Which breed should I buy?

[AnnesChicks]

I vote for Wyandottes ~ docile, quiet, hardy, large brown eggs and beautiful feathers! I bought mine as started pullets for the same reason...I was a bit nervous about raising day old chicks and I work full time and couldn't keep a close eye on them.

I was fortunate to find a local guy on craigslist with started pullets for sale. Visit my page for a look, but they started laying just at four months and between my eight hens we had 104 eggs for the June, their first full month of laying and July is on track to out produce June. It has been a lot of fun, and our set up is very low maintenance.

Even if you have to order them from a hatchery, I think as with any animal, the more time you spend handling them the tamer they will be, and food is the way to a chicken's heart.

 

[CallyB57]

Brahmas are cold-hardy, docile, beautiful, and fair brown egg layers, and very large chickens. I doubt a hawk would try to tackle one! They have feathered legs & toes..and their feet are hard to keep clean if you have a very muddy pen. You can go to feathersite and compare chickens.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I missed it--are you getting your birds from a breeder or a hatchery? We have hatchery Wyandottes (two different hatcheries, even) and they are MEAN!

I think Ameraucanas, EEs, or Orpies, your first inclinations, would be perfect for you. Sounds like you've done your homework. I have an Ameraucana hen that is the sweetest thing in the whole world, and my Ameraucana rooster is possibly the perfect boy (we'll find out once his first crop of babies makes it to point of lay and we see how they do).

Get some of each.

 

[Judy]

My hatchery Wyandottes are mean and noisy. I agree, from a good breeder is no doubt a different story; same with RIR, the hatchery types can be very mean but a good breeder's birds are usually not. I keep reading that EE's are friendly and make good pets, but I have 5 hens who act like Leghorns and had a roo who was mean as a snake. Friendliest breed I have found is Australorp, the hens are very quiet, and they lay wonderfully. These are all hatchery birds, Ideal and MM.

 

[Rootball]

EEs seem soso on the friendly scale to me, but good on eggs.


Im kind of attached to Brahmas, but Im sure Orpingtons or Wyandottes would be fine also

 

[19hhbelgian]

Well, I really don't have any lap chickies, and I've raised all of mine accept for 5 from chicks. I do currently have a silkie and a salmon favorolle that I can walk right up to and they will jump onto my hand, but this is only since they went out into the "big girl" coop with everybody else. Salmon Favs might be another one you can look into. They come in LF & bantam. My girl was laying on a daily basis until the dog attack

Sammy is a Large Fowl, and the one that climbs onto my hand is a banty. Here's a pic of my banty salmon fav and the silkie that like to be picked up...
Mini Me, banty salmon fav

Party, partridge silkie:

EDITED: I take back my no lap chicken comment

My Mini Me and Party do sit on my lap, and were quite content there today!

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
Oh, also, mine are all hatchery birds and still wonderful.

A friend has Buff Orps, and hers are also lap birds- but she brooded in the house just like me, handling them all the time.

I should also point out that I have a different friend with hatchery Wyandottes that are sweet as can be- same way of raising.

I didn't feel raising them up was a lot of work- it was a lot of fun and joy! We just had to give them fresh water and food, and clean the sheets- every couple of days toward the end, but once a week when they were small.

This isn't any more work than what has to be done for the birds once they're bigger. They'll have to be let out of the coop each morning, get fresh water, food and scratch, and be put away at night...and presumably, if you WANT lap chickens, you're expecting to spend a lot of time with them, so you ought to try raising them- it's rewarding because they trust you entirely.

 

[RAREROO]

I think you should try Barred Rocks. Mine are very docile and great layers, even in our summer heat

 

[jossanne]

I didn't like my hatchery orpingtons as much as my hatchery wyandottes. My orps seemed to be my worst feather-pickers. My sister's flock of orps from McMurray are nearly naked...

If I were going to get a flock of one kind of hen, I'd have barred rocks or golden-laced wyandottes.

 

[jossanne]

Quote:
I named my partridge silkie Mrs. Party. I thought about Party, until I remembered that my little sis couldn't say our neighbor's name when we were kids, and called her Mrs. Party... so it stuck for my silkie girl.