Need help on breed selection.

[Sarah_Mom2Four]

I'm hoping to soon become a first time chicken mama! We live in town and out of respect for the neighbors I'm looking for a very quiet and gentle breed of layer. The more eggs the better since we will only be getting about 10 and we go through about 10 dozen eggs a month lol. Thank you so much ahead of time for any feed back you can give me!

 

[smpezzi]

Sarah- My pet chicken has a breed selection tool here is the link (I hope I do this right so you can just click the link)

http://www.mypetchicken.com/breedQuestions.aspx

 

[lurky]

I suggest Buff Orpingtons and Barred Rocks. I have several breeds and I think they are 2 breeds for you to consider.

 

[Sarah_Mom2Four]

Quote:
The buff orpingtons are definately in my top two list, as were Australorps, have you had experience with them? I'm worried about the cleanliness of the buffs with their big fluffy butts lol.

 

[3peeps]

Keep in mind that hens can be noisy, no matter what breed you choose. Mine are not quiet. My orpington has always been family friendly, but she can work up a storm of clucking after laying an egg! My australorp is also quite gentle.

As long as you know what you might be in for, noise-wise, they are a lot of fun and the eggs are great. Not to mention the manure.

I do two things if they get too noisy...throw in some major treats or lock them in the henhouse, which is in our garage, until they chill out.

 

[Sarah_Mom2Four]

Really I would be quite upset if our neighbors complained over some chicken noise since her annoying ankle bitter of a dog barks until 2am. I would just like to be more considerate for the most part since I'm putting the coop and run about 2 feet from the edge of her property. Thanks so much though about commenting that any breed may get very clucky.

 

[3peeps]

Well, in that case, another thing you might benefit from is some sound buffering. I notice that our hens don't seem AS loud if I stand on the other side of our cedar fence. In another post, someone recommended insulation in the henhouse. Anything that could dampen the sound would probably help your situation.

Barking until 2am? Lovely.

 

[Mahonri]

I wish I would have ordered some Golden Laced and Silver Laced Wyandottes. I also wish I would have gotten a couple of Delaware hens. I have 8 week old chicks at present. 7 Barred Rocks, 4 Rhode Island Reds, 4 Americanas, 1 Black Star, 1 Red Star, 1 White Rock and 1 Delaware Roo. (sexing mistake) My favorite is the Black Star. She likes to be held and loves it when I bring treats.

Here is a pic I took tonight once they got settled. I have 4 roost heights and the ones on the top fight to be there first and most fight to be where the White Rock is setting.