Help choosing a flock to manage..

[tsgarvey]

@dheltzel is in Pottstown I think and sells birds, might be close enough to you?

You could also join us in the PA thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pennsylvania-unite.248345/page-8222

Okay.. thank you!

 

[fluffycrow]

A friendly one she is a mix with the dominant breed being a Great Pyrenees

That's encouraging! Poultry guardians are very rare nowadays

 

[fuzzi]

Hello all.. hope everyone had a nice holiday!

We are new to chickens and need help on how to decide which breed(s) of chicken to get. Just recently finished our coop/run that has enough space for 6 comfortably. At this time we are only interested in egg production and do not want a rooster. I was planning on skipping the chick raising process and look for young hens.. but would this be a mistake? Is it better if we raise them from chicks so they become accustomed/friendly to us or more easily trained to the surroundings? Are some breeds easier than others to handle? Are there any that are more proficient layers in the winter? Our thought is to get 2 each of 3 different breeds. Does this make sense?

The most popular choices I see out there are Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Australorp. Is this the direction we should go as newbies?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated! Thanks....

Since you're planning on containing them, consider the size of the run/yard. It looks like your coop and run is about 8'x8'. That's not much room for standard sized hens.

Have you considered bantams? Their eggs are smaller, but you can also house more of them comfortably.

 

[tsgarvey]

Since you're planning on containing them, consider the size of the run/yard. It looks like your coop and run is about 8'x8'. That's not much room for standard sized hens.

Have you considered bantams? Their eggs are smaller, but you can also house more of them comfortably.

Coop is 4x8 and run 10x8. I'd consider anything at this point. Size is not too important at this time.. would just like to have fresh eggs. Thanks

 

[fluffycrow]

South Central Pennsylvania

OK, so nothing extreme. That means you can have pretty much everything. The Mediterranean breeds are built for a warm climate, so maybe not those (even though there's really no issue, besides them being at a slightly higher risk for frostbite). Sussex, brahma, their bantam versions, australorp, EE, Ameraucana, their bantam varieties, would all work great

 

[dheltzel]

@dheltzel is in Pottstown I think and sells birds, might be close enough to you?

You could also join us in the PA thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pennsylvania-unite.248345/page-8222

Thanks for the recommendation. I will have plenty of chicks in the spring, I specialize in sexable breeds/hybrids that lay lots of pretty eggs. I have some more specialty breeds also, but my "typical" first-time chick buyer gets some of each of these:
- Cream Legbar (blue eggs)
- Opal Legbar (blue eggs, lavender feathers)
- Gold Welbar (dark brown eggs)
- Silver Welbar (dark brown eggs)
- Gold Olive egger (dark green eggs)
- Silver Olive egger (dark green eggs)

6 breeds/colors, 2 each of 3 different colored eggs, with all the chickens looking slightly different to facilitate naming them, and all are very simple to sex as chicks, ensuring no roosters. All the chicks are vaccinated for Marek's Disease, which is quite prevalent in our area, readily preventable but incurable once symptoms occur.
These are all friendly, calm breeds that are bred to be layers, but not to wear themselves out in the first year as the commercial hybrids tend to do. I have had 5 year old Legbars still laying really well. They are quite tolerant of heat and cold, just good all around chickens. I have pictures of most of these on my website: welbars.com.
I am near Pottstown in Chester County. That may be a substantial drive for you, but much of it would be through some very pretty parts of PA. Lancaster County in the springtime is enchanting (IMO).

 

[Red Mangrove]

For now we will keep them in the run. We have room to let them range.. however, we don't have a way to keep them contained to our yard. Can they be trained to stay inside the perimeter of our yard?? We have a 9 month old pup that has the potential to possibly keep an eye on them and be a herder.. maybe? lol

Most heavy chickens hate hopping over fences for the record. I don't think they can be trained in terms of where to range, but they can easily be contained. Even a 3' garden fence will work for heavy breeds such as Rhode Island Red, Brahma, Orpington, etc.

I would also recommend getting older chickens, ideally raised by other chickens and not humans. In my experience the only chickens I have flying over my fence and visiting the neighbors are light breeds that can fly easy and are imprinted onto humans

 

[rosemarythyme]

Unless you plan on cycling out birds every few years, for optimal production you may want to consider spacing out the age of your flock, like start with 3 birds and add another 3 in maybe 2-3 years, when laying from the first group starts to decline a bit.

If you have a plan for cycling out the whole batch and need production from 6 hens, then disregard the above - no reason not to get the entire group at once.

If you absolutely cannot handle culling a rooster one way or another, then getting sex linked or auto sexed breed birds would allow you to start with chicks and avoid males, otherwise you would need started pullets to ensure you don't get stuck with a boy.

 

[peafowl_Lover]

I think it's nice to have a selection, only if your not planning to breed then you should get the same breeds if you will breed them.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I hate being a downer, but I do want to relate my experience. I just went through my first batch of 4 (2 Australorps and 2 Rhode Island crosses). They had a 9x12 pen you can see in my profile images. No free-ranging, but we made A LOT of effort to provide enrichment. 7 months later, I have no chickens. They all turned on each other, likely from being stuck in close proximity.

Search for my thread “Breeds for Confinement”. Orpingtons are a popular choice. But from my experience, I would make the enclosure much larger, or find a way to contain them with electric poultry netting. A chicken’s purpose in life is to search for food, and limiting that will result in unhappy birds that injure each other.

Best of luck getting started with your flock.