Breda Fowl thread

[Sylvester017]

Hmm I thought they were white but maybe they are off-white now that I think about it. Of course I can't say for sure now because 2 Partridge Barthuner hens snuck into their run under the fence so I left them there and put 2 extra PB roosters I had in with the lot.

I still haven't found a breda rooster yet, if anyone has one I would be willing to send you eggs from any of my breeds for helping me locate one. I found a Breda in the grow out barn and was hoping it was a rooster but now that I put it in I can see that it's a hen. I guess I should be greatfull for another hen but I really need a roo still.

Terrific breeds you have! I think the PBs are gorgeous - both the roos and hens alike. My DH really liked the Blue Breda when I showed him all the white egg-laying lightweight LF I was considering to add to our gentle backyard flock next year. We are allowed 5 hens and at one point we had 6 but are down to 4 now. I'm not ready to add pullets this year but want to by next Spring 2015.

We had to re-home a sweet White Leghorn that got really aggressive when the flock dynamics changed by adding 2 new pullets. Because we have 2-lb Silkies we can't have aggressive tempered LF so we don't have white eggs in the basket now. We narrowed down to Breda, Polish, and Crevecoeur as the gentle-natured white egg layers under 5-lbs but I don't want to deal with more crested birds like our 2 Silkies - plus DH really likes the looks of the Blue Breda hens.

There are some nice explanations on this thread about the Breda egg colors by DutchChicky83 and GaryDean26 (Post #581 and #583) so I'm not going to worry about it so much now. I just really want gentle fowl under 5 lb. We have an APA Blue Wheaten Ameraucana that is our largest bird right now but she is such a gentle soul and not interested in flock politics plus lays very large blue eggs. She makes the other medium eggs look like peewees LOL. She is kind to flockmates, busy forager, prolific layer, talkative with humans, flies well but stays in the yard, and chases away intruding stray cats! Ameraucanas (as well as EEs) are not normally broody types but we don't raise chicks.

What I found interesting about the Breda is that it was commonly found in America but never was entered into the APA and more commercial breeds made it extinct in the USA. Over the years it's thought that the original Breda has probably been mixed with other breeds before being re-introduced back into the USA. Whatever its history it still is a striking bird and certainly a desirable nature. The egg laying count has been widely estimated.

CrazyPetLady: Are your Breda hens decent layers or do they go broody often?

 

[RFR of CA]

I've had Bredas for a few years now and none has ever gone broody. They are frequent layers but it takes until their second season for the eggs to go from medium to large in size.

 

[Sylvester017]

I've had Bredas for a few years now and none has ever gone broody. They are frequent layers but it takes until their second season for the eggs to go from medium to large in size.

May I ask why you have Bredas? Is it for appearance, to preserve or perfect a rare breed, to show, for meat, for eggs, or because they are good tempered? I would think those are all good reasons but usually there is one or two outstanding reasons why people like a particular breed.

My DH likes the looks of the Blue Breda. My preference is to have a lightweight gentle fowl that lays white eggs - size of egg not as important as temperament, lightweight fowl, and white for eggs. What are your preferences chalk?

 

[DutchChicky]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/867770/12-breda-fowl-eggs

We are selling Breda Fowl eggs, if anybody interested

 

[RFR of CA]

Why do I raise them?

Oh I love their looks mostly, so different from my other flocks, and I do enjoy breeding and sharing rare birds with like minded enthusiasts. I also like the white eggs for contrast in my egg basket. They are the only white eggs on the ranch. They are mild mannered, never fight, and lay well. The eggs are very fertile and hatch well.

Negatives? They are not meaty birds, they do lay late with large eggs only after first season, are hard to sex, and they can be shy/flighty but we do get lots of compliments on them. Mine are pretty tame now and are venturing out of their pen a bit farther each day out to explore the ranch.

I recently located some of the barred and mottled varieties that I might try to incorporate into the flock. We will see.......never can have too many right?

RareFeathersRanch Herald CA

 

[Sylvester017]

Why do I raise them?

Oh I love their looks mostly, so different from my other flocks, and I do enjoy breeding and sharing rare birds with like minded enthusiasts. I also like the white eggs for contrast in my egg basket. They are the only white eggs on the ranch. They are mild mannered, never fight, and lay well. The eggs are very fertile and hatch well.

Negatives? They are not meaty birds, they do lay late with large eggs only after first season, are hard to sex, and they can be shy/flighty but we do get lots of compliments on them. Mine are pretty tame now and are venturing out of their pen a bit farther each day out to explore the ranch.

I recently located some of the barred and mottled varieties that I might try to incorporate into the flock. We will see.......never can have too many right?

RareFeathersRanch Herald CA

Sounds wonderful and if I still had my old 25 acres it would be filled with chickens and breeding pens LOL - maybe it's a good thing I don't anymore as I'm slowing down in my old age. The temperament sounds perfect for my little gentle flock and size of egg is not as important as having it white. I used to have a Marans for dark eggs but she was a disappointment temperament-wise and eggs were just normal brown and not the chocolate so many tout. Our experience with her showed us that temperament, lightweight fowl, and gentleness is more important than egg size/egg colors.

I love what I've researched about the all-round temperament of Breda. Not much a fan of feathered feet but then I'm used to dealing with feathered Silkies and their extra toes. I like all the Blue, Black, Splash Bredas but not so sure about the Barred and Cuckoos (feathersite.com) but the Mottled sounds interesting. My DH however only wants Blue if I get another. I'm thinking maybe two of them - one Blue and one Black (Black chickens are my favourite along with Partridge and Buff colors).

 

[GaryDean26]

I have decided to only keep blue. I was interested in Cuckoo mostly just so I could cross the hens to splash cockerel to get 100% blue hen that were sex-linked.

I like the blue color the best and am excited that two 4 month old blue pullets will be joining my flock in a week.

 

[dsfrango]

So far I've heard that this is a pretty docile breed. 1 of my 2 hens really is a sweet heart, the splash is pretty flighty butttt my 2 blue Roos are demons! Not to be cruel but I have football kicked one of them(they're pretty darn heavy) and they still chase my heels aggressively when my back is turned. I have a brooder with 8 chicks that I'm hoping to replace these 2 with....if anyone in CT is looking for these in a couple months they are free for the taking or dinner on my aunts table. Anyone else have roo probs? I'm hoping it's just the individual birds...

 

[RhodeRunner]

So far I've heard that this is a pretty docile breed. 1 of my 2 hens really is a sweet heart, the splash is pretty flighty butttt my 2 blue Roos are demons! Not to be cruel but I have football kicked one of them(they're pretty darn heavy) and they still chase my heels aggressively when my back is turned. I have a brooder with 8 chicks that I'm hoping to replace these 2 with....if anyone in CT is looking for these in a couple months they are free for the taking or dinner on my aunts table. Anyone else have roo probs? I'm hoping it's just the individual birds...

Most of my Breda roosters test me every spring (they usually kick me in the leg when I turn around, they aren't confident enough to outright attack), but they are super easy to put into their place. I grab them and pin them to the ground, and hold them down until they completely submit. (Meaning they just lay there and will not move…this is a technique used by roosters themselves while fighting) I might have to do that twice, but afterwards they are really well behaved.

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Why do I raise them?

Oh I love their looks mostly, so different from my other flocks, and I do enjoy breeding and sharing rare birds with like minded enthusiasts. I also like the white eggs for contrast in my egg basket. They are the only white eggs on the ranch. They are mild mannered, never fight, and lay well. The eggs are very fertile and hatch well.

Negatives? They are not meaty birds, they do lay late with large eggs only after first season, are hard to sex, and they can be shy/flighty but we do get lots of compliments on them. Mine are pretty tame now and are venturing out of their pen a bit farther each day out to explore the ranch.

I recently located some of the barred and mottled varieties that I might try to incorporate into the flock. We will see.......never can have too many right?

RareFeathersRanch Herald CA

Chalk,
Ever have an extra cockerel to spare? I've got a splash and a blue pullet, but no cockerel.