Newbie Question - Choosing breeds/sizes and other questions

[toofoul]

:cdHi all. I am so excited to be getting chickens and i am doing some careful research.


1. are Wyandottes and Australorps good choices for eggs and friendliness? I have a small boy so a docile and friendly bird is a must.

2. In regards to size, would it be better to choose bantams rather than standard chickens as they are easier to handle?

3. as a compromise could i mix sizes and say have one full sized hen coupled with 2 bantam sized hens of the same breed? would they get along ok?

4. Lastly, should i get chicks or older hens. I have heard that its is hard or impossible to sex a chick and would hate for my boy (and me) to get attached to a bird only to find its a rooster, which we cant have in our suburban yard. at what age can they be reliably sexed?

thanks for all your help and patience for a Newb

I cant wait to become a chicken owner (finally)

Cheers

Adrian

Thanks for your help and for being patient with a total newbie.
Cheers
Adrian

 

[Bantimna]

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Enjoy your chicken keeping and welcome to the forum, it a great investment!

 

[Bantimna]

Brahma are also a great choice for home-flocks!
See here for more info:
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/Brahma/BRKBrahma.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=169790
Lovely birds to have

 

[Intheswamp]

For some reason, during my time spent on the forum, I've acquired a slight negative impression of Wyandottes...nothing like "they'll eat all your other chickens" or anything, but maybe some social/personality issues that pop up...seems there birds that are more consistently "friendly". But, having said that...each bird will have it's own personality. Buff orpingtons are know for their docile, gentle behavior (but there can be exceptions to even that). Austrlorps are of the orpington family and I've basically heard good things about them, too. Barred Rocks are good, too.

Bantams *can* be more flighty than the larger chickens. Once the large fowl chickens get grown they are pretty much grounded and unable to fly because of their size. Bantams, I believe, can still get around pretty good on the wing once they're grown.

I would just go either large fowl or bantam. Each bird being about the same size will help keep peace in a small flock. Remember that personalities come in to play. The buff orps, though probably bigger than barred rocks, can be bullied by them (and other smaller chickens)...buff orps are just (most of the time) that docile and humble (good with kids).

Chicks would be the most educational and your family willl get to grow with them in the chicken adventure. I think they'll grow into friendlier birds if raised from chicks. But, it'll take longer to get eggs, you'll have more feed money invested (though you'll pay more for a grown hen than you will a chick, anyhow), etc., etc.,... I just think growing out hens from chicks is the best "education".

As for sexing the chicks and keeping from getting a rooster...that's a gamble. With some of the sex-linked birds you can be *pretty sure* about it, but no guarantee. Some birds are easier sexed than others. If it's really important not to get a rooster in the bunch I think it would be prudent to purchase from one of the better quality hatcheries so that the birds can be vent-sexed. Even then there's still a chance of you hearing a strangled crowed coming from the coop one day.

Anyhow, that's my 3-cents worth (you got more than you bargained for

),

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[Intheswamp]

Where are you located at? Curious about your climate...

Ed

 

[toofoul]

Hi and thanks for excellent advice.

Ed, my climate is temperate with mild cool winters (nights - 5-10 deg C, days 16-19 deg C) and hot dry summers (regularly over 35 C during the day with some days over 45 degC).

Well, i think I will get Australorps. Still deciding on bantam or LF but at this stage im tipping towards LF because i like their look and if i raise them as chicks, they should be ok for my son to be around.

I will look into hatcheries here in Perth


cheers for all your help and look forward to hearing more

Adrian

 

[cobrien]

I recommend the Henderson breed chart as the best info on chicken breeds http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html. Feathersite and mypetchicken are good, too, but I once relied on them to choose a breed and it was missing some very important information for me (the breed I got did not tolerate confinement at all but those sites didn't mention it. I ended up with some very loud and very unhappy blue Andalusians that had to move to the country). I would check all three sites.

Some key things to think about for breeds are:

-How important is egg production (or meat)
-Will the chickens be confined, do the breeds tolerate confinement
-If free ranging, are they good foragers and relatively good at eluding predators (brown or dark colored better than white; polish and sultans not very aware of their surroundings)
-Do you plan on trying to keep them out of certain areas (like gardens, etc.) with fencing - bantams can fly very high but heavy breeds like Australorps can usually be confined with a 5' tall fence, possibly even 4'
-How important are aesthetics
-How important is temperament - friendliness/flightiness, noise, broodiness
-Climate - some don't do well in cold (big combs = frostbite risk)

I live in a mild climate, live in the city, wanted excellent layers, friendly birds that tolerate confinement, birds than can't fly a 5' fence and are unlikey to fly over a 4' fence, prefer not to have broodiness, and would prefer a variety of pretty / funky looking chickens. I also was limited to breeds that are readily available in small quantities, and I didn't want to get them shipped to me (I don't want to open a box and find dead chicks even though I know the ones at the feedstore have also been shipped...I know, maybe it makes no sense...).

I had decided on EE's, Ameracaunas, Buff Orpington, Favorelles, Delawares, Light Brahmas, and Black Australorps. I love the funkier looking breeds but eggs were more important to me. I like Cochins, too, but they don't lay as well as the ones I listed. Of these, however, I could only find Black Australorps in a limited quantity and on relatively short notice. I now have the BA's, a Cochin, a Polish, a silkie and a Marans. I'm very happy with the BA's - great layers, very friendly (they receive a lot of handling and attention) and one even flies up on our shoulder. When I'm ready to add more I'd like some of the others I listed.

 

[Intheswamp]

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Perth...cool.

Roughly 250 miles to your west (kinda wet there!<grin>) is my antipode, the point on the earth opposite my location...I'm a ham radio operator and your city would the closest point for me to contact another landbound ham and consider it my antipode.

Of course one day there *might* be a ship passing through that area....

Well, it sounds like you've got a good plan ahead. Speaking of the bantams, they can have some perks to them....less feed, space, poop, etc.,. Eggs are smaller but the feed to egg ratio is actually pretty good. But, I tend to favor the LF chickens, too.

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[toofoul]

Well, looks like you made my mind up. I think i'll get three Australorp hens as 5 week olds.
i'll keep you updated as to my coop and how it all come together.
thanks again
Adrian

 

[math ace]

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