Thinking of getting a couple of chickens

My boyfriend and I live out in the country and have really become interested in keeping some hens. We mainly want to keep them for pets and egg production. We were told that they are very social animals and would be best in groups of six of more. We are looking to build our own coop. Can anyone recommend any good beginner chickens to start off with? I know there are many breeds available and I want to keep it simple to start off. If you know of any good websites please feel free to share. I have been researching and also bought a couple of books. Thanks for any info that you may have.

RIR (Rhoad Island Reds) are great. Here is my old Web page when I raised Birds.

http://www.freewebs.com/postiza/spanishgamefowlinfo.htm

This is a great resource http://www.backyardchickens.com/

You will find coup plans, breed info etc.

As far as breed I would recommend the following Plymouth Rocks, Australops , Easter Eggers, Ameraucana and Rhode Islands those are great egg producers.

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Originally Posted by ROACH

RIR (Rhoad Island Reds) are great. Here is my old Web page when I raised Birds.

http://www.freewebs.com/postiza/spanishgamefowlinfo.htm

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Thank you so much for the link!

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Originally Posted by Deborah

This is a great resource http://www.backyardchickens.com/

You will find coup plans, breed info etc.

As far as breed I would recommend the following Plymouth Rocks, Australops , Easter Eggers, Ameraucana and Rhode Islands those are great egg producers.

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Thanks a lot Deb! I knew I could count on you for some good info!

Chickens are awesome! Goofy little things. Backyardchickens.com has lots of breed and other info. I really like Speckled Sussex, Buff Orpingtons, Ameraucana's. We also have had Wyandottes, and Australorps. The Sussex were my favorite.

Chickens are great, each one has its own personality. We have all of the above breeds plus silkies, bantams, cornish rocks (meat bird) and 1 top hat (ugliest thing). I think we are up to 50+ now. My wife's says they are like tattoos you can't just get one.

Do you have a feed store or Tractor Supply by you they typically will get chickens this time of year.

I've have speckled sussex, red sex link, black sex link, rhode island reds, barred rocks and ameraucanas. Out of those my barred rocks seem to be the sturdiest birds. I have female barreds from my first installment of chicks, some 10 years back, still kicking and even giving the occasional egg. I definitely recommend a couple araucana/ameraucana types to go with whatever else you choose. It just adds to the fun when you get those colorful eggs mixed in with the different shades of browns/creams from the other breeds.

I have Sussex, Wyandotte, maran, olive eggers (maran/Americana), and 2 bantam breeds, plus I got a couple welsummer and australorp chicks. I can't make any judgments in the chicks yet, but out of the other my favorites are the silky bantam and Sussex. For egg production, the Sussex will be better. They lay about 4-5 eggs a week and have such wonderful personalities. Of all my full size chickens, they are the ones that will let me touch and pick them up (and all my chickens were raised the same way). All of them follow me, but the Sussex are just a lot friendlier and more curious than the others.

Thank you everyone for the advice. I really appreciate it. We have decided that we are going to a do lot of research before we purchase any chickens. After all, research is key to keeping an animal happy and healthy.

Muscovys! But of it has to be chickens I adore the americanas, bantams are great if you want to have them sit, and really unless you really want a pure breed a farmyard mix of all the ones you like is always cool.

If your going to get any chickens get barred rocks they might not look the coolest but they are the most social chickens out there. My flock is free ranged and will jump the fence an peacefully scratch and dig all the way down the road. If I bring them out a treat or have some company I'll call them. It takes about 45 seconds but the first ones back are the barred rocks. One of them literally jumps into my arms cause she likes being held.

I also stole a rooster from a nearby wild flock. He's a bantam and is so beautiful I'll make a post soon!:D

Chickens are so fun! We own australorps, orpingtons and easter eggers. All are very fun, goofy birds. While my easter eggers are the shyest they are by far the most beautiful birds.

I can't speak for egg production yet as our girls won't start laying for another good month.