Wanting to start getting chickens, any suggestions on which?

[PirateGirl]

I recommend considering your climate first. Happy healthy birds are good producers. Some breeds and very heat tolerant, some breeds are known as cold hardy. Once you know what breeds thrive on your climate then start narrowing down the list based on your other criteria.

 

[9SpiceyChickens]

So, for a couple of weeks now I have been desperate to get chickens. Since this will be my first time owning them I was wondering if anyone here had any good suggestions of breeds for first time owners. Thanks!

I would suggest starting with GLWs or SLWs for shows and eggs. They are beautiful and produce big brown eggs. Americaunas are good too. If you do shows I suggest 4h. I also think that Orpingtons are good. Speckled Sussexs are my 4th favorite breed so those will work good. Once you have experience RIRs are good. How many chickens do you want to get?

P.S. Glw stand for golden laced wyandotte slw stands for silver laced wyandottes and rirs rhode island reds

 

[Melky]

I recommend considering your climate first. Happy healthy birds are good producers. Some breeds and very heat tolerant, some breeds are known as cold hardy. Once you know what breeds thrive on your climate then start narrowing down the list based on your other criteria.

This is a good suggestion. To add to this. You can take a brief quiz on mypetchicken.com website for breed selection which takes into consideration climate, egg color, standard versus bantam breeds, or rare breeds. It provides recommendations based on your preferences or just surf the categories to find what suites you. They also have show breeds if main goal. Depends on what you want.

 

[lazy gardener]

If you put your general location in your profile, that will help folks to give climate pertinent advice. There is no "one best" breed of chicken. It all depends on your climate, your flock goals, whether you keep them penned 24/7 or allow them to have a lot of free range time. Even decisions re: keeping them as forever pets vs. livestock which will be replaced when their productivity wanes. How large will your coop and run be? Mimimum coop/run size for back yard flocks are 4 s.f. in coop, 10 s.f. in run per bird. This will also be a big part of the decision process. IMO, you should answer this question before you even start to think about getting chickens!

Answer a few of these questions, and look at Henderson's chicken breeds chart to get started on narrowing down your selections.

something else to consider: Biosecurity. Your mom is talking about maybe taking your birds to "shows". IMO, this is the perfect way to bring any number of lethal and forever diseases into your flock. Once your property is contaminated, many of these diseases are very difficult to eradicate. For this very reason, many of us keep closed flocks. We never bring any new genetic material into our flocks unless it's hatching eggs or day old chicks from a reputable breeder or hatchery. I would never, in a million years, consider taking one of my birds to a show, and then bringing her back home again, for fear that I'd bring back one of the gifts that keeps on giving: a "forever disease" to affect my flock for future generations.

 

[wamtazlady]

@Melky She's a Bichon Frise Yorkshire Terrier cross. That pic was taken when she was 2 months old. She's now 5 months old and doesn't even resemble that picture. Her color has gotten very blonde and she has no more darker markings. Her ears stand straight up and they are HUGE. I tell people she's "fugly" which means funny and ugly. Even with designer dogs you're never quite sure what you'll eventually get. Her name is Tee as I figured a little name for a little dog.

 

[Melky]

@Melky She's a Bichon Frise Yorkshire Terrier cross. That pic was taken when she was 2 months old. She's now 5 months old and doesn't even resemble that picture. Her color has gotten very blonde and she has no more darker markings. Her ears stand straight up and they are HUGE. I tell people she's "fugly" which means funny and ugly. Even with designer dogs you're never quite sure what you'll eventually get. Her name is Tee as I figured a little name for a little dog.

Thanks OMG, she is so precious! My dog Chloe lost her darker markings too. Different hybrid breed though.

 

[stuckinthecity]

Wyandottes all the way! Can be bossy with eachother, but for the most part an easy going breed.

 

[LaurEliz]

My favorite breeds to have (and I've had a lot) are Dixie Rainbows, Silkies, Buff Orpingtons, Easter Eggers, Cochins, and Barred Rocks. I use them for eggs and as pets only, and I know little to nothing about chicken shows, so I'm not sure how they'd do there. My dixie rainbow and all the buff orpingtons I've had have been the friendliest chickens ever. They follow me around the yard and will jump up in my lap if I sit down.

Cochins and Silkies are fluffier and both breeds go broody pretty easily. My cochin just hatched five babies and my only rooster is also a cochin so I have one pure cochin baby and a bunch of mixed babies. They're super cute, with their oddly-feathered feet.

Easter eggers tend to be friendly too and their eggs are pretty. I am also fond of White Leghorns and their white eggs.

All of the breeds I've mentioned lay pretty well, too, in my experience.

 

[Salamander1914]

Personally, my favourite are buff orpingtons... But mainly the roosters because they're so docile and friendly. But if you want hens, the first three hens I ever had were a Black Rock, a Maran and a White Star. They were the best of friends, and had nice personalities. How many were you thinking of getting?

 

[Salamander1914]

Also, Light Sussex are usually very friendly. Although both them and Buff Orps are often broody.