Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[LnKsMaMa]

Thanks for the great welcome! I had chickens growing up and we just bought a home with 2.5 acres and my youngest is obsessed w/chickens so we are excited to finally be able to have them! Any suggestions for good year round egg layers that would be friendly with my girls (ages 5 & 7)?

 

[stake]

I have a rooster that had his tail feathers plucked out by another rooster. We have since then gotten rid of the other rooster, probably 4 months ago. His feathers never really seemed to be growing back. Now it looks as if hens are pecking at his bottom. Today when I went out his backside is bald and he's bleeding yet again. Is there something I can put on him to help him heal and his feathers to grow back? Is there something that I can use to deter the hens from pecking at him? I'm afraid he's going to get frostbite from having a bare bottom. When I get a chance I'll take pictures.

bluecoat....and be careful not to get it on yourself......

 

[dheltzel]

Thanks for the great welcome! I had chickens growing up and we just bought a home with 2.5 acres and my youngest is obsessed w/chickens so we are excited to finally be able to have them! Any suggestions for good year round egg layers that would be friendly with my girls (ages 5 & 7)?

Any breed that you raise from chicks will be friendly with your girls. As for year round laying, the only way to assure that is to add supplemental lighting to your coop. Not everyone thinks that is healthy for the hens, but if high production is your goal, that is the only way. Sure, some breeds have a reputation for laying well in the winter, but I doubt anyone has done any actual tests that are meaningful, it is all anecdotal and often passed down as statements of fact. I do add lighting, but start in December to give everyone a rest. I am trying to rush spring, not make them think it is always summer like the commercial facilities.

Personally, I love Cream Legbars for almost every situation. I didn't want to like them, I thought they had to be "over hyped" by the people trying to get rich quick selling them, but my own experience and that of every customer that has reported back to me, is that they are wonderful backyard birds. I wouldn't recommend them for unsupervised free ranging, they are too placid to avoid predators. And some of the roos get feisty (compared to my other breeds), but the pullets are great, doubly so when hand raised by children.

 

[dheltzel]

bluecoat....and be careful not to get it on yourself......

If you get it on your skin it is harmless, and it does wear off (eventually). I just tell people I had it looked at and the CDC cleared it as non-contagious.

 

[hippiechickX4]

If you get it on your skin it is harmless, and it does wear off (eventually). I just tell people I had it looked at and the CDC cleared it as non-contagious.

Haha.
I use to use gentian violet all the time for thrush. I had some stains in some weird places. (Breastfeeding at the time). If it came in a spray bottle I'd probably just get that and use it. I've also made a diaper cream that has alot of antibacterial properties in it I might use also. All natural ingredients so it won't hurt Mr. Johnny.

 

[hippiechickX4]

Thanks for the great welcome! I had chickens growing up and we just bought a home with 2.5 acres and my youngest is obsessed w/chickens so we are excited to finally be able to have them! Any suggestions for good year round egg layers that would be friendly with my girls (ages 5 & 7)?

I have never had chickens until this year. I have always wanted them though. We did a lot of research on the best chickens with children. We read on several different places Road Island Reds could be mean and pick on other chickens of the flock. We ended up with 5 and they are actually at the bottom of the pecking order and are quite docile. We have 28 chickens. We decided to just get a mixture and see how it went. We have Silver and Gold laced Wyandottes, light Brahams, Barred Rock, Easter Eggers (for blue egg's or a variation of), Rhode Island Red, Black Stars, Australops, Delawares and Buff Orphingtons. So far so good. The Wyandottes are definitely at the top of the pecking order. They are all cold hardy chickens and all should be laying, but we do not supplement with extra light so we only get about 3 dozen eggs a week ( about 6 a day).

 

[TillyPeeps]

Any breed that you raise from chicks will be friendly with your girls. As for year round laying, the only way to assure that is to add supplemental lighting to your coop. Not everyone thinks that is healthy for the hens, but if high production is your goal, that is the only way. Sure, some breeds have a reputation for laying well in the winter, but I doubt anyone has done any actual tests that are meaningful, it is all anecdotal and often passed down as statements of fact. I do add lighting, but start in December to give everyone a rest. I am trying to rush spring, not make them think it is always summer like the commercial facilities.

Personally, I love Cream Legbars for almost every situation. I didn't want to like them, I thought they had to be "over hyped" by the people trying to get rich quick selling them, but my own experience and that of every customer that has reported back to me, is that they are wonderful backyard birds. I wouldn't recommend them for unsupervised free ranging, they are too placid to avoid predators. And some of the roos get feisty (compared to my other breeds), but the pullets are great, doubly so when hand raised by children.

I'm surprised that you didn't mention Ameraucanas or Pennsylvinia Blacks.

Aren't they most kid friendly? Legbars were my most people friendly girls, but they seem like adults better than little kids. Brownie was so patient to let little kids play with her. She would squat down let them pet her.

My two year old could carry her around easily.

 

[Prpjewel]

If you get it on your skin it is harmless, and it does wear off (eventually). I just tell people I had it looked at and the CDC cleared it as non-contagious.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Thanks for the great welcome! I had chickens growing up and we just bought a home with 2.5 acres and my youngest is obsessed w/chickens so we are excited to finally be able to have them! Any suggestions for good year round egg layers that would be friendly with my girls (ages 5 & 7)?

I have never had chickens until this year. I have always wanted them though. We did a lot of research on the best chickens with children. We read on several different places Road Island Reds could be mean and pick on other chickens of the flock. We ended up with 5 and they are actually at the bottom of the pecking order and are quite docile. We have 28 chickens. We decided to just get a mixture and see how it went. We have Silver and Gold laced Wyandottes, light Brahams, Barred Rock, Easter Eggers (for blue egg's or a variation of), Rhode Island Red, Black Stars, Australops, Delawares and Buff Orphingtons. So far so good. The Wyandottes are definitely at the top of the pecking order. They are all cold hardy chickens and all should be laying, but we do not supplement with extra light so we only get about 3 dozen eggs a week ( about 6 a day).

28 chickens sounds like a lot, but i have a feeling i will be approaching that number come spring...

 
Any breed that you raise from chicks will be friendly with your girls. As for year round laying, the only way to assure that is to add supplemental lighting to your coop. Not everyone thinks that is healthy for the hens, but if high production is your goal, that is the only way. Sure, some breeds have a reputation for laying well in the winter, but I doubt anyone has done any actual tests that are meaningful, it is all anecdotal and often passed down as statements of fact. I do add lighting, but start in December to give everyone a rest. I am trying to rush spring, not make them think it is always summer like the commercial facilities.

Personally, I love Cream Legbars for almost every situation. I didn't want to like them, I thought they had to be "over hyped" by the people trying to get rich quick selling them, but my own experience and that of every customer that has reported back to me, is that they are wonderful backyard birds. I wouldn't recommend them for unsupervised free ranging, they are too placid to avoid predators. And some of the roos get feisty (compared to my other breeds), but the pullets are great, doubly so when hand raised by children.

I'm surprised that you didn't mention Ameraucanas or Pennsylvinia Blacks.  Aren't they most kid friendly? Legbars were my most people friendly girls, but they seem like adults better than little kids. Brownie was so patient to let little kids play with her. She would squat down let them pet her.  My two year old could carry her around easily. ​

I agree with Dheltzel, raising them yourself seems to have more of an impact than the individual breed generally. They all do have different personalities though. With my first batch of chickens, my one Barred Rock was the sweet one, even coming when called. Another one, my SLW, was always afraid of people, even though she was raised the same as the others. I have been surprised that the Cali Grays I received from Dheltzel are becoming very friendly, even though I did not hand raise them. The one is proving to be an excellent layer as well. I see reddening wattles today on some of my other girls... Should be getting some more eggs soon!

 

[dheltzel]

I'm surprised that you didn't mention Ameraucanas or Pennsylvinia Blacks.

Aren't they most kid friendly? Legbars were my most people friendly girls, but they seem like adults better than little kids. Brownie was so patient to let little kids play with her. She would squat down let them pet her.

My two year old could carry her around easily.

So many different experiences. I would not select California Greys as particularly calm or friendly, but @AnneInTheBurbs certainly recommends them. I think there is less difference between the various breeds than we would like to assume, and their personality is more nurture than nature. The tamest chickens I have now are the bantam lavender Ameraucanas, some might be their overall gentle nature, but some part is that they stayed in my garage a lot longer than their LF counterparts because I only had 7 and they makes much less mess per bird. Almost everyone that came for chicks admired their dove-like appearance and demeanor, and I always took some out to let sit on my arm while talking about them. All that handling made them think I'm their friend and they will come to me much more readily than any other chickens (leaving turkeys out of this because that not a fair comparison).

If you love your birds and spend time with them, they will get tame. If you start with them young, they will get extremely tame and stay that way their entire life. Makes sense, doesn't it?