Which breed of chicken to get?

[macgeoghagen]

I have decided to get a few chickens and need advice on the best bird for my situation.

I'm going to start small, maybe 2 hens. no roosters. The city thugs don't like roosters.

It gets HOT and HUMID here in summer. I'd need birds that can withstand heat. I can provide shade.

hens that forage around and eat bugs and things are preferred. I have plenty of bugs that need to be eaten. I can provide food for added nutrition.

they will primarily be for eggs.

I have about 1/5 acre for them. This isn't my whole yard, just the area that the chickens can live on. I'd prefer hens that don't fly away and get lost. I can build a chicken run if i need to.

If possible, i'd rather not have to buy special feeders and water apparatus. an aluminum pie pan or ordinary bird feeder should be good enough to eat out of.

I can build them shelter, but im not up for providing air conditioning. I can provide a heat bulb in the winter. no fancy stuff.

[ms-woman]

We live in hot and humid Mississippi and our Red Stars do very well. They lay a large brown egg, forage very well and ours are very gentle. Ours aren't much for sitting so you don't have to worry about a broody hen. We have also had Buff Orpingtons and Americanas, and hands down the Red stars are the best!

[momma_to_seven_chi]

The best brown egg-layers are actually australorps. *They are my least favorite breed because I have trouble telling the hens from the roosters, but they do feed themselves well, and lay well. *If you don't plan to hatch babies, I would skip the roosters and just get three hens. Any of the orpingtons or plymouth rock breeds are good dual-purpose birds that would fit your criteria.
Leghorns are also great layers, but they are not dual-purpose like an australorp.
If you want small and pretty, then go for some of the more docile bantam breeds. I like cochins and silkies. *That is what I mostly keep because they are so docile.

You don't have to keep fancy waterers or feeders. *I have a hundred *chickens and just water them in 1gallon pans that we fill 3x a day. You can just throw down scratch or put it in old feeding pans around the area. Are you just starting with chicks? *I just brood them in a box or a plastic crate. I keep several heat lamps going in the cold weather or while brooding, but with 3 to 5 chickens, you would only need one just for brooding.

[fancyfowl]

Australorps used to hold the world egg production record, years ago; they are a black Orpington selected for egg production, in Australia(thus--- Austra---lorp) or were. there are some hybrid brown egg layers which can vastly out produce a Australorp today.

The best eggers in a hot, humid area would be a light breed, light in color--best bet, white, buff or maybe silver or barred Leghorn.

[Thyme]

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html#a
The ICYouSee
Handy-Dandy Chicken Chart
An Alphabetical List of More than 60 Chicken Breeds
With Comparative Information
This is a site that has a chart of chicken breeds . It tells how well they do in hot or cold weather , how good on egg laying . Some nice info on chickens.

[poisonivie]

A heat light is a bad idea unless its for babies. My chickens get used to the cold as it comes on so they dont need a light in the winter. If they are used to the heat and you lose electric then they will freeze and die.

[fancyfowl]

You can use a small incandecsent bulb in the short day light times to increase egg production, 14 hours is optimum; have the light come on in the AM and shut off before dark so as to not screw up their roosting when the light goes out and then its totally dark.

[bookwormom]

and don't forget White Rock,another good all purpose chicken, lays brown eggs and is also good fried. MIL always raised them, and Ky is hot and humid. I hear Australorp are good but I tend to feel their black feathers might make them hot. my problem with chickens is that I like them all and can only keep a few. since you are not breeding, how about one White rock,one Buff Orpington, one Barred Rock and one Australorp. Ought to be really pretty. I am not familiar with Red Star and am going to look them up.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

*You can use a small incandecsent bulb in the short day light times to increase egg production, 14 hours is optimum; have the light come on in the AM and shut off before dark so as to not screw up their roosting when the light goes out and then its totally dark.

Is brooding chicks (with a light) in the same chicken house your hens roost detrimental to laying? *I have three crates of chicks with 100w bulbs on them 24hrs a day right now in the hen house. Does that decrease egg production from the other hens? Should I move them to the garage or other building? I get a couple of dozen chicks each Friday from my hatchery, and just put them in a crate to brood. *After 6wks or so, they go on the floor with the hens. (Of course, I clean the brooding crates often rather than just leaving them for 6wks.)

[jonvee]

If you have enough for them to eat they shouldn't try to get out of your yard. If you're in a neighborhood situation I would recommend some kind of small shelter where they can go at night. Only because cats and other critters could go after them at night. With only 3 or 4 the shelter could be the size of a large doghouse and work fine.

Any container will work for feed, but I prefer a feeder that hangs so the hens can't scratch the feed out and waste it. In hot weather thought make sure the water container holds enough. Chickens don't like to be without especially in the heat. I have 12 hens and a one gallon trough works fine even in the summer.

Good luck and enjoy. Chickens are great to have.

[macgeoghagen]

Thanks for the advice. It seems my idea of chicken raising was needlessly complicated by the commercial farms in the area that are climate controlled and automated. there is a person nearby selling the red star breed. they call them "red sex link" in this area.

[Anon001]

People tend to "baby" their hens when they don't usually need it. A hen can regulate her body temp as needed. I will say that I have never insulated a chicken house and I have always had part of it open to the south so as not to get "stale" inside. The hens are out and about every day. However, the last couple years they decided to move in under the house. But now that I am going to get all new chicks, they will go back to the chicken house. All I have on the south side is rat screen with door. We get high winds in the winter and temps below zero many times in the winter and I have never had a problem with the chickens and never had a comb freeze. The main thing is to give them some sort of shelter and food and water and then instead of treating them like an indoor canary or parakeet, let them be outdoor birds. It is amazing how well animals meant to be outside can take care of themselves.

Good luck.

[fancyfowl]

*A hanging feeder set at the fowls back height will be the least wasteful of feed and pelleted lay ration is more effacacious than mash.

*Red Star is not a breed. it is a sex linked hybrid of the white Leghorn and the New Hampshire red which is itself a redesined Rhode island red.. They are developed for the ease of sexing day old chicks and their hybrid vigor ability to lay more eggs than a straight bred New hamp. they were created for the brown egg industry and for some reason are popular with the backyard chicken crowd, must be that "sex:" in the name!! *They are known by several names, as are the black and *sex links depending on which hatchery is marketing them./ Its easy to make your own sex linked birds using the silver and red genes.

for interest;
A commercial white Leghorn has yellow legs due to the barring gene which helps to eliminate shank color. A lot of folks dont know that leghorns also come in many color patterns and also can be rosecombed, but rose comb legs are not commercially viable because the rose comb is connected to a gene which causes lowere fertility rates.

[harvester]

I have decided to get a few chickens and need advice on the best bird for my situation.

I'm going to start small, maybe 2 hens. no roosters. The city thugs don't like roosters.

It gets HOT and HUMID here in summer. I'd need birds that can withstand heat. I can provide shade.

hens that forage around and eat bugs and things are preferred. I have plenty of bugs that need to be eaten. I can provide food for added nutrition.

they will primarily be for eggs.

I have about 1/5 acre for them. This isn't my whole yard, just the area that the chickens can live on. I'd prefer hens that don't fly away and get lost. I can build a chicken run if i need to.

If possible, i'd rather not have to buy special feeders and water apparatus. an aluminum pie pan or ordinary bird feeder should be good enough to eat out of.

I can build them shelter, but im not up for providing air conditioning. I can provide a heat bulb in the winter. no fancy stuff.


the chances that any chicken should need air conditioning is pretty rare unless you are getting commercial heavy meat breeds.
My chicken of choice is the speckled sussex. Even for your situation they would be good chickens for it.
a water dish for them that is kept full is really all the equipment you will need. feed can be hand tossed onto the ground when they need it.
they will need somewhere to lay if you can convince them that this is the ideal spot by providing a "hide" and maybe a few of those left over plastic easter eggs for bait. otherwise you may be into a continual easter egg hunt untill you find out where they are laying their eggs.

[macgeoghagen]

I got 4 red sex link chickens. how long does it take for them to get used to their new home and start laying? mine are 23 weeks old.

[Anon001]

They should be laying anytime. Usually at 5 to 6 months of age.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

I got 4 red sex link chickens. how long does it take for them to get used to their new home and start laying? mine are 23 weeks old.

Most breeds of hens start to lay at about five to six months old.

[cinok]

I would say Rhode Island Reds they seem to be hardy and lay nice brown eggs. i f they have room to forage the feed costs will not be high although hey will need some ration with oyster shell or equivalent to help there eggs stay hard. A basic water can be built from a pie plate and a #10 can. You can use a dog crate for them at night its best to offer some protection and if you keep the food and water near it in the beginning they come "home" at night.

[huckelberry]

the biggest problem ive had with poultry,is stray dogs.....they must be locked in a safe place at night,even with a fence.... :(

[momma_to_seven_chi]

the biggest problem ive had with poultry,is stray dogs.....they must be locked in a safe place at night,even with a fence.... :(


A goat will solve your problem! Get a nasty one that has a bad temper towards dogs. As long as you have some goats in a pen on your property, you can let one or two loose to roam. They stay near the pen, and don't run off. Just keep the hens near the goat pen, and all will be well.
I had tried dogs, fences, Animal Control and just about everything else we could think of to keep stray dogs away from the chickens. Then we got Jezebel. She is a nasty little fat goat, but she has taught the neighbor dogs respect! I love her. After she rolled a few of them, they all learned to run for their lives. Now she just glares at a dog and takes a step toward it, and they run away yipping. I haven't had a dead chicken for a few weeks. She is the best investment my daughter ever made from the farm auction. Hubby named her Jezebel because he says she is a devil in disguise. We can't touch her, but she is the best guard animal we've ever had.

[macgeoghagen]

I wish i could have a goat, but the town council will throw a fit if i do. I want a big mean billy who will go after the neighborhood hoodlums.

[macgeoghagen]

My chickens do a good job of keeping the bugs down, but they aren't laying. the 3 of them share a 2'x4' house with a box and a perch. They get feed and all the bugs they can catch. Anyone got any advice?

[Anon001]

How old are your hens? They won't start laying until they are at least 5 to 6 months of age.

[huckelberry]

for now ive got geese and 2 huge great pyrenees dogs,they are pretty hard on any stray that comes round

[momma_to_seven_chi]

for now ive got geese and 2 huge great pyrenees dogs,they are pretty hard on any stray that comes round

The geese are probably more dangerous than the dogs. Guineas are good too, but they run from intruders rather than at them. They make a lot of noise though.