Step 2: Questions 4&5 Broodiness and color?

First off for those of you who don't know. Broody is when a hen sets on eggs in hopes of them hatching. The eggs will only hatch if fertile and for that to happen you need a rooster. Because most people can't or don't want roosters having a breed that goes broody on a regular basis is not a good idea, because when the hen is broody she won't lay any eggs. Most of your modern dual purposes have had the brooding tendency breed out of them. So they are less likely to go broody. Now if you want to raise your own chicks then a breed like the Silkie is a good chose because they are know for brooding any eggs they can. Also for the most part they make great chicken mothers. If you have a rooster then you may want to invest in a candler to check to see if any eggs are fertile. If you do have a hen that goes broody and you want babies just keep an eye on her and let her do her thing. If you don't want babies or don't have a rooster then you want to stop the brooding. One way to do this is to take eggs away from the hen every day and soon she should give up. Some broody hens will puff up and hiss at you or even take a peck at you when you try and collect eggs this is normal behavior. This is the hen's way of trying to protect her babies. If you have a broody that is a furious pecker wearing garden gloves may help protect your hands. In my flock the only ones that I have had go broody have been the bantam breeds.

Question #5 What Color?

To answer this one just go with the color that you like the most. Every color that you can think of you can find a breed that has a tenancy to show that color in their feathering or in their eggs. I have red and black and white as the main colors in my flock.

Status Update.

Sorry for not posting for a while it had been a busy couple of weeks. We have lost one of our little partridge bannties, to injury. Some happen and she broke her little neck. I thought I has a sinus infection so doing more than work and bed was a hard thing for me. I got good news from the doctor and it is not an infection just allergies, so she gave me the meds that I need to function. Rock has continued to work on his crow and bring a smile to my face every time I hear it. I have started planning out Rocks new house and planning your own coop takes a bit of work. I will detail it all in a full post once it is finished. So between all of that I have had little time to sit at the computer and write but I hope to have a couple of full posts later today or tomorrow.

Rock the crow

It is with great joy that I can finally say that my rooster Rock has found his crow. Over the last several weeks I have heard him practicing and not sound so great. This morning while enjoying my morning caffeine on the patio I heard him loud and clear. When I went over to the yard I saw him in a corner with his ladies standing tall and proud singing to his girls.

Now the next milestone for my Rock is to learn which of the ladies in the yard he can romance. Last night he tried loving my little silver seabright Princess, she is the diva of the yard and the smallest. When he tried to love her she puffed right up and went after him. I wasn't worried for her at all. Once my Rhode Island Reds realized what was happening they join in the fight and Rock couldn't get out of there fast enough. I will be sure to keep you all posted on Rock and all the ladies in the yard.

Step 2: Question 3 Personality.

What type of personality do you want in your flock? There are as many personality traits in chicken as in people. From calm to wild, and from aggressive to easily handled. At first thought you may not want an aggressive breed but don't be to quick to judge. An aggressive hen may be what protects the flock in the absents of a rooster. Also they breed may be friendly to humans but chase off any unwelcome guests in the yard or run. I have 5 little Americanas that are 14 weeks old and they tolerate people fairly well but when the local wild birds stop in for some scratch they chase them off.

Depending on your set up you need to determine how well the breed handles confinement. If you have a small urban setup then a large breed that likes to roam is probably not going to work every well for you. But if you are in a more rural area where the chickens can free range a good part of the time then the Minorca might be a good fit. For a small urban setup the Barred Rock or Orpingtons are going to be a better fit, both breeds are considered friendly and handle confinement well. At this point my Barreds are probley the freindliest chickens that I have. When I go and sit in the yard with them most of them, execpt the rooster Rock, will come over to see what I am doing and allow me to touch and hold them.

Just remember when selecting a breed to keep in mind your location and the temperament of your neighbors. Also there are exceptions in all breed just like with cats, dogs or other people.

Step 2: Question 2 What size?

      Most breeds come in two sizes standard and bantam. Remember that the size of the hen determines the size of the egg, and small hen will at most lay a medium sized egg, while a large hen can give up to extra large eggs.

    Also consider the space that you have for your girls. Bantams being smaller need less space, (in chicken math they count as 1/2) Lots more on chicken math to come.

 In my flock you will find both standards and bantams. I like my standards for the size of egg that they lay and their independant nature, as long as they have access to what they need, they ask for little extra from me. Some of my bantams are the same way. My favorite of the older girls is Mrs. Clucky, a gold laced cotchin bantam. She is the hen house gossip, she loves to tell me everything that is happening in the yard. She will follow anyone around the yard to tell her tales, but would rather be picked up and held to tell you her stories. As for the babies they are all standard size and I have yet to pick just one favorite of the bunch. I have friends with standard sized hens who will do similar things. So my thoughts are to pick the best size for you.

Step 2: Part one What breed?

So now you know that you can have chickens the question is what breeds will suit you the best. There are hundreds of breeds in all shapes, colors, and sizes. From your story, book classic Rhode Island reds to the rare and exotic phoenix. There are giant, full size and bantam breeds. Some with feathers on their feet some are clean legged. If you are looking for eggs, what color eggs do you want, white, brown, blue, green, or rose? Remember it is the feed the chicken eats that determines the nutritional value of the egg not the color of the shell. Do you want friendly hens or independent hens that can fend for them? Do you have unique climate requirements? Cold winters, hot humid summers? Also are they pets or for show, like at a county or state fair? I will help answers these questions and more, plus to come a breed of the month profile to help in the selection of your hens.

Question#1 What is the purpose of your flock, meat, eggs or both, or neither?

For meat birds the most common breeds are Cornish or Cornish X, this single purpose bird has lots of meat and produces  very few eggs. 

If you are just looking for eggs then a leghorn is the chicken that is most often use for mass production for the stores. They lay lots of large white eggs.

For most people though a good duel purpose bird will work, even if you never plan on eating your hens. There are too of these breeds to list them all, my favorites are Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks. Both are friendly, cold hardy, heat tolerant breeds. My reds give me about an egg a day, it did not take them long to go from medium sized eggs to large or extra large eggs, and they are brown eggs. As for the Barreds I have heard good things but we will have to wait a few weeks for to find out for sure. I will keep you posted as they grow. For a more complete list go to www.backyardchickens.com and look at the breed pages, they also have a new breed selection tool to help.

The other classification of chickens is oramantal such as the Seabright or the Phoenix. There are small breeds that are too small for meat and their eggs are at best small. I still like them in my flock for the variety that they add.

The following questions and more to follow.

Question #2 What size?

Question #3 What personality do you want?
Question #4 To Brood or not to Brood?
Question #5 What colors do you want?

The First Step

The first thing that you need to do when starting a flock is to find out if it is legal for you to have chickens where you are. While the number of cities that are allowing backyard flocks is rising there are still places where they are outlawed. Later I will talk about ways to get the laws changed so that you can have a flock. I highly recommend checking out the laws and following them because I can't imagine anything worse than having the city tell me that I can't have my girls and to get rid of them not to mention the fines that would most likely come with a removal order.

The laws regarding chickens are as varied as the breeds that you can have. Some cities say nothing about them in the ordinances, others limit the ways you can sell them. While others still regulate everything from the number of birds to the location of the coop. I have come across some that tell when and how to clean the coop and the number of square feet each bird requires.

There are a few ways to go about reviewing the laws.
1) Google it. Many cities have their laws and ordinances posted online and a simple search of your city and chicken will most likely give you your answers.
3) Call city hall and ask.
2) Go into city hall and talk to animal control or code office to see what information they might have.

Most cities with ordinances will state no roosters or crowing hens and if it doesn't a rooster will most likely  fall under the noise ordinances. So have a plan in place to re-home roosters if you happen to get one or more. One other thought to condenser is talking to your neighbors and about your plans. They are the people most likely to cause you problems over your flock, then again they my want to help you start and neighborhood flock to go along with the neighborhood garden

What the blog is about

          This is the beginning to help those who want to experience the joys of their own back yard flock, along with the stories of my own flock. There will be post about all the things you need to do to set up and manage your own flock. Including information on how to find out about local laws on chickens, the type and size of coop, the different types of feed from 100% organic to the feed store brand. Most importantly information about all the different types of chickens out there, to help you find the breed that is best for you, your climate, space, time, and your family. We will explore the eggs laid by the different breeds, white vs. brown vs. blue vs. green. (Yes you can get blue and green eggs from chickens! : D) All this and more, I hope to provide you more than enough information to make an informed decision about your backyard flock.