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  1. #1
    BPnet Royalty ballpythonluvr's Avatar
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    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.

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    BPnet Veteran ROACH's Avatar
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    RIR (Rhoad Island Reds) are great. Here is my old Web page when I raised Birds.

    http://www.freewebs.com/postiza/spanishgamefowlinfo.htm
    Last edited by ROACH; 04-18-2014 at 02:04 PM.
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    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
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    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.
    Deborah Stewart


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    BPnet Royalty ballpythonluvr's Avatar
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    Re: Thinking of getting a couple of chickens

    Quote Originally Posted by ROACH View Post
    RIR (Rhoad Island Reds) are great. Here is my old Web page when I raised Birds.

    http://www.freewebs.com/postiza/spanishgamefowlinfo.htm
    Thank you so much for the link!

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Deborah View Post
    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.
    Thanks a lot Deb! I knew I could count on you for some good info!

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    Re: Thinking of getting a couple of chickens

    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.
    If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies.

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    BPnet Veteran txcoker's Avatar
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    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.

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    BPnet Royalty John1982's Avatar
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    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.
    Last edited by John1982; 04-18-2014 at 07:19 PM.

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    Re: Thinking of getting a couple of chickens

    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.
    Why keep a snake? Why keep any animal? Because you enjoy the animal, find something beautiful and fascinating about it, and it fits seamlessly into your lifestyle.

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  16. #9
    BPnet Royalty ballpythonluvr's Avatar
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    Re: Thinking of getting a couple of chickens

    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.
    Last edited by ballpythonluvr; 04-19-2014 at 10:37 AM.

  17. #10
    BPnet Veteran Sama's Avatar
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    Re: Thinking of getting a couple of chickens

    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.
    Skagit Reptiles

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