YOu flock sounds just like mine! 12 hens and a rooster. I say you can't go wrong w/ some black australorps, a few Brahmas, a few sex links, and some NH reds. That's my vote!

Are you looking for strictly production or variety, too? For brown eggs, I'd say you can't go wrong with good 'ol Rhode Island Reds...good production hens and hardy. But in my experience, in large numbers they tend to 'pack up' and bully the other birds, so be aware of that trait. Ditto Silver Laced Wyandottes (light brown eggs), although I keep mine one to a flock and they do fine, no meanies.

Light brown egg layers: If you live in an area that gets cold weather, think about the fluffy English breeds such as Orpingtons--very good layers and sweet as pie. Brahmas are great, too. I have one Jersey Giant hen who lays well and is very docile and sweet also. My Americaunas hens are friendly and lay well, in pastel shades of blue, green and pink. I personally advocate a mixed flock of English breed hens and standard American breeds with a few banties tossed in for comic relief--but banties are great layers too and very entertaining, and make great moms.

For roos...I had a Barred Rock roo for 9 years who was a gentle giant, very friendly towards us but protected his hens well and treated them with love, and performed his roosterly duties well but never to the point of injuring one of his girls. :) I currently have an Americaunas/Barred Rock roo in his place--his son. He is just like his father. :) If I had to replace him, I'd go with another Barred Rock or something like an Orpington--one of the sweeter breeds.

Enjoy picking out your birds, and have fun! :)

Velvet ~:>

RHODE ISLAND REDS AND BLACK GIANTS THATS WHAT WE GOT.

Chickens are really hardy. I think that catalogue mentions one hard to raise chick.
Just choose whatever you like from the catalogue. I think it's impossible to go wrong. You know those prices are incredibly high.
Banty's are neat to have around, I currently have 6, they are my best layers during winter but what good is a pigeon egg? I can't eat all of them daily either so they just pile up. The eggs are useless if you ever want to sell eggs.

No, you can't "sell" banty eggs but a couple equals a medium sized egg in volume and you get to have two little chickens (who think they are very BIG and important) instead of one "regular" chicken. Frankly, I love my bantams....my favorites are the little gray Japanese Bantams. They have a lovely "shawl" of pale grayish feathers overlying black and the most marvelous, tall,luxurous, forward tipped tails! Just makes me happy to watch them. The Japanese that I have are gentle little chickens. The little Black Breasted Reds are so full of themselves ....I love seeing them perched high on a fence post , with their little chests pushed out, crowing for all they are worth. The hens of each breed are cute as buttons and lay well. My one little Japanese sat on three clutches of eggs this summer and is a super mom.

For full sized chickens I like Lakenvelders....with their clean white bodies topped with a black head and shawl on one end and a big black tail edged with white on the other! Really strikingly beautiful chickens.

The best of luck to you!
Judy

Hi Lori :)

Definitely go for a variety! I get so much joy out of gazing at a bowl of multicolored eggs! I must be a little crazy but I could "waste" so much time arraigning eggs in a carton to get the most beautiful combination of colors. I use the clear plastic cartons so you can see right through them, and always include at least 3 blue/green eggs per doz. Having a range of browns will only add to the effect. Some browns are almost dark pink in color while others are creamy light brown.

It's also interesting to have a variety of breed to look at scratching in the yard and it makes them easier to name since you can tell the difference between them.

From my limited experience I have noted that my Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks are the most productive and hardy. They are also the most likely to be a bully. My Buff Orpingtons are the sweetest and most gentle, they are obscenely fluffy! and are great with my kids. They are known to be good mothers and are more likely to go broody. I have been hissed at by some when retrieving eggs from underneath them in the nesting boxes but that's about all the drama with them.

My Americanas are really beloved since they lay such beautiful eggs, mine range from an army olive green to a bright blue/green almost robins egg color. They are a little more aloof but if you hand feed them they will get over their fears and become your best friends. I also have a Silverlaced Wyandotte who I would classify very much with the americanas in personality.

Good luck, let us know how you make out.

-Sheila

Actually believe it or not, you can sell banty eggs - at least the really small ones. Some of the higher end restaurants that would normally pay a lot for quail eggs may buy your banty eggs. I know that the guy I supply to is thrilled when I bring him some. Just a thought!

Hi Lori,
Lots of good advice here. I like black australorps too, and the colored Aracauna eggs always bring a smile to people I give eggs to. One lady actually asked me if the yolks were green!

I decided years ago that if I was going to keep chickens, I would keep the standard sizes (as opposed to the bantams). The eggs are significantly bigger (making it easier to follow a standard food recipe), the roosters crow just as loud, and Bantams have a reputation for being feisty. I'm sure Bantam lovers will have something to say about this :-)
If you are going to order chickens from Murray McMurray or any commercial hatchery, you will have to order a minimum of 26 chicks. So keep that in mind. I would wait until early spring to order. If you order 'straight run', about 1/2 will be males. Eventually, you will probably want to do something with so many males. As a primer for chicken raising, you really should read the member page of "Velvet sparrow" to get a feel for all this. I assume you have a chicken coop, and a place to keep babies when they arrive in the mail, and feeders and waterers, and all that stuff.....Anyway, let us know what breed(s) you decide to buy, and why!

Oh yes, it occurs to me that your local 4-H club might have chick sales in the spring. Also check the bulletin boards of your local Farmers Coop for chickens. You might get lucky.
Mike

We all have favorites. Just wish I could have a roo in Phoenix. I live in the central area, and we are only allowed to have hens. Understand the reasoning. But on Thursday when I was in the chicken yard, a hawk came barreling through. My girls hid, but a rooster would have warned them!

I would have Americanas (which I have), and Rhode Island Reds. Fostered four abandoned young RIR's this summer, until they found a good home. Great layers. I also have seven Crested Polish. Sweeties, but not good layers.

Thanks everyone, valuable insight. I'm still a ways off from the actual coop and buying but I thought I would like to have some suggestions to look up and become acquainted with. I've asked for several books for Christmas ;) I took the suggestions you offered and went to McMurray, sent myself a marked page so I could read about and see them. I may not end up buying from McMurray, I just thought they had a great catalog to look over with some basic info. Yes, these sound great and what I was looking for; variety in the birds as well as a colorful bunch of eggs. Thanks a bunch! Lori

I'm still looking at pics and descriptions, LOL. I was wondering, do you keep the banties in with the other chickens? My intention is to enjoy, most of all. Eggs are important but with 12 or so chickens, most likely more than our family will need anyway. I chuckled over Sheila's comments because that is how I know I would be too. I want an interesting bunch ;) Lori

My chickens are bantams, and most are crosses between a
black aracauna, assorted cochins and a gray silkie. I think they are beautiful & I get an assortment of brown & green eggs. I given my extra eggs away to friends and I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that arranges the eggs so that they look especially pretty in the carton. I love having chicks, so by summer, I usually have 30+ chickens. I give the extras away, and I can usually find homes for all of the extras. This winter I am
keeping two roosters and 10 hens and six chicks were hatched in November. I presently have a gray silkie rooster & a barred Cochin rooster. I have one black araucana hen, a partridge Cochin hen, a Golden lace Cochin hen & the rest of my hens are crosses. Some of my crosses are the prettiest hens I've seen ( says a proud mother). I let my chickens free range in the flower garden and prefer bantams for this, as full size chickens do too much damage.

Janice
in the Sierra

I have quite a medley of chickens and great variety in egg colors and sizes. I have chickens as follows:
50 production reds- they lay large to jumbo medium colored brown eggs
21 Welsumers - they lay large dark brown eggs some with darker brown spots very beautiful eggs.
26 Buff Orpingtons- large to jumbo light brown eggs
5 Delawares- large medium brown eggs
5 silver laced wyandottes- large almost white eggs
3 Barred rock bantams- tiny light tan to cream colored eggs

I suggest you get a Welsumer rooster. I have three and they are very beautiful and colorful gentlemen. They take great care of the ladies and know their business. They are nonagressive and are said to be good fathers of chicks. The males brood chicks and are better mothers than the hens.
have fun chosing your chicks!
Linda

I have always kept a few banties in w/ my heavy breeds. They tend to stay w/ their own, so if you get bantams, get a few so they'll have company when traveling through the yard.

I like all the heavy breeds mentioned earlier but I'm kinda surprised nobody has mentioned Speckled Sussex. I've found them to be some of the most personable and friendly hens in the flock and will definitely add a few more in the future. Their coloring is pretty too.

Yes, Herringbone, I like Speckled Sussex too. They are the only breed I have had so far and they are quite friendly as you say. Our Sussex rooster is downright gorgeous and they hens are attractive birds too. My main complaint is that they are extremely noisy -- and seem to me to get worse as they get older. And they are quite competitive over roost space etc.

I think I may try some Buff Orps next year.. Everyone says how gentle and docile they are.

The favorites in my flock are the golden- and silver laced wyandottes, the dark brahma, the black australorp, and the silver spangled hamburg rooster. Laced wyandottes are just pretty to look at and lay a reasonable flow of brown eggs. Same with the australorp. Bronwen (my brahma girl)is more a pet than stock and follows me around in the summer freeing me from black flies, and lays brown eggs in the snow. The spangled rooster is gorgeous, and carries genes for white eggs, and he's only aggressive towards the robbing starlings. If you want to keep a self-repopulating flock without splurging for an incubator, I'd suggest a few cochins in the mix. They lay small eggs, but they make the best mums. By the way, what are you doing with the other 13 chicks from your min 25 mcmurray order?

The link below is to a great comparitive resource on chicken breeds.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chicken Chart

BE aware McMurry only ships in QTY's of 25.

We have RIR's, Assorted leghorns Plymouth Rocks and Buff Orphingtons.

The rhode island reds are great brown egg layers and very docile but look out for the roo's we have one that will ambush you everytime, I have to keep my eyes on him at all times and carry a big stick.

Our favorites are the Plymouth rocks and the RIR's we are going to slim down our flock to just the RIR and Plymouth Rocks.
We call the buff orphingtons the dumb blonds, because everytime they free range at least one of them would get lost and we would hear her calling and have to go find her...