City Chickens, Part 2
I will confess. I am a nerd. A giant nerd. I love planning things, I love lists. And I had approximately a month between the time we decided to get chickens and the time that any would be available, so I used that time wisely and developed a chicken spreadsheet to help me pick the best chickens for my needs.
A few questions to ask yourself to help you pick the best breed:
Do you want chickens for meat, eggs or both? Some breeds, like the Leghorn chicken, are bred to be egg laying machines. Others make great meat birds.
Do you live in an extremely hot (or cold) climate? Some birds are better suited to withstand cold temeratures.
Do you want your chickens to be like pets? Some chickens are flightly and nervous creatures that won’t like to be picked up and handled. Others are inquisitive and friendly.
My chicken characteristic wishlist:
Colored eggs (brown, blue or green)
At least one “heirloom variety”
Friendly pets
Decent egg layers
After controlling for the above variables, I settled on the following three breeds:
l-r Easter Egger, Dominique and Wellsummer chicks
Alas, these three beautiful chickens met an untimely end before they started laying. I bought 4 more chickens in February from the local feed store:
Rhode Island Red, Easter Egger, Plymouth Barred Rock, Buff Orpington
Plymouth Barred Rock
Rhode Island Red (front) and Easter Egger
Me and my Buff Orpington
