Chickens chickens, im getting chickens!!

[bibliophile birds]

Also, is there a pro to getting chicks or could I find a young hen of those breeds easily? I live in So Cal....

i prefer getting chicks even though it means you have to wait FOREVER for eggs. the chicks i raised have grown to be lovely chickens who let me mess with them as i need (well, except for 2 of my GL Wyandottes who hate me). they have all been handled since the day they arrived and i like it that way.

the 2 splash Wyandottes that i just bought, at 2.5 months old, will end up costing me less in the long run because they will lay in less time, but they won't let me any where near them. i'm going out every day to try to get them used to me, but were a week in and no such luck yet.

just things to think about.

as for breeds, the only one you want that i've had experience with is Wyandottes. i wouldn't bother with them unless you get them from a breeder. hatchery Wyandottes are NOT up to snuff, from my experience, and they are my least friendly birds.

as others have said, buff Orps are a great choice. they lay well, are calm and friendly, go broody (even from a hatchery- 2 of mine are sitting right now), and are BIG- even my girls are large enough to be worth processing (i've not done any of the girls, but they are WAY bigger than my other girls and my roo is HUGE).

i really like my EEs as well. they lay really regularly and the green eggs are beautiful!

 

[hwillm1977]

the 2 splash Wyandottes that i just bought, at 2.5 months old, will end up costing me less in the long run because they will lay in less time, but they won't let me any where near them. i'm going out every day to try to get them used to me, but were a week in and no such luck yet.

My two nice chickens did take a few weeks to come around to doing anything other than running to the farthest part of the coop when I came in... I fed them treats once a day, talked to them the same every time I went and now they make cute little purring noises at me and run over to see if I've brought treats.... they were 4 months old when I got them, and it took about 3 weeks for them to warm up I only have a small coop with the 4 chickens in it though.

 

[Farmfresh]

hwillm1977: With a little work all of your birds will eventually get more friendly. Just keep bringing them scraps and treats.

 

[peachykeen]

I bought a small flock with 2 EE hens, an EE rooster, and two RIR and a buff brahma. I'm so glad I did it that way! Raising their chicks has been an awesome experience. Waiting for the chicks to start laying is a wee bit brutal, but a great experience none the less.

I love my chickens, I would get more brahmas if I could. We are buying some barred rocks shortly and getting a few cochin eggs as well and the cochins will hopefully be our broodies.

I recommend EE's to everyone, they are my best layers and the blue eggs are awesome.