YO GEORGIANS! :)

[Flowerbh]

Thanks for the replies. I am really conflicted about which breed to get. Also, how many to start with. My coop id's big enough for 8, but I don't want to get over my head too fast. Interesting about the RIRs, we really do want friendly birds that lay regularly. I will look online at my pet chicken. Anyone used efowl? Anyway, thanks everyone!

I have one of everything! Easter eggers are one of my favorites. I wanted different breeds so I could get all different colors of eggs. I get different shades of greens, blues, pinks and browns. I also have two white egg layers. It is so fun having a basket full of colored eggs! A lot of people buy my eggs as gifts for their friends.

 

[JennaLynn122]

What are their personalities like and where did you get yours?

honestly they all have super different personalities. I also have 4-4 week old rirs. Big Betty is the coop boss. She isn't unfriendly but she wants nothing to do with your cuddles and would rather you throw food to her instead of coming to get it. Then I have Tiny and Baby the two smallest hens that will climb up in your lao, on your shoulders and eat right out of your hand. The rest of them are somewhere in the middle sometimes they want to be near you and other times they just want left alone. My babies will all fly up onto you and cuddle and such even the cockerel. As for where I got them, the previous home owner had them and couldn't take them when he moved so he offered them to me with the house and of course I said yes. He got them from a local breeder but not sure who.

 

[ChickDancer]

Thanks for the replies. I am really conflicted about which breed to get. Also, how many to start with. My coop id's big enough for 8, but I don't want to get over my head too fast. Interesting about the RIRs, we really do want friendly birds that lay regularly. I will look online at my pet chicken. Anyone used efowl? Anyway, thanks everyone!

I meant to comment about the Gold Comets, and had a reply earlier, but it didn't go through. So now I have a chance to sit down and type some more, I'll say it all again, lol!

Gold Comets are just a different name for "Red Sex Link" chickens. They are a chicken bred specifically to be colored according to sex right from hatch. That way, anyone can sex them without any experience. The females are red or "gold" and the males are usually black.

They also have other names including Gold Star, Red Star, or just Red Sex-Link. And their genetics are complicated - so much that even I forgot most of it already, and I just cheat using the Chicken Calculator now. So they really are just a mixed breed. One of the breeds I believe is involved is the RIR, which gives it the red or gold color. I'm not sure of the other breed.

The good news about gold comets is that you know you'll have nothing but hens, right from the start.


Many of us here live in Metro Atlanta, but not inside of the perimeter like you do. So while we may have chicks or chickens available, it'll be a little drive out. I live roughly 45 minutes south of the airport, but I usually have chicks available year-round. Abmaddox may have some available, depending on what she got and what she still has from her easter hatch. GAMarans and Roboduck live on the west side, and they usually have some available too - although I think they keep most of them.

We do have a "map" of where we all live, located at THIS LINK which you might use to find chicks closer to you. The one source I strongly recommend NOT using, is the breeder who spams craigslist with chicks in Villa Rica, and goes by the name John Barras or JJ's Chickens and Rabbits. But here on BYC, and especially in this forum, I'd trust most of these breeders.

I personally plan to own and breed: Sumatras (breeding now), Easter Eggers (breeding now), Frizzles (possibly breeding now, waiting on first eggs to see if they have frizzle feathers), and in the future I will also have Phoenix, Polish, Wyandottes, Large-Fowl Cochins, Cuckoo Marans, Bantam Cochins, Bantam Frizzles, Silkies (had these but predators recently took the last of my adults, waiting on their offspring now to re-establish them), and Silver Sebrights.

And I have to giggle at the comment that you don't want to get in too far over your head, too fast. YOU HAVE NO IDEA! Lol!

 

[RoboDuck]

We have 3 RIR and they are very friendly. They will come over to you to see what you are doing and don't mind being picked up.

 

[JennaLynn122]

We have 3 RIR and they are very friendly. They will come over to you to see what you are doing and don't mind being picked up.

mine were also not "loved" as much as I love mine. They were more thrown in a coop and taken care of. No one really babied them so I'm surprised that mine are even as lovable as they are.

 

[amandarc]

Ha, I love the map link!!! I really don't ever mind driving, I'd prefer buying chicks from someone I can meet and see their flock vs. The internet. Plus it would be great to visit with someone who is seasoned in this area.

 

[carcar80]

"Golden Comet".. Red star,same difference right? If so, I have one and while she's not miss personality, she is my best chicken as far as upkeep. She is lightest in body and is the best forager in the bunch. She lays the largest eggs of all my girls and probably the most eggs too. She's "mean" as all get-out when I have to catch her up for a check- scrappy ol' thing!! But I don't mind because I like a chicken with some fight for predators.

And lastly, somehow, she's the ONLY one of my hens I have yet to find a single bug on, even with the rest fairly covered in lice. I tell her they don't like her cause she's too mean.

 

[GAFarmGirl87]

I'm CLOSE!! I could possibly (50 years ago) throw a rock into Georgia from where I am!

Lanett Alabama!

Welcome!

Um, I have a dilemma. Kinda. Maybe. Oops?

You see, @abmaddox1981 , @mrsdszoo , and I, all chipped in for about 100 eggs for a school project up in Covington. We "loaned" them to the school for free. We sent certain eggs with marks stating we definitely wanted those back (purebreds, or other lines that were important to us). The rest, they could adopt out to students IF they had parents' permission. Any not adopted, we would take back. It kinda keeps the teachers from making money off of something we GAVE to the school.

Well she got donations from other sources and ended up with almost 200 eggs. As of last week, she said about 165 still seemed viable. They were all due to hatch Monday.

I sent her a text asking how it went and she said the overall hatch rate was about 50%. I'm guessing that means about 100 chicks? And it turns out VERY few children took chicks home.

So on Sunday, she's going to show up at my house with all of the extra chicks. So I have a feeling that I'm about to get roughly 100 chicks, all at once, all less than a week old, and all different breeds (many probably even mixed breed).

Um....

Oh dear!

Congrats??

These little fuzzbutts were flopping around in my hatching box when I got home from work today, there are about 15 still in the process of hatching. The two on the left are Crested Cream Legbars, on the far left is the male. The three on the right are Rhodebars, the male is in the middle. I still have 42 more incubating that will hatch later this month. If anyone is interested in these auto-sexing breeds just let me know. I am finished hatching this year but I am still collecting fertile eggs fresh everyday. I have lots of little pullets and roos of different ages (all hatched since April 1st) available.

Congrats on the new babies and upcoming hatch!!

 

[GAFarmGirl87]

GAM.. Are you traveling with your stand-in hubby again??

 

[GAFarmGirl87]

New to the site!! Just built our coop and run. It's fabulous and big. Now to decide on which type of chickens and whether we want chicks or pullets. Then where to get them.... so much I need to know! I research everything, so advice is very welcome!

Welcome!! Don't worry, you'll get lots of advice on this site.

But in the end, it's about trial & error, and finding out what works best for you and your birds.

Can't wait to see pics of your setup (Pics are mandatory, by the way

), and to hear about what breed you decide to get. Chicks are awesome! I started out with pullets, and personally, I'm glad I did. I was NOT ready for babies when I first started out.

Good luck on your chicken journey, and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!