What to get?

There are hundreds of breeds, varieties, and colors of chickens, and a rainbow assortment of eggs, including chocolate, terra-cotta red, dark brown, olive green, sea foam green, teal, blue, white, tan, and pink. If you just want eggs then pick out breeds and colors that look attractive and enjoy the variety in your flock.

Considering how many breeds are available, and how many strains have been developed within each breed (such as an Australorp strain that rivals Leghorns or Lakenvelders that are for looks, not laying), what is listed below is nowhere near complete and instead tries to incorporate the most common breeds available. "Ornimental" breeds, which aren't included, tend to lay as well as a bantam. Compare the breed you want by the category below, based on "egg laying," "dual-purpose," or "heavy."

For people who want the most eggs for their money, traditional egg layers are the best bet. These breeds are mostly non-broody and don't have much meat on them, but will lay more often. They include Ameraucana/Easter Eggers, Minorcas, Leghorns, Sexlinks (Gold Comets, Cinnamon Queens, Red, Gold, or Black Sexlinks), and laying strains of Rhode Island Reds. Smaller chickens, such as Campines, Lakenvelders, and Hamburgs, lay a fair amount of smaller eggs if you are looking for a smaller breed of chicken.

You can expect 5-6 eggs per week, per hen, from strong laying strains.

The favorite breeds tend to be in the dual purpose category. If you plan on raising chickens, or decide to get a mixed assortment of males and female chicks, then the dual purpose roosters can be put in the freezer. Popular dual purpose breeds are Dorkings, Buff Orpingtons, New Hampshires, Australorps, Plymouth Rocks (commonly called Barred Rocks and White Rocks), Wyandottes, and Sussex. For the typical family, dual purpose breeds lay plenty of eggs to pay for their stay and have a tendency to go broody as they get older, giving you the opportunity to have a mother hen tending to the next generation of chicks.

These breeds average around 4-5 eggs per week, per hen.

Then there are the heavy breeds. They are slow growing and slow maturing, but still lay a decent number of eggs for a small farm. Heavy breeds are much larger than the rest and, as a result, tend to be more difficult for a hawk or small predator to snatch up. Where a Leghorn could be carried away, a 10lb hen will be passed by. It will take longer for these breeds to begin laying, and when they do they won't lay as many eggs, but if you are eager to raise your own healthy, flavorful meat (and have a few eggs on the side without being overwhelmed), then these may be for you. Breeds include Brahmas, Jersey Giants, Standard Cochins, Faverolles, and Transylvanian Naked Neck (also called Turkens).

While numbers vary, anywhere from 3-4 eggs per week, per hen, is a safe assumption.

If you have limited space or prefer tiny chickens, bantams will still lay a fair number of eggs for a small family. A single bantam hen will take up 30-50% of the space of one standard sized hen, allowing you 2-3 little girls in the same space as one big girl. This gives even people with small backyards or tiny pens the ability to keep a few hens for fresh eggs.

All bantam breeds tend to go broody and will happily raise a next generation if allowed. While needing less space and feed, they do require more protection. The resident king snake that would have ignored a standard breed will take a second look at a bantam, and hawks have no trouble snatching one up and carrying it off. Even neighborhood cats can become an issue. If you free range a bantam flock, make sure there are few open spaces where a bird can swoop down.

Most bantams are seasonal layers, providing 2-4 eggs per week, per hen for a few months, then dwindling off over the winter. These eggs are also roughly 50% smaller than a standard egg.

How many do you need?

The number of chickens you need is contingent on how many eggs you genuinely want to go through on a weekly basis. Having a surplus on occasion is fine (it's a good excuse to bake a cake, make some paints, or try something new, but if you're getting two to three dozen more eggs each week than you can go through your hens will seem more like a bane than a blessing.

Assuming that you are keeping chickens for your own eggs (with some given away on occasion) then find the breed in the above category (or compare it based on whether the type is an egg layer, dual-purpose, or heavy), and divide the number of eggs you go through per week with the number of eggs laid per hen, per week. That will give you a rough total.

For example, if you want Barred Rocks, a dual-purpose breed, and go through 18 eggs per week, then 18 divided by four (the lowest average), is 4.5 hens. By five (the highest average) is 3.6 hens. You can safely assume 4-5 hens will cover your family's needs.

If you are buying started or adult birds, stick with the above math. However, if you are getting chicks then double the number you are wanting. So instead of 4-5 hens, you would want 8-10 pullet chicks. This is to account for any accidents that may happen between now and six months later, or any stray roosters that crop up. If you are getting a straight run (ie. "not sexed"), then you would want 16-20 to account for the 50% males in the mix.

Extras also allow you to pick out your favorites and sell or eat the rest as they grow. You may also find that with fresh eggs out of your backyard you use more than those from the grocery store. Having those extra girls will allow you to find out what your new egg habits are with real eggs on your plate.

Do You Need a Rooster?

Strictly speaking, a rooster isn't necessary for a family that just wants eggs. Hens will lay with or without a rooster present. But before you decide whether a rooster is for you it's good to know the benefits and drawbacks.

Roosters play a key role in a flock, especially one that is allowed to free range. A good rooster is a fiercely devoted gentleman, doting over his ladies and keeping guard against land and air predators. He is the first to sound the alarm if he sees anything amiss and may take on small predators to ensure the survival of his flock. Fertilized eggs do not start to develop until a hen makes a nest and are identical to non-fertilized eggs in taste and nutritional value (the only difference is a tiny white circle on the egg that shows that it has been fertilized).

Hens also seem to prefer having a man around as was discovered in the following study:

"In their experiment, the researchers set up two dorms for their chickens: one was co-ed, the other for females only. They kept them thus sequestered from earliest peephood and watched the goings-on. The hens raised with a masculine presence began laying eggs sooner, and laid more of them. The hens also developed bigger combs (and, I'm guessing, flaunted these fleshy appendages whenever a rooster was strutting about).

And a rooster strutting about was all it took to stimulate the hens- even if they could only look and not touch. The researchers tried letting roosters circulate outside the hens-only cages, so near but yet so far, and the results were the same as in the co-ed coops: more eggs, laid sooner. Gets the juices flowing.

The cloistered hens, however, eventually made up for lost time and managed just as good a lay rate. The researchers also noticed an unsettling behavior among them. When a human walked past, the hens often did a "sexual crouch," suddenly squatting down as if to say, "Here I am! Do me!" The researchers started keeping statistics on the squat rate and discovered that 80% of hens that were denied access to roosters did the squat around humans. The hens in the co-ed dorms didn't bother trying to impress the humans so much, presumably because they had a rooster to keep them happy: only 28% ever showed the hots for their handlers."

If you decide to keep a rooster in with your hens, most standard breeds only need one per 8-12 hens. For a flock of 15 keep no more than two on hand or you run the risk of the girls' back feathers becoming tattered or plucked out by the mounted spurs.

More than one rooster can get along together in the same flock. I have heard that two roosters will fight, but three roosters will get along fine, but if your pair have grown up together and seem to get along then they should do fine.

These additional boys will pull their own weight by becoming sentries, patrolling the borders and keeping an eye out for danger in exchange for being allowed to stay in the flock. You may see scuffling from time to time as a sentry sneaks in to have a rushed affair with one of the hens, but as long as nobody is hurt there won't be an issue.

We have found that younger roosters crow more than older ones and if there aren't any other roosters around to answer a crow you will rarely hear any noise. If your neighbors have a rooster within hearing range then expect to hear them verbally duking it out at random times throughout the day.