens that are QUIET. I'm in a residential neighborhood.
-chickens that will be fine without heat in the winter (new england)
-my main reason for getting chickens is for the eggs, so I need a breed that lays year round.
-i will not have a rooster or hatch any eggs
-a few will probably end up on the dinner table

So far, I'm leaning towards Rhode island reds, barred rocks, or new hampshires, but I'm not sure which one best fits my needs, or if there are others that I should be considering.

Any input/suggestions/advice appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[digitS']

Lots of folks ask these questions, searching the breeds forum especially will turn up some of the multitude of answers.

Quiet? There is fairly good evidence that there's a "myth" of a quiet breed of chickens. I would have wagered until this year that Barred Rocks (good to see on your list) would be, at least, a quieter breed. One of my pullets hasn't quite convinced me otherwise but she is a noisy one! And, she was from the very first as a tiny, little thing.

There are some breeds that are notoriously noisy, however. I just go for the frumpy, dumpy hens and they tend to be quiet. These types are also fairly cold hearty. Light-weight breeds are not really considered cold-weather choices.

I think that your ideas on RIR, BR, and NH are good ones. This is a good site to do some research on various breeds for the backyard flock:
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

Best of luck, welcome to BYC, and come back with all your questions and observations

!

Steve

 

[ibpboo]

I have a barred rock and 6 rhode island reds. The only time the ever make any real noise, is when they lay an egg. Same goes for my easter egger. i have only hens.

 

[DTchickens]

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i think chantaclers (most likely miss spelled.. go check feathersite for them). Lay brown eggs i believe.. good size and all year around, fairly quiet i think. and cold hardy, (they are made with cornish and a few other crosses so they could stand cold. good egg laying. and meat birds at the end of their egg laying life)

 

[LynneP]

Since few hens are quiet, it might be worth insulating to control the noise, especially during laying. It should be possible to put up a partition in the coop to baffle the noise, too.

My birds are dual purpose, my first flock- great layers! (link below)

 

[patandchickens]

you might consider sex-links. Can't beat 'em for egg laying, incl. the winter. Very easy to get at any feedstore. Mine have been as quiet as can reasonably be expected of a chicken, and very good temperament, although obviously there is variation in any kind of chicken. While there are probaby more bitter-cold-hardy breeds, sexlinks are not "un" cold hardy either.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[ksacres]

If you want some to eat as well, you are probably better off ordering some for laying, and some for eating. You layers aren't going to provide you with much meat, and a meat bird would eat WAY too much to be econimal for eggs.

I second the suggestion of sexlinks. 100% accurate sexing from birth, and they are EXCELLENT layers, and they are cold hardy. The "black" sexlinks tend to be a bit larger than the reds due to the parent strains used.

 

[chickenschickens]

Is there any advantage to the sex links other than the accurate sexing? From what I read, the blacks are crosses of the breeds I was considering getting.

If the amount of noise a chicken makes depends more on the individual than the breed, I guess I'm just looking for a chicken that lays eggs and can withstand cold. There seem to be plenty of breeds like that.

Is there that much difference between them other than the way they look? Am I putting too much thought into this decision?

 

[kinnip]

My EEs just drop an egg and keep on trucking, no noise at all. They're the only ones like that. I have a Red Stars, she lays every morning (really it's freakish) at about 5 am. How do I know? Because she tells me so, every morning, five am.

 

[digitS']

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Yes, there's something called heterosis - hybrid vigor. My understanding is that in Britain the black sex-link is more popular in the north because it is thought to have greater cold tolerance. There are so many strains, I'm not sure if that holds everywhere.
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You may be able to make a decision on which ones go in the freezer by which ones are quiet or not. I think I could have done this with my noisy, noisy Barred Rock.
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Sure there is. There are differences in growth rates, egg production, feed to egg ratios, egg size, etc. However, there are great individual differences between birds.
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Isn't choice wonderful?!?

Steve