What should i Get???

[scooby]

Hi Im new to the world of chickens, we move to utah 2 years ago from the city of so cali. and bought a nice little house with a half acre and well i have decided to try to raise some chicks. and after sulking and pouting to get my husband to give in. we built a coop. and now im ready to get some chickens, but I am wondering what would be the best breed i can have 4 max right now so i need to make good choices, i want them to 1) produce lots of eggs (the only reason my hubby gave in) 2) friendly (i have children and i want them to be able to pet, hold, feed and interact with them) 3) and if they were pretty it wouldnt be a bad thing.

also one more thing i would like to get at least one that lays blue,green or pretty colored eggs for my daughter to enjoy. i know there are seveal breeds that do this,are they good egg layers,friendly, expensive, ect?

Can anyone help me out with this????? thanks

 

[mmajw]

1) produce lots of eggs (the only reason my hubby gave in)

Lots of breeds are great layers. Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, Sex Links, just to name a few.

2) friendly (i have children and i want them to be able to pet, hold, feed and interact with them)

Most backyard flocks are friendly if handled often as they grow.

3) and if they were pretty it wouldnt be a bad thing.

Depends on what you feel is pretty. I love Ameracuanas (lay green eggs).

also one more thing i would like to get at least one that lays blue,green or pretty colored eggs for my daughter to enjoy. i know there are seveal breeds that do this,are they good egg layers,friendly, expensive, ect?

Ameracuanas and Easter Eggers lay blue and green eggs, Aracuanas lay blue. There is a difference in those breeds as you will learn on here. They are no more expensive then other breeds.

Good luck and read lots on here you will learn a ton.

 

[TCLynx]

I am also interested in learning a little more about the different breeds.

There is a farm that sells chickens at a local market so we will be getting something from there but they do have several different breeds.

Sounds like we will probably get a couple RIRs and a couple of some other type. The other half, lets call him the cook, is the one really pushing for chickens. I am for the idea as well but in the position of having to be the restraining force. We are not on AG land and therefor need to make sure that our neighbors don't find a reason to complain. So, we are starting with 4 hens.

We are most interested in good egg layers and the cook is partial to large brown eggs.

We are in a hot humid climate and I'm letting the cook convert the larger dog kennel (we don't have dogs and have been using one for the worm bins and the larger has been storage) for use by the chickens. We will have a meshed in yard area for them outside the roofed kennel and will be creating net tunnels to make movable runs for them so we can range them around the yard without as much danger from the hawks in the area.

 

[chickens4jojo]

Oh, I love my Ameraucanas & they are good with my children & their friends.

RIR hens are supposed to be great egg layers and very nice, too, (except for the Roos, I've heard) but I do not have any.

I have a Red-sex Link, "Cordelia" and she is so very gentle and sweet I wish I had some more like her.

 

[mmajw]

Chickenstock - Community Meet Ups
You could also look under this to see of there are any in your area.

 

[glowworm]

A couple links that might help you...

THis hatchery has numbers on breed's weight per dozen eggs and egg productivity. It's nice to cross compare the results.
http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/pages/poultry_catalog.html

You might have already seen this chart, but its super helpful too. http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

A great breed is Light Brahmas. They are gorgeous. Have feathered feet, and are great egg layers. They are also docile and calm.

 

[Break an Egg]

I love easter eggers. Another one of my fav's is barred rocks. I have silkies that I got to get the kids interested in chickens, but they are so hard to sex that it's aggravating.

 

[TCLynx]

That link to the chart is very useful!

Even more likely to get the Rhode Island Red Hens now, (listed as productive of large brown eggs as well as being hardy in heat and friendly.)

Anyone know much about the egg laying productiveness of any of the sex linked hens? I know the people at the market have some sex-linked hens but I don't remember what the cross was.

Some other breeds from the list that sound good to us include,
Barnevelder, they arn't as productive but it says they are good in damp.
Deleware, large brown eggs, heat hardy bird that might also be a good meat bird.
And New Hampshire, almost as good as Rhode Island Red.

Three other breeds on my list of might be ok,
Plymouth Rock
Welsumer
Wyandotte

We are mostly interested in lots of Large eggs but I want to stick with breeds that are easier to deal with (friendly) and adaptable to our hot wet climate.

 

[digitS']

I think that people new-to-chickens are well advised to look closely at John Henderson's Ithaca University webpages. I appreciate that he notes the rarity of the breeds.

Please keep in mind that some of these heritage breed birds are valued simply for being what they are. They are not necessarily valued because of their productivity. It is wonderful that they are still with us but they may not be what you are hoping for in your backyard coop.

Take a look at John's other chicken page and notice that he says, "Omitted from the charts are sexlinks and other hybrids and commercial strains (Even though two of our favorite original hens were Hubbard Golden Comets)." You may NOT wish to exclude them from YOUR wishlist.

My brother had sex-links for many years and raved about them. I've never had them but instead, had every other breed so far recommended on this thread: Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, Ameracuanas, Brahmas, and RI Reds. (Except I didn't have RIR hens but rather a rooster, who was atypically, a sweet guy

).

These more common breeds (and I'll include my favorite, Australorps) are bred in good numbers each year. The breeding flocks are made up of productive hens. If they were not productive - they would not be kept as breeders. Thousands of eggs are going off to the hatcheries and chicks of those productive mothers are showing up everywhere.

Since my primary interest is also egg production, I don't think it is a good idea to drift too far off the list of more common &/or production breeds. And, I'm very inclined to agree with mmajw that "Most backyard flocks are friendly if handled often as they grow." Now the prettiest breed, of course, is the Australorp

!

Steve