What animal or birds should I add to our family?

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mesha0804

mesha0804

In the Brooder
Jul 1, 2015
7
3
49
Hi, I am the proud owner or 12 chickens. We love our girls & would like to consider getting another type of bird. Our birds have free roam of one side of our yard. I don't let them roam free on the other side due to flower & veggie gardens.

I was looking into quail, but I read a lot of things about spreading disease between quail & chickens & although they won't be housed in the same area, it makes me nervous to risk it. The worst thing ever would be to watch my babies suffer or die over it.

We would want the new addition just as pets. I'm vegetarian so I don't need the meat. The idea of eggs is great. Noise is a little bit of a concern, so a quieter bird would be good, my hens make noise but not terribly bad.

I want something that could mostly roam free. I hate caging animals all the time. My fences are 6 foot solid vinyl. Flying away would be bad.

Any ideas, thanks.
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Ducks make great pets and are very entertaining. However they can be stinky and smelly. Peafowl are lovely and a great addition to any flock. But they require a lot of care and take up lots of space. Turkeys are protective of their flock and very entertaining. But they can be aggressive and, like peafowl, take up a good amount of space. Quail are tiny and don't require as much room. They can be friendly as long as they are tamed. Guinea fowl are very interesting. They sure have funny personalties! But, they can be loud and love to fly.

And definitely check out the link provided by NorthFLChick. Here is another good link to check out too.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/66/other-backyard-poultry

Good luck choosing another bird to keep!
 
welcome-byc.gif
Glad you joined us!

I personally would suggest turkeys. They make fantastic pets, and have SO much personality!They are a lot like feathered dogs. If they been around chickens all their lives they will get along just fine. You probably want to keep just hens though since the toms can be a bit noisy with their gobbles. (If you do get turkeys make sure you get a heritage breed and NOT commercial broad breasted turkey that have a very short lifespan.) Good luck with your flock!
 
Silkies are chickens but, their look is totally different, they are generally quiet, docile birds and are considered bantam size. They aren't the best layers but are good eye candy and lawn decorations and a big favorite with children.
 
mymilliefleur said:
:welcome Glad you joined us!

I personally would suggest turkeys. They make fantastic pets, and have SO much personality!They are a lot like feathered dogs. If they been around chickens all their lives they will get along just fine. You probably want to keep just hens though since the toms can be a bit noisy with their gobbles. (If you do get turkeys make sure you get a heritage breed and NOT commercial broad breasted turkey that have a very short lifespan.) Good luck with your flock!
Click to expand...


I'm really liking the idea of a turkey. Can I get just one hen or maybe 2? I want to socialize it with my chickens but she'll most like be running free in my yard where we sit & relax. Will she be lonely? The chickens are just a chain link fence away.

What key words should I look for when shopping for a heritage breed?

Thnks :)
 
mesha0804 said:
I'm really liking the idea of a turkey. Can I get just one hen or maybe 2? I want to socialize it with my chickens but she'll most like be running free in my yard where we sit & relax. Will she be lonely? The chickens are just a chain link fence away.

What key words should I look for when shopping for a heritage breed?

Thnks
smile.png
Click to expand...

I would get two hens so that they can socialize with each other. Below is a list of heritage breeds.

Beltsville Small White
Black
Buff
Narragansett
Standard Bronze
Slate
White Holland
White Midget
Bourbon Red
Royal Palm

I would check your local craigslist, or find your state thread in the ''where am I! Where are you?'' section of the forum, to see if some one near you has poults for sale. Most hatcherys sell many of the breeds listed above.
smile.png
 
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