New to it all!

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jeepgrl

jeepgrl

In the Brooder
5 Years
Sep 5, 2014
33
10
36
Hello,
We have recently moved to a rural area, from the city. I am very anxious to get some chicks, for eggs. Any advice, as to when to get them and start our little chick family, and any advice for kids and chicks/chickens. Actually any advice period would be great!
Thank you so much. I'm thinking about getting the road island red chicks.
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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You have come to the right place for all the learning! Lots of nice breeds out there. The Orpington breeds are very kid friendly, docile and great on the laying...(Buff Orpingtons and Black Australorps) My Orps follow me around like drooling puppies looking for goodies or a nice soft lap to lay in. Silkies make great kids pets, Barred Rocks and Wyandottes as well. Rhode Island Reds are good layers, but not all of them are super friendly.

Have you stopped by our learning center yet? Lots of good articles on all the aspect of keeping chickens including getting started, building the coop, raising the chicks and keeping your adult flock happy, healthy and safe from predators...https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

Make yourself at home here and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Welcome to our flock!
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. Rhode Island Reds are good, hardy dependable layers but can occasionally be aggressive (particularly the roosters and hatchery bred strains). I would personally recommend Black Australorps as they are extremely hardy, calm and gentle (our children, and now my grandaughter, made lap pets of ours), and the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds. A Black Australorp holds the brown egg laying record with 364 eggs in 365 days, and while none of mine have ever reached that kind of production (and likely never will), I've still had a few of them lay over 300 eggs in a year. Other friendly and gentle breeds that are good layers include Buff Orpingtons, Speckled Sussex, and Salmon Faverolles. You can quick reference the characteristics of the different chicken breeds at http://albc-usa.etapwss.com/images/uploads/docs/pickachicken.pdf, http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/breed-list.aspx, and http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html. Murray McMurray has an excellent "chick selector" chart to help you determine the best breed for you at https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chick_selector.html. Just be sure and click on "show more characteristics." Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Whatever breed you decide to get, good luck with your flock.
 
Welcome to BYC!
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We're glad to have you.

You've received excellent advice already!

For gentle, sweet kids' pets, I'd recommend the Wyandotte. In my experience they have great personalities that make them very personable. Wyandottes also come in many beautiful colors and are very good layers (250-300 eggs per year in my experience). Their fluffy appearance makes them look even sweeter! My Wyandottes have inquisitive temperaments and though they can be occasionally a little dominating to other birds, they aren't mean. Wyandottes are cold hardy, if you live in a cold climate. Mine have also withstood 90-100 degree F. heat quite well.

For more information on breeds, be sure to check out the Breeds section of this website, where you can read reviews from other people who have personally kept different breeds: https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/chicken-breeds

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
 
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Glad you joined us!

I would definitely check out the Learning Center--its full of information for chicken keeping newbies. The above posters have given you some great advice/suggestions, too.

I agree with Wyandottes7 in that Wyandottes would make excellent children's birds, that are still productive and beautiful. Other breeds that I would recommend include Australorps, Orpingtons, Red Sex-links, Easter Eggers, and Plymouth Rocks. All of those breeds are usually docile birds that lay plenty of eggs.

If egg production was less important to you, I would also suggest a few bantam breeds, like the Wyandotte bantam, bantam Cochin, Dutch Bantam, and Silkie. Bantams don't lay as large of eggs as large-fowl, or as many, but they still have several nice attributes. Bantams are smaller, which makes them easier for kids to handle, they take up less room, and they have very enjoyable personalities. I have both large fowl and bantams, and enjoy raising each for different reasons.

Feel free to ask any other questions you have. We're all here to help in whatever way we can.
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My advice is to get the biggest, most predator proof coop you can afford. And be mindful of chicken math. In the world of chicken ownership 1+1=25. We call it New Math.
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

You've received a lot of advice above on chicken breeds. It probably seems overwhelming since everyone likes different breeds.

But there are some truths. Buff orps, silkies, EEs and black australorps are big love bugs and will adore your children if tamed while young. In my experiences, RIRs, sex links and wyandottes are meaner and more bossy. But they are some of the best layers.

When choosing breeds for kids look for heavy, friendly, docile, affectionate, broody and calm breeds. These will best fit your need.

Good luck!
 

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