Hi everyone! I'm excited to finally be an active part of the backyard chicken community! My husband and i are almost finished with the coop. I've been doing a ton of research on raising chicks and best breeds for our area. I cant wait to post some pics and get some questions answered. What a great website! --Chicken Kisser
Hi Glad you could join the flock! Looking forward to seeing your pics. Have you decided on breeds? The learning centre is definatly the place to start, lots of great articles and information. Be sure to ask any questions everyone here to help. Wishing you the very best of luck and hope you enjoy BYC
I wanted breeds that are very friendly and managable. Also good egg layers. I've been looking at wyanottes, welsummers, sussex, stars, RIR, plymoth rocks, marans, easter eggers, australorps, and silkies just because they are adorable. I want a small flock of 5 or 6. I also live in a very dry, fairly warm environment (NV), so thats a factor too. I know a lot if people keep thier chicks inside for the first 4 weeks but i was hoping to keep them in the coop. There are no drafts, it's been in the 60's, and of course i would have good heat lamps in there. Any thoughts? Is this too risky this time of year?
Hello and Welcome To BYC! If your coop is draft free and you can keep the chicks at the temperature they need in the coop and if you are able to get your coop set up / big enough to minimize the fire hazard the heat sources are... there is no reason you can't raise them out of the house, quite a few people do. One thing, in really cold weather if you have power outages for any length of time, you can lose chicks pretty fast since coops and outbuilding usually cool down a lot faster than a house.
Welcome to BYC! We're glad to have you. I've really enjoyed my Wyandottes, and would definitely recommend them. Mine have been docile and easy to handle, as well as very good egg layers, through heat and cold.
We're glad you joined us! The breeds you are considering are all beautiful, hardy, and productive breeds. I especially recommend Wyandottes. My Wyandottes (large fowl and bantam) have proven to be excellent egg layers with docile personalities and cute appearances. As long as you can keep the coop warm enough and predator-secure, you should certainly be able to raise your chicks out there.
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to our flock. I've had all the breeds on your list at one time or another over the years, and you have some great breeds listed. Black Sex Links (Black Stars) are my personal favorites. They are hardy and friendly, egg laying machines. I've raised them for years, and they have been my best layers, consistently churning out more than 300 eggs per hen per year. Australorps are my favorite standard breed (Black Stars are hybrids). Australorps are extremely hardy, calm and gentle (my children, and now my granddaughter, made lap pets of them), and the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Whatever breeds you end up getting, good luck with your flock.