child_of_air
Chirping
Okay, so because of ordinances in my area, I'm only allowed to have 4 chickens total. (I know, it's terrible, isn't it?!)
We will finally be moving from a 950 ft apartment in Southern California to a large house with some land in the San Bernardino mountains. I'm so, so excited because I've never been able to keep chickens before! (Not possible in an apartment with 3 cats.) I've been researching like crazy and bought several books about chickens. There is already a large fence on the property, so we plan to free range our chickens when we're home, but they'll have a very large coop with a run otherwise.
I've done a lot of research on the topic of breeds- but many times the info about the breed isn't always accurate or is incomplete by some of the breeders and hatcheries, and I also hear a good deal about people getting different breeds than what they ordered. I also see posts about particular breeds that are known for their broodiness or their friendliness, but being complete opposites of that. So, I decided to ask all you experienced chicken lovers out there. My question is, if you could choose only 4 birds, what 4 birds would you choose to create your flock, and why? What breeds have the had the best experiences with? And what do you think are the best qualities for an ideal flock?
We will finally be moving from a 950 ft apartment in Southern California to a large house with some land in the San Bernardino mountains. I'm so, so excited because I've never been able to keep chickens before! (Not possible in an apartment with 3 cats.) I've been researching like crazy and bought several books about chickens. There is already a large fence on the property, so we plan to free range our chickens when we're home, but they'll have a very large coop with a run otherwise.
I've done a lot of research on the topic of breeds- but many times the info about the breed isn't always accurate or is incomplete by some of the breeders and hatcheries, and I also hear a good deal about people getting different breeds than what they ordered. I also see posts about particular breeds that are known for their broodiness or their friendliness, but being complete opposites of that. So, I decided to ask all you experienced chicken lovers out there. My question is, if you could choose only 4 birds, what 4 birds would you choose to create your flock, and why? What breeds have the had the best experiences with? And what do you think are the best qualities for an ideal flock?