What Breed to pick?

[Alagirl]

I second about the Wyandottes and Brahmas . My Wyandottes actually did the worst out of my flock in the Cold and also the worst in the heat. My Brahmas do fine in both hot and cold weather.

seems a lot of folks have Wyandottes here. And it is already blistering hot again.
I shall see what I have. working this week on getting some fresh air to the chicks.

 

[My Bagurks]

I started out with Rhode Island Reds. They’re pretty birds, a good size, and mine were very agreeable. I have heard they aren’t the most well tempered but I haven’t experienced that at all. And plus, they lay tons of eggs.

Sapphire gems are even tempered supersized egg layers. Every egg they’ve given me has put the store-bought jumbos to shame. But they EAT.

And lastly Easter Eggers. Middle of the road layers with fun colored eggs. But my Easter eggers have all been the sweetest, most inquisitive and curious birds I’ve had. They are the only ones that let me pick them up freely and carry them around. They try to talk to me the whole time I’m in the run or around them in the yard. They’re great chickens and I plan to get more.

 

[Alagirl]

I am still not sure if my RIR is a Frank or Francesca. the reason I only got one - straight run.
I want to not annoy my neighbors more than I have to.

The saddest thing I came across on Craig's List: I have 7 game chickens, need to bail somebody out of jail.
I hope the bailee is worth the sacrifice. (they all looked like roosters, so no dice at any rate! LOL)

 

[My Bagurks]

I am still not sure if my RIR is a Frank or Francesca. the reason I only got one - straight run.
I want to not annoy my neighbors more than I have to.

The saddest thing I came across on Craig's List: I have 7 game chickens, need to bail somebody out of jail.
I hope the bailee is worth the sacrifice. (they all looked like roosters, so no dice at any rate! LOL)

I’m outside of Tuscaloosa. I still have some RIR hens and a few RIR Brahma mixes. If you end up with a Frank I will trade you a Francesca.

 

[Woodenclamman]

What traits in particular are you looking for? High egg production? Friendly? Docile? Flighty/predator aware? Will they be confined in a run or free range?

Friendly, docile,and quiet.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

I am excited for you!!! Look at you, persevering in your chicken journey. Our start also proved a little bumpy as well, but now here we are cruising along, for now anyway, about a month in...

Originally, we discovered the Sapphire Gems! Not knowing the first thing about chickens, DH decided they sounded good, so we would go with those! Hoover's was also stocking TSC, so we could potentially walk right in and grab... 10? 12? 15??? No, not 15, 15 is too many...

I had ordered brooder stuff online that was on its way in from Amazon, or had to be picked up at TSC, so DH popped in there and sure enough! They had just gotten some Sapphire Gems in! They would be ready to put out on the floor in about an hour! Come back after 5! They are flying out the door! Ha.

So back at home, we scrambled to get the brooder set up and warming up, and then I came back out to the store, ready to bring my new beautiful slate-blue chickie babies home... Only they did not have Sapphire Gems. Was I at the right store? Yes, the guy I spoke to just left ... Starlight Green Eggers. Not the same chicken. DH is not the sort of man who would take too kindly to getting started with chickens... Only to find out they laid green eggs. So I left empty handed.

Then I talked to MIL and she agreed we could split an order of Speckled Sussex, which allowed me to go ahead and get 15 from Hoover's! (Everyone liked that is was a super old, docile dual-purpose breed, and we would have kept all 15, but DH wanted more like 8-10, so set her up with a coop and give his mom a handful once they're out of baby chickhood, was the plan.) Yay!!! But next day, she backed out, and luckily (I guess?) told me in time I could cancel the order. Sigh.

It was starting to become more than a little disheartening, but I called back to TSC, and one of the stores close by said they would be getting a shipment in that day, and I could check in the afternoon what they had received. Sweet! So I called back in the afternoon. They had not received any chicks.

It was getting close to the end of the day, and I was no closer to having chickens in my life. So I started calling around... Most of the stores in my state were not doing chicks anymore, but farther west they still were. Even the stores that did have chicks were limited to certain breeds that were not on my radar, and/or all straight run, since I was calling kinda late in the week, and the bins were all picked over. When finally I called one last store about an hour away, and they told me they had five Australorps left in the pullet bin!!! And I had HEARD of Australorps (and basically just thought it was the absolute silliest-sounding chicken name, but I loved it!) So I googled them and they looked great; I texted my chicken friend to ask if I should get them, and she said, Sure! So just like that, I knew that those were going to be My Chickens.

And I'm so glad it worked out that way; I just love them. Of course I managed to convince DH to get a few more Welsummers because chicken math, and because darker brown eggs, (but not purple or blue or green or anything... "unnatural" lol please don't ask, I don't get it either.) and also because he thought some of my other picks were too obscure and he didn't want us to be a couple of chicken snobs. (Chantecler? They are not snobby, they look like a regular chicken. Barnvelder? Wut. Gold laced wyandotte? Ugly. Swedish flower hen? Like a speckled Sussex only more variety!??? No. Marans? Don't be a snob.) Joke's on him, because now that he knows what good meat birds they are, I think he would totally get Chanteclers in the future, and I also now have a local contact for Marans, which means I hope to pick a small order up in person come spring, and he can't say no. Haha

He really does love our Australorps though, and would have had a whole flock of them, except the store only had those few left. We'll see how many turn out to be roosters... The Welsummers are soooo stinkin' cute, but they give me a run for my money already! (That's a semi-dog related story for another day...) But they are also verrrrry cuddly little chicks and have been such a pleasure to just sit and hold when they want a little mama-love.

Suffice it to say, I think chickening can be so unpredictable, and in unpredictable ways. I did not see our starter breeds coming when we first started looking, but I'm so happy with what we found! There are more breeds I would love to try, and maybe I will like them as much as I'd hoped, but maybe I won't. So for me right now, I'm trying NOT to keep planning out my "dream flock" (and failing, but no matter!) And just embrace loving the chickens I'm with.

It sounds like you've landed on a lovely little bunch of birds, and I hope they will work out well for you! Feel free to post more pics Also, you could potentially do what I did, which is call the hatchery and tell them which store and which birds and they were able to give me the hatch date. I like knowing their birthdays. Haha

 

[Alagirl]

There are more breeds I would love to try

Backyard flock, Side-yard Flock......
That sounds like a great journey on your end!
I still have the shopping list my husband wrote almost a week after the 'incident'
something like:
Milk
Butter
watermelon
new chicks
OJ

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

I still have the shopping list my husband wrote almost a week after the 'incident'
something like:
Milk
Butter
watermelon
new chicks
OJ

That's a good man right there

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Backyard flock, Side-yard Flock......

LOL Yas, I wish! Unfortunately, due to coop size constraints and the like with renting, it's going to have to wait till we eventually get our own place. :/ I have BIG PLANS! lol

If we suspend disbelief for a moment and hope that all we have now turn out to be pullets, then in the interest of evening things out, I could hypothetically unload one Australorp and two Welsummers onto my MIL (but not before building her a coop of her own of course), not that I really want to part with any of them. But that would leave me four of each, which is a nice round number, and would appear to leave room for possibly four more each of my next two breeds...??? J/s MAX hahahah

 

[janiedoe]

Disaster?

Go Ahead, Pick the Prettiest Chickens!

More seriously, here in the Steamy Southeast, the birds that do best in the heat are the clean-legged, lighter-weight birds with large, single combs.

In my flock the California White and the Australorps have done best so far.

Brahmas are weirdly heat-tolerant up to a point, but my Wyandotte seems to suffer more than the rest of the flock (I'm worried about my son's pet Cochin in her first summer as an adult).

I've been meaning to ask how your standard cochin is handling the heat?
I almost bout some lavender and buff cochins, but backed out.

My langshan and brahmas, actually do better in the heat, than my orpingtons and easter eggers. (Ideal says Brahma and Langshan "are not especially" heat tolerant. )

I think my legbars, naked necks, and welsummers do the best. They show absolutely no signs that it is hot out.

Ideal says that Russian orloffs are "not especially heat tolerant" I only have one. She is two years old, and seems to not notice the heat.

What was your "disaster" if you don't mind my asking?