Hi,
I am in a quandry. I thought I had made a decision on what breed chicken to get when we buy our very first chickens in April. I have been researching this for nearly 2 years now, can ya tell I don't rush into things.
I had originally wanted Buff Orp's, then I discovered through research, Delewares. Now I talked to a local hatchery(which is nearly impossible to find) and they do not sell Delewares but reccomended Gold Comet. I like the idea of a local hatchery rather than having chicks shipped.
Mainly I want brown large egg layers, that will be friendly and touchable. We will not be eating our chickens they will be pets that give us eggs. So what do you all think? I know asking this type of question can lend to more indecision based on so many differing opinions, but I really like to talk things out.
Thanks for your patience and thoughts.
Susan in NC
Gold Comet Question
Hi Susan! It sounds like you and I are after the same thing: Friendly brown egg layers that are also pets. I have experience with Orpingtons and they have wonderful pet temperaments, but right now I am in love with my Delaware chick. She is extremely friendly, tame and on the critical list as an endangered breed. A little more interactive than the Orpingtons--but either would be wonderful. I think the Gold Comet is a production hybrid and is suppose to be quite friendly.
Susan, That's all we raise for our egg layers are Golden Comets. They have the best eggs, large and very large eggs, and lay all year long with a few weeks off here and there, but never all at once. They have wonderful temperments and very little problems. We've had some live as long as 7+ years. Although they don't lay many eggs the older they get, but they are great egg layers and I would recommend them to anyone :)
Hi Cat & Misty,
Thanks for your help. I will probably go with the comets but one of the reasons I liked the Delewares was because they are on the list and I like to help breeds that are endangered. I think I will start with the Comets and maybe get a couple of Delewares just to se how they are also. I will not be having any roo's so I wouldn't have to worry about making Dele-Comets!
I just want a chicken I can cuddle! Truth is a I will probably do alot of sitting on the ground and being a roost.
Thanks again, when we get the coop built and get the chicks I will post again with some pics. Thank you,
Susan
You're right, but being a roost is really fun, too.
I just want to put in a good word for the buff orpingtons, too. My buff gal is like clockwork with her eggs, and she is going on 4 years old. She lays HUGE eggs. The egg cartons cannot close when I have one of Butterball's eggs in there. She is a funny girl.
THe more you handle your chicks, the more friendly they will be!
Does she know her name conjurs up images of large poultry roasting in the oven slathered with butter?!
I think if I were a chicken and was given a name like Butterball I would run away from home.
I may go with some Comets and Buffs.
We have a couple that will be blogging our CSA distribution this year. They will get a weekly share and he will create "masterpieces" from the bounty and post on the blog. They joined about a month ago and bought a dozen eggs and starting posting right away. They took a picture of the eggs in the carton and I'm going to share it here. She mentions how large and heavy the eggs are, and we have jumbo cartons for a lot of our eggs. Even so, many of our eggs are so big they don't even fit in the jumbo. I jokingly asked my egg carton supplier if they had cartons for duck eggs because many of them are that big and can be double-triple yolks. :)
Here is the blog:
http://travelingmcmahans.wordpress.com/mistymeadows/
Beautiful eggs!
Last year I hand raised 3 New Hampshire Red hens, which are very sweet, and lay brown eggs. They are also good at foraging for themselves (gotta keep them away from the garden.) Late last fall, one caught a black snake and killed it. I was very grateful.