Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[Chaneys Ranch]

and forgot to say YAY for the muck boots, they look so toasty!

 

[BullChick]

My sister in Ohio has 3 children. 6, 7, and 10. The youngest is terrified of dogs, yet they got a Blk Lab puppy. I said they should get chickens. 3 kids, 3 colors of eggs. Sounded like a good idea to me! No one listened.
Fast forward about three months. I was talking to my sister last night, and she is complaining that Gabby is still afraid of the dog. I told her to get chickens. She laughed. Apparently my B-I-L said the same thing a few days ago. I get to talk them into it on Christmas.
So... My thought is Ameraucana (guaranteed to not lay a brown egg, which EE are capable of doing), a BR, and a Golden Campine. Anyone have any thoughts on kids and their first chickens? Also, how common is it for an EE to lay brown eggs. I know a few people have said theirs do.
I bought a new bucket and strainer today for the FF. I played with my old system yesterday. I would have had to drill bigger holes (plain water wasn't coming out well) and it was too small anyway. I am going to have an easier time with it now.
No eggs yet today. Come on three eggs!!!!

 

[luvmychicken]

I have been reading this thread from the beginning. It has been great. Y'all are great. I have gotten some awesome info. As you can probaly tell, I am new to the chicken world. I have 12 hens. 5 RIR, and the other I have no idea. But they are fun. Here is a pic of "ugly" chicken. She got that name cause she looked like a buzzer when she was a chick

. She was the last to start laying. I got her in July. Got my first egg from her last week. Lol. Thought she was a he!!!

 

[luvmychicken]

And I haven't bought eggs for over a year

 

[Wishing4Wings]

My sister in Ohio has 3 children. 6, 7, and 10. The youngest is terrified of dogs, yet they got a Blk Lab puppy. I said they should get chickens. 3 kids, 3 colors of eggs. Sounded like a good idea to me! No one listened.
Fast forward about three months. I was talking to my sister last night, and she is complaining that Gabby is still afraid of the dog. I told her to get chickens. She laughed. Apparently my B-I-L said the same thing a few days ago. I get to talk them into it on Christmas.
So... My thought is Ameraucana (guaranteed to not lay a brown egg, which EE are capable of doing), a BR, and a Golden Campine. Anyone have any thoughts on kids and their first chickens? Also, how common is it for an EE to lay brown eggs. I know a few people have said theirs do.
I bought a new bucket and strainer today for the FF. I played with my old system yesterday. I would have had to drill bigger holes (plain water wasn't coming out well) and it was too small anyway. I am going to have an easier time with it now.
No eggs yet today. Come on three eggs!!!!

They never listen!
I think chickens are a great idea! Heh heh! Of course I do!

But don't forget that their new dog will undoubtedly try to eat the chickens, and that will terrify the poor kid even more. Also, I've encountered a lot more kids afraid of chickens than dogs, so you might want to see how your niece is around them before deciding. Do you want friendly chickens that can be handled by the kids, or is egg color more important? Would they be getting chicks or grown birds?

Everyone says that Silkies are excellent for kids because they are easy to handle and pet. Wonderful, friendly little birds. Maybe kinda dumb?

The down side is that you can't often put them with larger breeds; they get picked on. They also can't see well, frequently go broody, and are hard to sex when young. Don't know about egg color. They are reportedly great lap chickens and might be just the thing for a young timid pet owner. Sizzles and frizzles are somewhat similar, and Polish might also be an option here. If you want more info on these I can ask a gal on my local thread who is a Silkie fanatic.

As for regular chickens, don't know anything about Golden Campines, except they're pretty. We all know about BRs on this thread!! Friendly, but could be a little overbearing if your niece is afraid. Ameraucanas from a breeder (one who knows the difference from EEs) will indeed lay a blue egg, but some varieties can be a bit flighty (like my wheaten Am). A breeder will know about friendly temperaments. (My buff Am is calmer.) Breeders don't sex chicks, so you'd have to get something older to be sure. Hatchery EEs most often lay green, no guarantees, but excellent chance of picking a female chick. Look for those big fluffy cheeks to show greater Ameraucana influence, but it's the pea comb that usually indicates presence of the blue egg gene. EE temperaments are variable.

Other hatchery breeds to consider: buff orpington- friendly, docile, round and fluffy, lays a cream egg (very pale brown), excellent for new chicken owners and kids. Welsummers eggs are the color of a terra cotta pot, sometimes with speckels; tend to keep their distance from people. New Hampshire pretty red production chicken, much calmer than production RIRs, mine is friendly and lays a brown egg with so much bloom it looks pink. Cuckoo Marans will look like a BR, but lay a very dark egg, don't know temperament. Any of the sexlinks are calm and great layers of large brown eggs- they earn their keep. So you could actually get 3 brown layers and be able to tell the eggs apart. Just remember that hatchery chickens can be highly variable, but they tend to lay more.

Good luck with your chicken project! We'll see if Chicken Math runs in families.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I have been reading this thread from the beginning. It has been great. Y'all are great. I have gotten some awesome info. As you can probaly tell, I am new to the chicken world. I have 12 hens. 5 RIR, and the other I have no idea. But they are fun. Here is a pic of "ugly" chicken. She got that name cause she looked like a buzzer when she was a chick
. She was the last to start laying. I got her in July. Got my first egg from her last week. Lol. Thought she was a he!!!

And I haven't bought eggs for over a year

Howdy!

Mind if I call you luv? I glad you are enjoying our silliness here. Feel free to join in! Just beware, now that you've posted, that Roger (OK's barred rock pullet) will soon be texting your chickens, and they will start demanding pie and trips to Walmart. It is nice not having to buy eggs, but there is always a cost!

Your rather ferocious looking "ugly" chicken is a Silver Laced Wyandotte, considered to be one of the more attractive breeds!

I have one too (hatchery bred) and she is less than stellar looking; more of a silver splotched Wyandotte. I call her Grumpus, because she is one. If I ever get another Wyandotte it will be from a breeder! You can tell the males because they have a lot more white, almost solid on head, neck, and wings, but these are notoriously hard to sex when young.

If you have pictures of your others, we might be able to identify them. We love pics!

 

[BullChick]

Quote: I thought about 3 different colors of brown, but I am afraid the kids will argue over who's chicken laid what if they just see brown. The three I mentioned are supposed to be calm.
They are right near Meyer Hatchery, but if they ask me to, I will get them chicks from breeders (all living a few minutes from each other) near Lancaster.
Gabby is afraid because her one aunt has 2 or 3 huge untrained dogs that bite, scratch and jump. All dogs are evil as long as someone is around to coddle her.

I have pictures of her feeding and carrying my dogs when no one was looking. I do agree about making sure she will be okay. I am pretty sure her father has experience with chickens. I cannot remember.

 

[cheeka]

edited, cuz you posted one minute before I did...

so, ya... talk em into it!

I don't know MC... maybe more pets isn't a great idea... if they've had the puppy for 3 months, it's what, like 5 months old. loooong way to go with a bundle of energy that they've got to have the time to train, and time to get their youngest over her fear... dogs will be a common theme in her life and she shouldn't be afraid of them. Maybe Spring of 2014 for chickens... that way, she can get used to the dog, and spend time with you (even by phone and computer) learning about chickens and figuring out what she would like to have, Ornamental vs. Standard.... egg colors, feather colors... it's fun, and it's what I am doing with my niece and nephew who live in Manhatten. she's 12, he's 8. both incredible, smart, cute, funny... he's allergic to dogs, respiratory failure allergic... such a bummer, but they did get a cat last year, and he's been fine. as native City children, born and raised... I like to offer them a glimpse of the other side, lol! at least they know where food comes from and what it looks like before it arrives at the market. they love getting pictures of the chickens and the colorful baskets of eggs. Now, my mission is to get them to visit and collect eggs at my house. They haven't been here since last year, before the chickens...

3 eggs today, so far! hopefully I will find more this afternoon. the chicks are doing so great, there was one chick up on the edge of the cardboard, so I found a strip of molding - moulding? you know... ceiling trim... to use for a roost. they are so silly.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

What? No body likes this little sweetheart? Very friendly, a breeze to tame, he'll sit in your lap and fall asleep if you rub his ears and scratch his head, he'll even perch like an eagle on your wrist. I can't wait to see him in grown up feathers. American games are great chickens, the males are rarely human aggressive. True, you can't keep older roosters together..but who needs more than one rooster at a time? Hens are pretty and smart, great layers and broodies, productive foragers. Easy for them to fly away from danger. Just had to add my two cents worth....

 

[BullChick]

Two eggs. That is the good news.
They were shut out of the coop when I got home. I felt terrible. Of course, it was only about an hour after dark, but they had no water, and half of the run is a soggy mess.
Baby (and Penny) are getting lots of love tomorrow.