New to Chickens, what kind to get?

[Maggie C]

You picked a good place to start. I have gotten lots of good information from this site and did a fair amount of research before getting my girls. I have Light Brahmas and Black Australorps. Both are friendly, relatively docile and good layers- nice sized brown eggs. I also have an Easter Egger bantam - didn't bargain for that but she is so cute and lays the cutest little pink egg. My husband picked the girls out and surprised me for my birthday. I'm not sure if they are what I would have picked out but I wouldn't trade them for the world now.

 

[kari_dawn]

How long can I expect my hens to lay for. I am sure every bird and breed is different.

Generally, you get two years of aproximate daily laying (minus the shortened winter days), and after that, while egg production doesn't stop, it does drop off a bit. Then again, I had a buff orpington that laid two to three eggs a week as a nine year old...

Predators are a constant battle for me...we have TONS of them...sorry your early chickie memory was not so pleasant...I always fear walking in on a slaughter like that...even though I am not little anymore, I still name my chickens!

 

[Cheyenne2929]

So I am still thinking about what breeds I want, though I am forming ideas. I totally have chickens on the brain. Need to get my coop done! Will maybe start next weekend. All I can think about is coop ideas. Been walking around the farm checking out different ideas. Have a couple carts and a small flat bed trailer I am considering making a tractor out of. We have decided it would take just as much to rebuild the old coop as it would to build a new smaller one. So a new one it is!
I have really developed an obsession in this chicken idea! (I did the same thing last summer when hubby suggested we get a couple of hermit crabs. Still have them and love them! Took the bit in my teeth and ran with it!) He had no idea the care involved with them or he would have kept his mouth shut about both the crabs and chickens!

 

[jmtcmkb]

I have 5 and it's my first time raising chickens, but my friendliest is my Barred Rock They just started laying and by far the most productive are the Red Sex links. They are also very docile and friendly. Have fun choosing. I didnt realize they would all be so friendly and talkative, so darn cute!

 

[Time-Out]

I did completely the opposite to you, so I won't be much help lol. I raised chicks, so they know this is home and don't even think about straying. I also did bother looking up overly friendly breeds. I just went with looks and how they would cope in my garden, plus how much food they eat. It's a good job too, because I'm not sure I could have survived any friendlier chickens! I have a Friesian, which is supposed to be very flightly escape artists who follows me around everywhere, comments on things I do and tries to groom my hair!

I thoroughly recommend raising your own or at least buying them from someone who is very hands-on with their chicks, a small-scale breeder. I have 7 different breeds and all are excessively friendly.

 

[Cheyenne2929]

I will be getting them young, so that I can "hand raise" them. The barred rocks and red stars are on my list..I also like the black austros, brown leghorn, and orphington. Think I will prob get an easter egger or two. Should give me plenty of color in the eggs and on the chickens!

 

[Den in Penn]

May I suggest you buy only a couple of breeds each year? That way you keep getting new younger birds that lay more, you get to know the quality of the breed better. I know some like a mixed flock from the start, but if your in this for the long haul, time will give you that mix.

 

[VkyVky]

It is a lot of fun starting out! I enjoyed deciding on the breeds. My son wanted Easter Eggers and I wanted to see what Delawares and Welsummers were like. I also got a Buff Orpington for my daughter to claim as her own. I chose 5 chicks in case one didn't make it, I would still have 4. All five are going strong. I also thought that it would be a manageable number for me as I am less experienced and didn't want to overwhelm myself with responsibility and feed costs. It continues to be a happy project and the family enjoys having our own eggs to eat and share.
We (mostly my husband) also put a lot of thought into the coop and run . . . sounds like you have room to expand if you want to in the future, so just keep expansion in mind. But I say start small so you it will be easy to keep your flock healthy and happy. BTW - I recommend keeping a closed flock after reading all the health problems people experience after letting outside chickens into their flocks.
Have fun!

 

[Cheyenne2929]

I was considering starting with only a couple breeds too. Eventually I would like to have a variety, like I said not only for egg color but for a range in colors on the actual chickens. What it will probably come down to is waht is available around here. We do have some places that have a good reputation for getting and selling healthy chicks. They are not hatcheries themselves, but buy from hatcheries and sell in their farm stores. If I cant find anything I like around here I will order online.
As for the coop, we do have plenty of room to expand, or I could always fix up the old coop. It is approx 8x12 if not bigger and approx 6' tall, I am horrible with measurement guessing. I want to start with a 4x8 6' tall. How many chickens will that comfortably hold? They will be able to forage quite a bit when I am home, which is almost always as I work at home. I want to start with about 3 to 4 chickens, but know that the flock will expand!! At least I have plenty of land to expand on!

 

[Den in Penn]

In this site the normal recommend square foot per bird is 4. How ever other places say 2 square feet. If you add a run the lower number is more tolerable. If you let them range than the coop becomes just the place they sleep, lay and eat if you keep the food inside. Then the 2sq ft is more acceptable in my opinion. So your 4x8 is 8 birds at 4sq ft and 16 at 2sq ft. So the number that's right is party based on your management style. Building the new coop gives you time to decide if you want or need the old coop. Once its done and you fix the old then you have flexibility in you housing.