So, if you were starting from scratch what breeds would you get?

[tortoiseSHELL]

This is purely a chance to look at some nice chicken pics!

When it comes to replacing our little 'flock' (hopefully not for a while), I would like to get;

a huge Brahma

a Welsummer - dark brown eggs

a Gold Campine - white eggs

Cream Legbar - blue eggs

and a Bluebelle and Amber Star

Silkies.

We have 3 Omlet hybrids and we are aiming to buy two Silkies shortly. Just for fun really, as their eggs are tiny but OK for baking etc!

silkies

TS - have you seen my thread about buggering up the food. Any ideas?

i had some silkies they are lovely.
the best chooks i have found are the norfolk greys, they kind of hum/sing especially at night, its lovely!! and they love the kids to cuddle them and they go into the nesting box for my little boy to stroke them while they lay. they dont look much in the photo but there is a lovely multi-coloured sheen to the black feathers.
www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGK/NGrey/BRKNGrey.html
they are perfect for children.
i also have welsummers and cream legbars. i would love a brahma.

doodle2u i have responded to your food thread

How cool are those silkies, do they live together with the hybrids OK.
Are you trying to make me explode with chicken envy (bet freud never thought of that one).

i dont have them anymore as they all turned out to be cockerels so i had to rehome them. they used to get on great with my girlies. i bought three at 14 weeks old. three months later i realised two were cockerels and rehomed them together, and kept the one i thought was a hen. then about six months later the last one started crowing so he was rehomed.
i am waiting for some ex-broodies from a local breeder (i know for certain they are hens) they are really hard to sex and even the breeders find it difficult.
they are great for children, which is why i have chosen all the breeds i have.
i would have kept them all but i have a neighbour who would not be happy with the crowing.

I am starting from scratch (after rather a delay, coop has been set up since April!) and have on order

1 x Amber

2 x Heritage Skyline - 80% chance of blue eggs as cream legbar hybrid

1 x Marran cuckoo (speckledy Marran hybrid) - dark brown eggs

1 x Blubelle

have yet to decide on #6 will see what catches our eye when we collect!

I'd like some Araucana's for blue/green eggs.

But I'm rather attached to my Vorwerks, Amber Stars and various Sussex colours. The resultant 'mongrel' chicks are the most amazing colours - one is custard yellow with black spots . Can't wait to see what colours they end up with as adults.

Oh yes, they're lovely aren't they DofNB - and they look really exotic! A lavender one would be nice!

oh marmadukescarlet i have some marans and the eggs they lay are massive!!!! and chocolate. they start off normal brown when they start to lay and they get bigger and darker over the first few months. they are quiet big birds who tend to look after the smaller, younger birds.

I have a new chick Araucana, 4 days old, pic on my profile, hoping that it is a girl so we can have lots of blue eggs.

God that took a long time to type, the bottle of wine really didnt help

Norks and TS, that has reminded me a local breeder was advertising lavender Aracunas in the Wealden Advertiser (like Friday ad in my neck of the woods, less 'personal' more tractors) I may add 2 of those to my (mini) flock.

My silkie lived happily with my hybrids. But she was a bit of a sickly thing - silkies are prone to things which don't affect other chickens so much, like Marecks. we think it was Seahorse Syndrome which she died from, she was semi-paralysed.

I'm looking at getting a couple more chickens at the moment and would love a cream Legbar.

I have decided to get 4 hens, I want 3 good layers, so probably a selection of hybrids and then 1 fancy one, quite fancy a silkie or perhaps a buff orpington. Or whast is your opinion of pekins?

Ooh marmaduke! Do you have the details? I'm in Wealden area and I'd like some lavendar araucanas, eggs, chicks, POLs, whatever!

Today I saw lots of Polish bantums, they are so lovely that they are being added to my wanted list.

you are all going to hate me but i have had two of those as well. unfortunately one died within a few days of getting them and the other was killed by a fox . they are lovely characters but they cant see things coming with their big hairdoo. they are quite sickly and delicate but have big personalities. i would love another one.

Norks, called them today they only have lavendar pairs (£80 per pair) as they are out of hens (£50 each [gulp]) I do not want a cockeral as my coop is far nearer my neighbours than me (at far end of paddocks) and despite bribing with eggs I'm sure they will be less than impressed.

Although sometimes I think, 'stuff it, we live in the countryside so they'll have to just get over it' other times I'm not so brave

Another one has black and blcak/red and will do hatching eggs by post.

Let me know if you are interested.