What breed should I get?

[Greystoke]

I am brand new to the message board and I am wanting to purchase some chickens but I would like to make sure that we get the right breed/breeds for our family. I do have two small grandsons that I would like to be able to play with the chickens so we need them to be very docile. I also want them to produce eggs. Im not sure yet whether I am interested in meat also but it may be a possibility. I have narrowed my decision down to a few different breeds but now I have a question about roosters. I know that I dont need one to produce my eggs but I think at some point we would like to have baby chicks so Im planning to go ahead and get one. My question is, which breed of roosters will be the most docile and will it matter if they mate with the other breeds or do I need a rooster to coorespond with each breed of hen?

 

[JaciesCoop]

How many pullets are you planning on? You should have no more than one roo per 10 hens.

If you want docile birds, I have cochins and they are very sweet, but not the best layers in the world and lay small eggs.

I'm sure someone will come along with some better ideas.

Oh and stay away from Leghorn roos. They can be very aggressive.

Jacie

 

[LynneP]

We're first timers and raised 12 Golden Comet ( RIR redx RIR white) pullets, they're 8 weeks now. We find them friendly and healthy and they should start laying in another 8 weeks.

People have various experiences with roosters, I'll let them explain...

 

[newchickmom]

Welcome!

I'm still kind of new at this myself. We started our flock last August. We started with 20 black australorps and this spring added 10 buff orphington hens. I have found both breeds to be gentle and easy to handle and both lay large brown eggs. (the buffs are a little lighter and they just started laying) These are both dual purpose birds, so 9 of the 11 roos we ended up with, will each make a nice size meal. We will keep 2 of them (the most gentle ones) for the girls protectors and if we want any new chicks. Both of these breeds are easy to go broody which can be a problem for your egg production.

 

[MissPrissy]

Welcome to BYC. Buff Orpingtons are excellent first time chickens. You will love them and their gentile personalities.

 

[amyquilt]

Welcome!

We just started our flock 2 weeks ago. We chose Silkies. BUT we plan to bring in other breeds later this year. We wanted to start with more of "pet" type birds, and also my daughter wants to show them this coming school year in 4H, it will be her first year.

 

[jenjscott]

In general, roosters and little kids don't mix. Sometimes there isn't a problem and that's great, but don't count on it. Young'uns should always be supervised around chickens, for the safety of both chickens and kids.

 

[ravenfeathers]

buff orps. they're quiet and sweet, good-ish layers, and are dual purpose birds should you want to use them for meat.

how small are your small grandsons? i'd worry about a rooster in the mix with really little ones.

 

[gritsar]

I make it a rule that our grandson is not allowed to try and pick up my roosters, brahmas. However, when I hand him the roos they do just fine. I don't totally trust any rooster though and only allow kid to rooster interaction with my supervision.

 

[andy]

buffffff orrrps, youll love em,, oh and my roo was friendly,,and tasty