Newbie to all things chicken

MelStort

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I'm in the Tampa Bay area and want to start keeping chickens. I've been gathering information from multiple homesteaders, but thought belonging to a designated community would help me keep up with the legal issues, health issues, etc.

I really want a mix of egg colors (yes, I'm one of those), but I also want friendly birds. I will only have a small backyard and will only be able to have 6 or so hens, but will have a run for them to keep the coyotes out; yeppers, they are in our city. What would be your suggestions for a small flock, keeping in mind that my summers can run to 100, although cold weather rarely gets to freezing? I also garden and will give them the run of the backyard after the season ends in the summer.
 
Welcome to byc and to the fun-filled adventure of chicken keeping. Six is a wonderful backyard flock size, given your location I would suggest looking for breeds that are particularly suited to heat rather than cold so you can get away with choosing some of those Mediterranean breeds with light build and big combs/wattles (suits them for hot/humid climates)... added bonus, these breeds are also extremely efficient producers which is the feed to egg production conversion rate that they offer.
Leghorns, Anconas, Minorcas, and Andalusians are on the list that I would consider for putting a white egg in your basket. Is some find them to be kind of flighty or standoffish, but I have found that they can actually be quite inquisitive and personable. Our current leghorn and a leghorn-based hybrid are two of our absolute friendliest birds. George, the Leghorn, comes when called, does limited tricks, and can always be counted on to follow us around the yard and assist in any activities we are doing.
Crested cream legbars offer or whiting true blues are on the list I would suggest for a blue layer. The CCL has the added benefit of being an auto-sexing breed so you will avoid the risk of a surprise Cockerel if you're buying chicks rather than started birds who are of an age that they can be reliably sexed. For a green layer there are several options....marans based crosses are fairly easy to come by these days and can offer a nice Olive colored egg. Speaking of marans, that is what you're going to be looking for if you want to put a nice dark egg in your basket, welsummers are another option.
Depending on your tolerance for receiving a surprise male even if you buy sexed female chicks there is a 10 to 15% risk overall of receiving a male, looking to some of the fun autosexing breeds or sex linked crosses / hybrids can be a nice way to build your basket and flock without having to have a contingency plan for what to do with any unwanted boys. These days people are working with lots of lines that offer you the colorful eggs that you're looking for and the guarantee of being guaranteed sexed female.
Some of your most friendly and personable breeds are not necessarily going to be the best at it for a hot climate, due to being generally heavier bodied and having combs and wattles that are more compact which provide less heat exchange, but that does not mean that they should be excluded from consideration. Breeds like orpingtons, wyandottes, Etc are generally friendly and contribute light/medium brown eggs
 
Welcome to BYC! I like Grey Mare’s suggestions, especially Crested Cream Legbars. Beautiful, auto-sexing, colorful eggs, and pretty friendly birds (from what I’ve seen). Most of the US hatchery stock looks to be smaller bodied with floppy combs, perfect for hotter climates. :cool:
 
Welcome to byc and to the fun-filled adventure of chicken keeping. Six is a wonderful backyard flock size, given your location I would suggest looking for breeds that are particularly suited to heat rather than cold so you can get away with choosing some of those Mediterranean breeds with light build and big combs/wattles (suits them for hot/humid climates)... added bonus, these breeds are also extremely efficient producers which is the feed to egg production conversion rate that they offer.
Leghorns, Anconas, Minorcas, and Andalusians are on the list that I would consider for putting a white egg in your basket. Is some find them to be kind of flighty or standoffish, but I have found that they can actually be quite inquisitive and personable. Our current leghorn and a leghorn-based hybrid are two of our absolute friendliest birds. George, the Leghorn, comes when called, does limited tricks, and can always be counted on to follow us around the yard and assist in any activities we are doing.
Crested cream legbars offer or whiting true blues are on the list I would suggest for a blue layer. The CCL has the added benefit of being an auto-sexing breed so you will avoid the risk of a surprise Cockerel if you're buying chicks rather than started birds who are of an age that they can be reliably sexed. For a green layer there are several options....marans based crosses are fairly easy to come by these days and can offer a nice Olive colored egg. Speaking of marans, that is what you're going to be looking for if you want to put a nice dark egg in your basket, welsummers are another option.
Depending on your tolerance for receiving a surprise male even if you buy sexed female chicks there is a 10 to 15% risk overall of receiving a male, looking to some of the fun autosexing breeds or sex linked crosses / hybrids can be a nice way to build your basket and flock without having to have a contingency plan for what to do with any unwanted boys. These days people are working with lots of lines that offer you the colorful eggs that you're looking for and the guarantee of being guaranteed sexed female.
Some of your most friendly and personable breeds are not necessarily going to be the best at it for a hot climate, due to being generally heavier bodied and having combs and wattles that are more compact which provide less heat exchange, but that does not mean that they should be excluded from consideration. Breeds like orpingtons, wyandottes, Etc are generally friendly and contribute light/medium brown eggs
Thank you so much! This is good info, especially about the autosexing breeds. I didn't know there was such a thing and am relieved to find that out.
 
Hiya, and welcome to BYC! :frow

To meet more Floridians in your area, you may want to stop in to your Florida thread.

Here are a couple of threads about breeds of chickens.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ht-chicken-breed-a-guide-for-beginners.79781/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-project.975504/

We're glad you're here!
Oh, thank you so much. I have learned that I can't learn gardening from folks in other climates, so it's wonderful that there's a place to learn from other Floridians. We're a different breed!
 
Welcome to BYC! I like Grey Mare’s suggestions, especially Crested Cream Legbars. Beautiful, auto-sexing, colorful eggs, and pretty friendly birds (from what I’ve seen). Most of the US hatchery stock looks to be smaller bodied with floppy combs, perfect for hotter climates. :cool:
Thank you! I don't think I've ever heard of those, so I'll check them out. Have you had better success with one hatchery over another? And, like seeds, should we try to find hatcheries closer to FL than, say, the Midwest?
 
Thank you! I don't think I've ever heard of those, so I'll check them out. Have you had better success with one hatchery over another? And, like seeds, should we try to find hatcheries closer to FL than, say, the Midwest?
It's always better if you can get chicks locally/in person, if only because you're guaranteed live birds. The two hatcheries I've used are Meyers and Mt Healthy. Both are out of Ohio. In that case, it's best to plan your shipment with moderate weather (ie. no storms, heatwaves, cold snaps, etc.)
 

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