What chicken/chickens are right for me?

[Goneloopychooks]

Hi every one i'm new but crazy in love with chickens.

I can have a maximum of 6 chickens but need chicken breeds to fit all these characteristics

Needs to take confinement to a small area well
Needs to be non flighty
Not skittish and easily tamed
Needs to be a breed that i can locate easy or are common
Needs to take cold and hot weather climates
Needs to be a moderate to prolific egg layer

so if you no a chicken breed/s that fit this category i'm all ears
any duck breeds will be considered too

cheers Jessica

 

[Judy]

How small of an area?

 

[gander007]

 

[Goneloopychooks]

How small of an area?

4 equal side of 10 metres Is that big enough?

 

[Judy]

So, about 1000 sq ft. "The formula" is 4 sq ft in the coop and 10 sq ft in the run, per large fowl chicken. The formula is intended to be the smallest area that will avoid severe pecking and cannibalism. Assuming the area is for both the coop and the run, I certainly wouldn't put more than 6 in there.

Chickens in general do better in cold wether than hot. In summer they must have plenty of shade and breeze. I live in a warmer area of the US (no snow) and run a fan in the coop all summer, plus hose the coop and ground down on very hot days. Chickens tolerate well below zero if their coop is ventilated well enough to et the humidity ourr, but they can die at 100 degrees. Oop,s that's F. Well below 0 and at 37.7C.

In the US, I'd suggest that you avoid at least the "production red" lines and Leghorns. If you got bantams, they'd have a bit more space, but the eggs are a bit smaller. I don't know what is available where you are. You might want to introduce yourself on the Australia thread and see what other people have, and what their experience is: Good luck! And welcome to BYC!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/598568/australia-six-states-and-that-funny-little-island/0_20

 

[TwoCrows]

Judy has given you some great advice! If you want to look at some breed pages to learn more about the chickens individual personalities and how they do in confinement, you might want to check out this external web page. Lots of good info on the different breeds...

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

You can also look at our breeds page here on BYC to see what our members say about the different breeds...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/chicken-breeds

Great to have you aboard and enjoy all your poultry adventures!

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

I vote barred rocks

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! You've gotten some good advice above. If you have a limited number of breeds available in your area, you might first find out what you can get, then figure out which breed and how many will fit into your situation best. Here is a great article from the Learning Center on figuring out space for chickens https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need and the Duck forum for advice on ducks https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/42/ducks

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC - good luck in your choices.

 

[Goneloopychooks]

So, about 1000 sq ft. "The formula" is 4 sq ft in the coop and 10 sq ft in the run, per large fowl chicken. The formula is intended to be the smallest area that will avoid severe pecking and cannibalism. Assuming the area is for both the coop and the run, I certainly wouldn't put more than 6 in there.

Chickens in general do better in cold wether than hot. In summer they must have plenty of shade and breeze. I live in a warmer area of the US (no snow) and run a fan in the coop all summer, plus hose the coop and ground down on very hot days. Chickens tolerate well below zero if their coop is ventilated well enough to et the humidity ourr, but they can die at 100 degrees. Oop,s that's F. Well below 0 and at 37.7C.

In the US, I'd suggest that you avoid at least the "production red" lines and Leghorns. If you got bantams, they'd have a bit more space, but the eggs are a bit smaller. I don't know what is available where you are. You might want to introduce yourself on the Australia thread and see what other people have, and what their experience is: Good luck! And welcome to BYC

No will be only putting three chickens in there but the coop was already built in and the area is still 10 meters each side for measurements with the coop