Thinking about embarking on backyard chickens

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jessesgirl88

jessesgirl88

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Hi! My name is April, I am from the royal area of PA, I am a mom of 3 small kid and I homeschool. I decided that I want to embark on backyard chickens! I love animals, and I can honestly say that I've wanted to raise chicks since I was about 6! I need all the info I can get so if any of you can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. I want egg laying chickens. And I would love at least one silkie! but I'm not sure what the best chickens are, what I should get for our small flock. I'm only looking to start with 5-6 chickens. I'd like to have them as babies so my kids can watch them grow. I can't wait to fish around on this forum! But anyone who can help a newby! I would greatly appreciate it!
 
:frow Welcome to the forum! :celebrate Glad you joined us! :frow

To learn, go to the Learning Center at the top of this page and read. There is some good info up there. Read any threads that strike you as interesting. If you have any specific questions, start a thread with that topic. Be specific. The more general your questions, like this one, the more general the answers.

Which chickens are best is pure personal preference. You’ll get all kinds of different recommendations on that. If eggs are your only goal get the commercial egg-laying hybrids. Leghorns are another good egg laying choice. The dual purpose birds will lay a lot of eggs but will be bigger and will eat more. The decorative birds like Silkies, Polish, and such generally don’t lay a lot but are decorative. Since you are planning on a Silkie your goals are not really just egg laying. That’s your personal decision. Decide what you really want so you can look for it.

You might study Henderson’s Breed Chart to see the tendencies of the breeds, but remember these are tendencies, not absolute ways they will be. Each chicken is an individual and pretty much does its own thing, but it’s a place to start. Then go to Feathersite and look at photos of those birds.

Henderson’s Breed Chart
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

Feathersite
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html

There are several Breed Selector Tools available that might give you some ideas of what things you might want to consider. You can use them as a starting place, but use your judgment. It really is personal preference.

http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/which-breed-is-right-for-me.aspx
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chick_selector.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/316042/new-feature-breed-selection-tool-search-tool
 
Okay great! Yeah I guess my ultimate goal is a friendly chickens that my children can interact with. And if we get a couple of eggs Great! I don't want them for the meat, more for "pets". Thanks for the help I'll fish around on here!
 
One of the best things to do is type your state in the search bar! Most states have a state thread! It's a great way to meet new friends close by and they can give more accurate opinions on how certain types of chickens do in your state!
Welcome to BYC.....we're all slightly chicken crazy around here!
 
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Definitely follow the links that RidgeRunner has provided. The learning center has lots of good reads on all aspects of raising and keeping your flock healthy and safe.

Great to have you aboard and enjoy BYC!
 

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