New to this chicken thing

Date sort Score sort
Oregon Chickmom

Oregon Chickmom

Hatching
5 Years
Joined
Mar 22, 2014
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
7
So I LOVE farm fresh eggs, and today i told my husband I was thinking of having a small coop in our back yard. I was surprised that he was actually excited about this idea! After doing some research I have a sort of idea of what I want. I know I want dual purpose chickens, and a very small flock. Technically we are only allowed 2 chickens due to the size of our yard, but we have really cool neighbors who wouldn't mind fresh eggs either =) How small a flock can you start with? Is two hens and one rooster a good idea? I think I want either Rhode Island Reds or Plymouth Rock, from what I have read so far. Looking for a good egg producer that is docile and not too noisy as I live in town. Any advise would be a huge help from you seasoned chick-parents! =)

Also if I say something stupid I apologize. As I said, I am new to this, but I think I am fairly intelligent! lol
 
welcome-byc.gif
there is a ton of duel purpose birds but if you want eggs and are only allowed 2 then i wouldnt think you would want a rooster unless you plan on sneak breeding. lol
 
you could forgo having a rooster, and instead have a third hen. You don't need a rooster unless you plan on having fertile eggs to hatch. One rooster and 2 hens is about 8 hens too little, to keep the rooster occupied. Otherwise he will severely overbreed your two girls.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! X3 you don't need a rooster unless you want fertile eggs to hatch, with such a small flock you are probably better off with another hen for the eggs rather than a rooster, usually you want more like 8-10 hens per rooster anyhow or the girls get over-mated, and no crowing to bother the neighbors.
Check out the BYC Breeds section for member reviews on a lot of breeds, and the Henderson chicken breed chart compares a lot of popular breeds, http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html ... you might consider having a mixed flock with more than one breed so you have different colored eggs, Easter Eggers / Ameraucana are very nice chickens that are popular because of the green/blue shelled eggs they lay, and Welsummers and Marans lay a darker brown egg. For pure egg layers, the various Red Sex Link crosses are the most popular, Plymouth Rocks as you mentioned are a nice breed, Australorps, Delawere, Wyandottes, Sussex and Orpingtons all are similar brown egg layers that are popular. Most white egg layers are a little more flighty but besides the Leghorns, Ancona and Minorca are popular.
And don't forget to check out the Learning Center, lots of good chicken keeping articles. https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
 
images


Welcome to BYC!

Lots of good breeds out there that are good layers and meat birds. However one rooster needs more hens than 2. 10 hens is preferred for one rooster as the roo can over mate them, causing damage to their bodies and feathers and can cause enough stress not to lay.

You might want to do some reading in our learning center here on BYC for lots of good reads on all the aspects of keeping poultry...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

While you are there, you can check out our breeds page to see what people are saying about the different breeds...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/chicken-breeds

Here is a nice external breeds page that has some quick facts on the different chicken breeds. I used this chart many times before I picked my breeds...

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

Good luck on your new adventure and welcome to BYC!
 
Thanks for the advise! I was thinking 2 hens might be too few to have a rooster, so maybe just stick to the legal 2 hens and no rooster. How many eggs can you get from 2 hens anyway? Should I start with chicks or older hens? 20 week I think is what I have read to be almost laying.
 
Two hens may not lay everyday. But you should get an egg a day, maybe 2 one day and none the next. It is always better to start with chicks so you can bond with them. Started birds can be a bit skittish of you for a spell. But they will work too.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom