Best Breed for Novice- Massachusetts

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC, and good luck in establishing your flock. Hot wire is a great mammalian deterrent.

 

[Burnt Brass Homestead]

Hi @Annwood

Seem like you got some good advice.

Welcome!

 

[FrostRanger]

Hello! IMO you can't go wrong with easter eggers!

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Welcome to BYC. Barred Rocks would be a good choice for you. You will need to build a coop and pen like Fort Knox to protect your birds like I've done. We have lots of predators including snakes, hawks, bobcats and rats.
It would be best to feed chicks "Chick Starter" feed, then at 18-20 weeks old switch them to "Layer" feed. Your local feed store will have the proper feed for your birds.

Agreed. I would also suggest Silkies as a docile breed, Australorps and Americanas for their beautiful colors, and if you’re willing to risk a more aggressive breed, Rhode Island Red chickens are generally more hostile to humans, but are good layers and have a strong and defined social structure within their flock.

 

[Logar]

Welcome!

I am a big fan of jersey giants and Brahmas. They are friendly, decent layers, and fun to hang out with. They are also pretty big so they are a bit less likely to get attacked by predators.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Welcome to BYC and the great wide world of chicken keeping! Lots of breeds will be great for beginners in your area, so it might help to narrow it down by deciding what your priorities are.

• Do you have a preference for brown, white, or other color eggs?
• Are there any colors or patterns that you think are particularly pretty? Or unusual features that appeal to you aesthetically (like crests, extra toes, long tails, beards/muffs, or black skin)
• Are you getting chickens primarily for eggs, or are you looking maybe to occasionally butcher extra cockerels and/or spent hens?
• If you're planning on raising chickens for meat do you have a preference for skin color or feather color (dark colored birds have dark pin feathers which can be difficult or impossible to completely remove from the carcass, it's why most commercial meat birds are white)
• You have a lot of predators, are you OK with losing some birds to predation or are you looking to build a fort Knox of coops and keep them confined?
• You mentioned feeding corn, wheat, and soy so you may want to consider if you want good forager that can supplement a commercial or homemade feed with bugs and local plants or if you don't mind a less thrifty breed that will happily make commercial feed the biggest part of their diet.

 

[Tookie]

Welcome to BYC! Good luck with your plans!

 

[AGeese]

Welcome! I'd have to say my Black Jersey Giants from Meyer Hatchery have been incredibly beginner proof (at least in my case), cold weather hardy, excellent free rangers, assertive within the flock, healthy (knock on wood), consistent layers, friendly towards people.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Welcome to BYC! We're glad you decided to join us!