Best personality and laying chicken for begginner chicken owners

[Happycamper07]

My family is having a debate on what chickens to get. We have no idea what breeds to get. We live in a wet area with coldish winters. Trying to get mass production to make money off of while providing ourselves. We want chickens with good personalitys but are quiet We are getting alot of mixed information. Ones we've thought about are Ameraucana, Barred Plymout Rock, Buff Orpingtion, Austerlorps, Novegen, Isa browns, Rhode Island reds and Red Sex links. Anything on them would be very helpful.

 

[nuthatched]

The information is mixed because we cannot make blanket statements on personality=breed because chickens are individuals.
ALL chickens are loud, the only quiet chicken is one in a freezer case.
I'd stay away from production breeds like isa brown, sex links, novagens etc, they lay early, lay hard and usually die from complicated, painful reproductive issues by 2 years old.
Orpingtons and Rocks come in many colors, and the less common colors (white, jubilee, lavender, blue, splash, Partridge, Columbian, penciled, assorted lacing etc) be less inbred, since buff orpington and Barred rocks are everyone's starter birds, same breed just a different color.
Americauna (easter egger) seem to suffer from beak issues and are finicky to lay.
I'd find a good source of heritage R.I.R or do some research on here to add a few other breeds to your list.
I have Sussex, Wyandotte, Partridge and Penciled Plymouth Rock, Barnevelder.
My Barnevelders lay big, brown eggs and seem to be fairly quiet.

 

[kurby22]

I have Marans, Wyandottes, Orpingtons, Langshans, EEs, true Ameraucanas, Orloffs, Salmon Faverolles, Cochins, Brahmas, silkies, and Polish. Of all these breeds, my Orpingtons and Marans are by far my best, most reliable and friendly breeds. My Ameraucanas, Salmon Favs, and Orloffs are super friendly but their laying habits or egg sizes are varied. My Wyandottes lay pretty well but they take big breaks in Fall-Winter unlike the Marans and Orps. None of my best layers are hatchery stock though, and my Orpingtons are all non-standard colors - lavender laced, mauve splash, mauve and chocolate. I love them they are gorgeous, gentle, friendly, and get along with every chicken—even the silkies and Polish.

 

[aart]

The information is mixed because we cannot make blanket statements on personality=breed because chickens are individuals.

This^^^
I would be worrying more about making sure you have adequate sized housing,
prepared and ready before you go buy those cute little chickie babies.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

Trying to get mass production to make money off of while providing ourselves.

We want chickens with good personalitys but are quiet We are getting alot of mixed information

To a certain extent, these two goals may be mutually exclusive.

Maximum production requires commercial layer breeds in at least a semi-commercial style system -- choosing breeds based on egg production and feed efficiency and culling birds at their first molt and replacing them annually with new layers. Are you willing to do that?

If yes, then personality is not going to be a major issue because they aren't going to be pets -- though some commercial breeds are known to be higher strung than others (The California Whites I like for their ability to put a dash of hot sauce into my placid flock of mainly Australorps (Repecka! Get off the roof! You're closer to the hawks up there!), were bred as a less flighty alternative to White Leghorns).

If that sounds unappealing, maybe get a year of chicken-keeping under your belt before deciding on just how commercial you're interested in being.

Normally, I recommend that people Go Ahead, Pick the Prettiest Chickens! but if you're looking at moving into an egg sales business I'd suggest deciding how many birds you want in your first, learning flock and then buy 2 each of enough different breeds that seem likely and get some hands-on experience.

That said,

@aart is 100% correct. Chickens are individuals and though there are broad tendencies within a breed, there are always individual exceptions.

Also, "good personality" is a highly variable concept because we chicken-keepers want different things from our birds.

Some like a calm, no-drama flock of laid-back birds. But others would find my beloved Awesome Australorps boring.

Some like active, alert birds who do entertaining things.

Some want docile, pettable birds.

Some want independent rangers who largely look after themselves -- and may even have to be fished out of the trees to put them into the coop at night.

This is another good reason to start with a mixed practice flock. I never expected to fall for these Australorps the way I have.

 

[FC16]

How many eggs a week roughly are you hoping to get? And how many chickens would you be able to keep in the space you have. Orpingtons are a good shout, fairly decent layers, also can cope with smaller spaces and very docile, but not amazing layers like Leghorns and Rhode Island Red. As mentioned above each chicken can be different but on average certain breeds can be better laying or more calm and quiet than others. If you can let us know how many birds you can have/ what your expectations are for eggs (how many you’d like a week, size of eggs, colour of eggs) there would definitely be a few breeds that could be suggested.

 

[HuDa2022]

Welcome to BYC.





To a certain extent, these two goals may be mutually exclusive.

Maximum production requires commercial layer breeds in at least a semi-commercial style system -- choosing breeds based on egg production and feed efficiency and culling birds at their first molt and replacing them annually with new layers. Are you willing to do that?

If yes, then personality is not going to be a major issue because they aren't going to be pets -- though some commercial breeds are known to be higher strung than others (The California Whites I like for their ability to put a dash of hot sauce into my placid flock of mainly Australorps (Repecka! Get off the roof! You're closer to the hawks up there!), were bred as a less flighty alternative to White Leghorns).

If that sounds unappealing, maybe get a year of chicken-keeping under your belt before deciding on just how commercial you're interested in being.

Normally, I recommend that people Go Ahead, Pick the Prettiest Chickens! but if you're looking at moving into an egg sales business I'd suggest deciding how many birds you want in your first, learning flock and then buy 2 each of enough different breeds that seem likely and get some hands-on experience.

That said,

@aart is 100% correct. Chickens are individuals and though there are broad tendencies within a breed, there are always individual exceptions.

Also, "good personality" is a highly variable concept because we chicken-keepers want different things from our birds.

Some like a calm, no-drama flock of laid-back birds. But others would find my beloved Awesome Australorps boring.

Some like active, alert birds who do entertaining things.

Some want docile, pettable birds.

Some want independent rangers who largely look after themselves -- and may even have to be fished out of the trees to put them into the coop at night.

This is another good reason to start with a mixed practice flock. I never expected to fall for these Australorps the way I have.

I am A beginner, I have welsummers, I love them they are so sweet, never bully the new babys, great egg layers, my welsummers have both went broody and I gave them new chicks from the incubator, mom #1 has 6 week old chicks and she is going broody again!! They are my best mommy's, I love them, my leg horns are only 6 months old no interest in mothering but I had them since they were baby's so they let me hold them, the others will not, I also have a mix that looks like green legged partridge, they aren't sweet, mothering, nor do they like attention but I get 8 eggs every day from my 8 hens I have, sometimes I think one of them is laying 2......ivlove my chickens I have baby EEs I'm excited to raise up to lap chicks

 

[Nomadicus]

Welcome to BYC. What works for me may not work for you and visa versa. What works for one member of your family may not work for any of the others even. Know your egg market before jumping off the deep end. I don't won't to discourage anyone but please be realistic. Sharpen the pencil. Know what it should cost to produce a dozen eggs from the breed or breeds that you select so your chickens work for you instead of you working for them. A small flock of 25 ISA Browns may be a good place to start. They are friendly and one of the more cost efficient production breeds. I can only suspect that they are quieter than my Rhode Island Reds that are quiet noisy at different time of the day. The way chicken math works it is very easy to get caught up in a dream instead of the real world of a chicken farmer. Good luck to you and and may the "Chicken Force be With You".

 

[mossyoakpro]

I have almost 4 week old little ones...my observation thus far are that the Barred Rocks and Blue Stars are the most friendly/loving where the Black Stars and RIR's are not very friendly at all. That could change as they get older but at 4 weeks those 2 breeds are not the least bit friendly.

 

[TRALALARA1]

I would also consider whether you plan on hatching and what egg colors you would like. Also, will you be processing and selling for meat? Might want to take a look at dual purpose chickens. If you’re going to incubate and hatch chicks to sell you may want to consider an auto sexing or sex linked birds.