Best chickens???

[greenarmy]

Hi everyone im new to this gardening scene, but have always fancied chickens, a few questions!!! what is a good breed of chicken? good layer, friendly, not to noisy, and easy to keep, hardy as well,
what size of pen and coop would i require for two chickens??
we do own a cat!! fair size garden, but i only want to use a small section, still have to persuade the wife as well
thanks wayne

[Glutton4...]

Well - how long is a piece of string?

Housing: Shed not coop - longer lasting and more robust. Far better for when you get addicted and just have to have more Chooks. And you will!
Cats are not a problem - Chooks aren't scared of Cats. But their run and housing needs to be fox proof.
Breeds to chose - well, they vary so much, so, what do you fancy?

Your best bet is to grab a Coffee and waste a day using the search facility on the 'Rule the Roost' thread. Happy searching!

[CaroltheCarrot]

o i love my chickens,someone on here will know wayyyy more than me but dont do what i did,
i fell in love with silkies without doing any research and they are skittish and hopeless layers,lay one and then decide o well job done for another few weeks,but they are seriously cute and great fun to watch

[lettucegrow!]

You can't go wrong with any of the Hybrids. Not too expensive,an egg most days when they've come into lay and hardy. They come in all sorts of lovely colours and lay various different colour eggs. Only noise is when they announce they've laid or if there's something around they don't like.
Definitely get a shed, they're much cheaper and stronger. The purpose built coop I bought last year is showing signs of wear and tear already (leaking roof and mould-which is not good for chooks).
Go with Gluttons advice and read up on everyones thoughts. Good luck and let us know what you decide on.

[nmayhew]

i am a chicken newbie, and def not a resident expert, but here is my experience:
we have 5 light sussex kept in a large walk-in enclosure (DIY) and ark (bought it - easy, but should have built my own)
they are allowed out into our yard whenever we are out with them (fox country!) but the garden is a no-no: they are big scratchers (more so than other breeds??) and any plant not well established will be scratched into oblivion in a couple of weeks
here is what they look like (random picture)
Light Sussex Poultry
they are "full size", not bantam, and lay an egg or so a day in summer (never more), and quite a lot less in winter
they are very sociable, and if handled from young, are very happy with it
they definitely have different personalities
this breed was originally a "farm yard" bird that most small holders would keep - a good-ish layer, and big enough for the pot when the time came (not that we do that to ours)
i would happily recommend these to any newbie
3 of ours were bought for us by a "pro" at auction, the other 2 we bought ourselves, also at auction, on his advice
they cost between £20 and £25 each
they are not noisy, but do make a fuss to let you know they laid an egg!
like others said, i would spend a day or 2 on here and then ask some more specific questions from there
good luck!

[frogga]

We hae 4 Goldline great fun to watch, all 4 lay most days, they are allowed in the garden when we are at home to scratch, they do make some mess of the flowerbeds however!

When the veg gardens are getting dug, put them in with you, they will eat all the bad bugs and follow you round s you dig.

We bought a run for them, fairly expensive, and have room to get some more, they were all between £13 and £17 each, bought from a breeder.

[Hans Mum]

i've got a mix of hybrids inc some ex-batts, and they are all characters in different ways,as lettuce says only time they make a noise is when they lay an egg unless they think you should let them in the kitchen of course having said that they're no more noisy than the local kids. My only recomendation would be to get 3 not 2 just in case one goes to the big run in the sky they dont like to be alone.

[MaureenHall]

If you're just wanting eggs (as well as the fascination and enjoyment of keeping chooks of course) then definitely go for one of the hybrid breeds, but no less than 3 - as Hansmum said, they don't like being lonely Good luck with your choice and don't forget to keep us all updated

[Flummery]

I definitely wouldn't get just 2. They are flock birds, and when you lose one (sad but eventually inevitable, you'll have a chicken on her own who will mope for Britain. Most people would have 3 as a minimum. Won't take up much more room.

[Shellintons]

I agree with the 'no less than 3' rule. Though I bet most of the posters on here have gone over and above that
I currently have Orpingtons, Blue, Splash and oen solitary Gold Lace. I also have Light Sussex, Wellsummers (brown egg) and Cream Legbars (blue-ish egg). Oh and some Modern Game Silver Birchins. (It took these 18 months to start laying and they are an aquired taste).
I, like many others have caught the bug and now have too many chickens but am loathe to off laod any of my girls as they do have such characters. And there are still other breeds I would like to try.
We jumped into chicken keeping with French Marans and some odd bantams. Made mistakes and then researched what we actually wanted to keep. The internet is full of chicken breed pages so you can get an idea of look and egg quantity but I have to say going to a show or auction where you can see them in the flesh is a good way of making your mind up too.
Whichever you chose, you will love them as much as we all love having ours.
Good luck Happy hen hunting!
As another consideration, I did have some rescue hens once. The most grateful and lovely hens I ever had, but they sometimes don't last very long, it is pot luck really. I know many of the forum users here have had them too.

[Bramble-Poultry]

tsk tsk tsk - asking a question such as that on THIS forum! we are all chook addicts, so in answer to your question, what is the best chicken, the answer woudl be mine, then ask the same question to maureen and she would say hers etc etc. we all think ours are the best!

Seriously though, if you have never had chooks before, whilst i agree that a hybrid is a very very good layer, i wouldnt jump into ex-batts as a novice. Have a hybrid by all means, but buy it POL from a breeder. Ex-batts can be the easiest bird to keep, but they can also come with a barrow full of problems, so if yo uare at all inexpereinced, try the ex-batts after a while when you know what to expect as normal and will be able to recognise and react to problems more effectivly as you will know what to look for.

If its your intention to have good eggs but then have the meat from the hen at the end of the laying cycle, then i would suggest a dual purpose breed such as Light Sussex or Maran.

if you want a good number of eggs, go for a Rhode Island red as they literally lay for britain.

[Shellintons]

I agree Bramble, there is a reason I no longer have ex-bats
I have to say, every winter when my girls have a rest I wish I had gone for the RI Reds.

[greenarmy]

Thanks to everyone for your posts !!!i will have to convince the wife now and do som homework, great forum thanks once again

[tigress60]

Well - how long is a piece of string?

Twice the distance from the middle lol sorry had to say it

[BUFFS]

we have some blackrocks that i would recmmend to any newcomer,they started laying at 20 weeks(sporadically to start with),and all thru the winter they were giving an egg a day(more than expected),and now lay quite large eggs each day,hardy,not too noisy,we found them to be the best for us when we took the plunge,make sure the coop/shed is larger than needed as we started with 4 and now have 10......and they are all different personalities..good luck with whatever you choose..