Newbie here with questions

[Rocky Top Chick]

Hi everyone,

I am so new to this chicken thing that I might sound stupid

I live in piedmont NC and want to get some chickens. After reading all your comments and subjects on chickens I realize I have so much to learn. Can you help me with what kind of chickens to get. I though they came in white and maybe black, boy do I have a long way to go. Egg layers are the route I want to take. The plan is only to have four or five and I am so new at this that I don't have any plans to expand to show chickens or anything too complicated. As I stated just a few egg layers and I would like really nice

chickens. I have set up a brooder and my husband is building the coop. Acutally I am a city girl living in the country, but love to try new things. Can anyone offer me any help? After reading the forum I am more confused than ever.

Thanks, you all seem like really nice people.

Debbie

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

from TN. For egg laying, I love my Rhode Island Reds. But they are several different breeds that are great layers. You will get many different opinions, on this subject. Just look at the the advice, you get and do a little research and see which breed you like the best.

 

[Fudgie]

Go online to Cackle hatchery or McMurray Hatchery and look online at the pictures, they usually break them down by egg layers, meat chickens, bantams etc. You can look and learn by having those catalogs to browse through. That is what I do anyway. I like the Buff orpingtons(BO) and rhode Island Red (RIR). A lot of people put the initials of the kinds of chickens and that STILL confuses me. LOL Good luck and

your chicken addiction headquarters!!!!

 

[CovenantCreek]

A good place to start, if you're just interested in getting eggs, would be the sex links. They're bred specifically for their egg production and can easily give you over 300 eggs a piece their first year. I've also found that my "Red Star" hens were a very entertaining group when I got them. They were very personable, curious, and fun to interact with.

Here's a page that has good information about sex links, where they come from and why they exist.

edited to add:

from another Tennessean

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

You guys are GREAT. Thanks for all the information so far.

Debbie

 

[Sissy]

Debi, Welcome to BYC
I love my black cochin bantys they have given me
good hatches but if your looking for eggs they have rather small eggs not large like the standard chicken hope this helps.

 

[gritsar]

Henderson's Handy Dandy Chicken Chart:

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

As you look at the line for each breed you'll notice a pile of eggs. Large pile, good egg layers. Small pile, not so great.

 

[KayP]

Hi Debbie
I'm pretty new myself; I was just where you are last spring and I decided on a RIR, Red Star, Barred Plymouth Rock and Golden Laced Wyandotte. Sadly, a fox got the BPR. The other 3 have begun to lay and all are laying machines. My RIR likes a good cuddle, flies up on my shoulder and is the first to try to peck food out of my hand. The Wyandotte is bigger and very beautiful. My BPR was the smartest and very pretty. I am currently trying to get bantams (so I can fit more): an Ameraucana for pretty blue eggs and a beautiful to look at girl; and Easter Egger for pretty green eggs; replace my BPR; and maybe get a Mille Fleur and Silkie just for the fun of it. I'm debating the buff brahma. I like the mypetchicken breed list, because they have a handy chart and nice pics. I also go to feathersite b/c he has lots of pics of everything. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Msbear]

If I were just going to do layers, I would make sure I had a beautiful variety. welsummers lay huge, dark brown speckled eggs and EE's (easter eggers) lay blue, green or pink tinted eggs. A white leghorn is bred for egg production and lays a crisp, white egg. A barred rock will lay a large, creamy brown egg.

that way when Easter comes around, you have no work to do... your girls already did it for you.

Here's a sign I made for a fellow who specialized in egg variety with his backyard flock and these are actual colors of his eggs

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

LOL you will get a million answers to this!!! I'm fairly new too, I found the mypetchicken breed selector a great help. It appears that there is a wide array of personaities and traits within a breed as well as those that are particular to breed. I decided to try 4 at a time from the same breed to get a good feel for it and not be misled by one individual bird.