I need help with choosing my chickens!?

Question

I have never owned chickens before so i need some help. I only have a small backyard so how many chickens are ideal? What is a breed that is a good friendly pet for kids and lays a good amount of eggs? And should i get baby chick's, older laying hens or 1 baby and 2 hens?

Answer 1

Don't get the ones with the puffy head, my mom got some of those and the other chickens peck at their heads

Answer 2

It sounds like bantams would be more suitable for your situation. They're smaller, many breeds are docile and good around children ie, they don't mind being handled etc.

I'd recommend getting 4 point of lay (POL) as they're old enough not to require special chickcrumb and can go straight onto layers mash/pellets and they'll begin to lay shortly after they settle into their new home.

The following make ideal pets and will lay too:

    * Araucana (lay beautiful blue eggs)

    * Cochin

    * Dutch Bantam

    * Pekin

    * Sebrights

    * Silkies

Check out http://www.henkeeping.co.uk/which.html for more information on different breeds. It's also a great site which offers information on hen keeping!

Good luck, they make great pets and are such entertaining characters!

Answer 3

ME NEITHER BUT THEY ARE GOOD

Answer 4

2 or 3 chickens would be good for you. chicks may be more fun and cute, so order some from a good hatchery like McMurray hatchery. Bantams would be best for you. You can get a lot of variety when it comes to Bantams. Backyardchickens.com is a great website for chicken info.

Hope this helped a little!

Answer 5

ok if you have a small backyard, chickens tend to make noise..and i have pigeons and they make noise...so just make sure your neighbours won't get annoyed..im guessing you should get a pair of hens...dont get chicks since too much work, protection needed, and im guessing ur getting chickens for eggs so you'd have to wait about 6 months for them to even start laying eggs...and as for the size...i would say about 8 feet by 8 feet covered with chicken wire (like an aviary would be good....and then the nesting boxes that is...get good plywood to make the coop...none of that plywood that is made from chips...the plywood that wont go bad in rain, snow etc...keep the coop ventilated...have some fresh air come through, but not too breezy because from what i know, chickens like warmth....and in the aviary spread a little area with gravel/broken glass because they love it and it makes them digest their food better...in the rest...keep some area that is not muddy, but it has no grass in it...make the soil hard...and in a bit keep some grass because they love worms...Whilst practical considerations are important, choice of breed must reflect personal preferences. Rhode Island Red, Light Sussex, White Leghorn, for example, should all be excellent layers.

Answer 6

I live on a pretty big farm and have 10 chooks. If i was you i would be purchasing point of lay hens. This would be better for you because obviously you wont want a rooster in town and when you buy chickens at a young age it is very hard to determine their s*x and instead of having hens you might end up with a few roosters which do not produce any eggs. Even when pet shops say that they are 90% goverment sexed, it is not accurate. It takes about 6 months for a chicken to become fully developed and start laying so if you get point of lay it will only be about a one month wait.

Silkies (a breed of chook) are not very good layers. They are cute and fluffy but only produce about 150 eggs a year.

Road Island Reds are a good breed (have eggs the size of store bought ones) but they are very mean and nasty towards chooks of other breeds. they do get along well with eachother though.

For a clearer idea consult the workers of a pet shop or produce store near you. They will be able to tell you everything you need to know.

Hope i helped you and hope you find the chooks you want!

Answer 7

eww

Answer 8

hey

chickens are a joy to have I have 34! =] and have been keeping them for 7 years now and I'm only 15 =]

right .. anyway   since you only have a small back yard it would be best to get 5-6 bantams or 3-4 large fowl chickens

depending on the size of garden

breed wise leghorns are GREAT t laying eggs but are quite flighty .. and not too friendly and will never go broody but they are wonderful and beautiful chickens and can be tamed with regular attention...and taming.

Hey here is a pic of a leghorn hen of the exchequer variety .. (quite rare though) but there are many varieties and colour

http://www.jphpk.gov.my/English/excheque...

rhode island reds are another great variety of chicken .. they lay very well all year if fed , maintained correctly .. very tame (so kids will love them) are quite big .. they are large fowl so i would only get 3-4 for your size garden (2 hens and a rooster would be  best ) here is a pic of rhode island red hen.. http://scriblerus.net/kunkelfruit/images...

there is also a bantam variety BTW too!

another nice breed of chickens is  Sussex, similar to rhode is;and in the way very good layers and friendly ... again a large breed so only 3 0r 4 (2/3  hens to a rooster)

here is a pic of a light Sussex hen .. they come in numerous colour and varieties but the pic I'm showing you is by far the most popular!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...

another option you could go for is a modern day hybrid ... these have been raised and bred to LAY lots .. constantly throughout the year ....Isa browns are my favorite and i have them ... here is a pic they are very friendly http://www.vepymo.be/images/isabrown.gif

but there are many other hybrids out there

and BTW get point of lay pullets (around 6 months) not a few old and a few young ....pullets are at the age of just beginning to lay....

Hope this helps and sorry i wrote alot =]

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