Ready to get started

Aprilann

In the Brooder
5 Years
Apr 23, 2014
4
1
11
Hello! I am really new to all of this. My parents had chickens when I was growing up but I had no idea there were different kinds or anything.

I need to know what kind to get to start. I want egg layers, friendly ones and easy to break me in.

Any help is much appreciated!
April
 
images


Hello April and welcome to BYC!

And welcome to the world of chickens! You will love this new hobby! First you might start with some reading in our learning center here on BYC. Lot of great articles on getting started and raising and keeping your new flock...

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

Next thing you might want to look at here on BYC is our coops pages for some great ideas and designs. Many of these coops are very easy to follow and some even have plans to follow...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops

As for breeds, there are lots of friendly breeds out there that are also great layers. I am fond of the Orpington breeds...Black Australorps and the Buff Orpingtons. These two are very docile, friendly, great layers and are quite hardy over all. My Australorps follow me around like drooling puppies looking for goodies or a nice soft lap to sit on. They even fight over who gets to sit closest to mommy!

BUT....there are lots of other friendly breeds out there. You might want to stop by these two breeds pages for lots of fun quick facts on many off the breeds attributes....

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

http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf

This should get you started. If you have any questions, that is what we are here for. Welcome to our flock and enjoy your new adventures!
 
I'd suggest Buff Orpingtons or Production Reds. Both are great egg layers and extremely friendly! One of my PR (Fairy) will jump onto my lap, nestle in as close as she can, bury her beak in my elbow, and go to sleep as I pet her head. My buffs are just as great.
welcome-byc.gif
and to chickening! Look around at the learning center - its a great place to start!
 
Thank you both! I will definitely do some reading and look into these 2 breeds. I am very excited to get started. I believe my husband thinks I've lost my mind although he is the one who said he wanted chickens in the first place. Haha
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! Good luck with your new chicken hobby! You've had some great breed suggestions and those links TwoCrows gave you, when you have narrowed down breeds check out the member reviews in the BYC Breeds section, you might also like to check out your state thread and what breeds people in your area find are doing well, https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread So far as more layer breeds go, for egg numbers alone, the Red Sex Links (Golden Comet, Red Stars, ISA Browns etc) for brown eggs are probably the most popular layers around. If you want breeds that don't lay quite as well but will lay for a longer time, as suggested Australorps and Orpingtons (lots of people really like these, great pets though broody), some other popular ones are Plymouth Rocks, Sussex, Delaware and Wyandottes for breeds that are usually pretty easy to get along with, they all lay different shades of brown eggs. If you would consider a mixed flock, the Easter Egger, often sold as Ameraucana by hatcheries, are a fun breed because they usually lay green/blue eggs, and they tend to be very nice birds, and then there are the Welsummer and Marans for dark brown eggs....there are lots of breeds to chose from!
 
Thank you! Do y'all think it would be best to start with 1-2 day old chicks or 2-3 week old ones? I want baby ones but I want them to live.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom