Best breed for backyard coop?

[Brahmamama4]

I would love advice on what breed I should choose for my backyard coop. I had Brahmas last year and ended up having to find them a home because they were clucking and doing their egg song all day long. I have a neighbor who works the night shift as a police officer so I want to have a pretty quiet breed. I've also been looking for Cochins, but they seem to be hard to find in our area. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Nija Chick]

I can imagine the horror of having to keep my lovvies quiet my Roo, Bàbá adìye wakes me and the neighbors at 7am sharp! and my girls although quiet most of the time, announce loudly about laying each egg. i count it as my just due for all the neighbors parties, and loud dogs no one dares complain or i'll put Bàbá adìye in a cage and park him outside their bedroom window Muhahahaha!! Love the country!

 

[tinalibnania]

Duct tape!

 

[tec27]

Cant go wrong with RIR's. They lay a lot of eggs though. They're usually docile and quiet. They are the standard "backyard" bird.

 

[ChicKat]

Was just going to post a question re: quietness of breeds. Have a sex-link that seemingly has found vocal cords and her dominance... she's very docile and loving to everyone, but yikes! She's singing all the time.... and I mean ALL THE TIME..... I can quiet her down with treats, but let's face it I don't wanna be in the yard all the time (kinda do)

I was wondering if each sound means a specific "word" or phrase..... maybe there's too much time for me to think of this.... dunno.

My Barred Rock is so sweet, docile, quiet, and just seems to mutter to herself all day. Kind and curious, I love her.... I really really really don't wanna get rid of the Sex Link, but it may be a neighbor thing.... Ummmmm, can you say suburbia?? Long Beach California!!!

Any suggestions for the lovely girlie would be greatly appreciated. I'm really hoping that the answer is to get more.

I really think an Australorp and Ameracauna would just be about perfect.

Of course you're right, the answer to all chicken concerns is to get more chickens....LOL.

When mine make a racket there is something that they are trying to tell me. (twice it has been snakes). If you can get hold of the book 'Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens'f by Gail Damerow, there is a lot of information in the Chicken dispositions chapter about vocalizations. Somewhere, maybe there, I read that a scientist found 30 different, distinct vocalizations.

Each chicken has a different personality....and

by giving your loud one treats to quiet her down, are you reinforcing her being loud?? Just askin'

 

[The Chickeneer]

Well, the breeds that you'l mostly hear or have heard on this thread will be most likely the usual Rhode Island Red, Plymouth Rock, Barred Rock, Australorp, Production Red, Wyadottes, Buff Orpington and all kinds of sex links. But like somebody else here said, you really should go with what you love. Now be honest, all the usual breeds are really good,either laying eggs meat, or just for pets. But these breeds are taking over, and you hardly see people with breeds like Shamo or Pumkin Husley, Andalusian, or Chantecler etc. There are hundreds of breeds out there, but the usual ones everyone is saying lay the most eggs=more hatch=allot out there=easier get. But out of all those common breeds out there, the best one in my opinion is the Australorp, they are friendly, quiet, lay allot bla bla bla, but you shouldnt just have a flock of just Australorps, get some different breeds in there, there are so many, and just have a couple of the popular breeds to rely on for some eggs, but go with what you love and what you think you will really enjoy having, If it means a flock of all barred rock then go ahead, but you should really look into other breeds that you might like, good luck

 

[PtldChick]

What are your goals for you backyard flock? Both brahmas and cochins are large feathered breeds, which means a lot of feed goes into maintiaing that body size and the feathers. Their egg production and size is not remarkable, especially given their size. They have a rather high feed to egg production ratio. I fyou just wnat a couple of pretty birds and you don't care about getting a lot of eggs for your moeny, lots of epole like Cochins. Faverolles are also pretty and fluffy, feather-footed birds - cute faces with their beards, and lay more eggs. they're considered a good breed for the Northwest. If you'reein Western WA, you probably already learend last year that having feather-footed breeds means they will have muddy little boots all winter long.

Any breed of chickens can be loud or quiet. They will all be loud at times, especially once they start laying. Some individual birds are louder than others, just their personality. If your neighbor is pretty sensitive to noise, you might want to buy him/her one of those white noise machines to help keep peace!

 

[Brahmamama4]

If we were to get a few eggs a week I would be fine with that. We don't need a ton of eggs and I'm only planning on having a few chickens. I was just looking at the chicken selector on mypetchicken.com and it gave me a few suggestions I hadn't considered such as Orpingtons and bantams. Are bantams usually quieter? I suppose I will just have to buy a few extra and weed out the noisy ones..

 

[Cindy in PA]

Cant go wrong with RIR's. They lay a lot of eggs though. They're usually docile and quiet. They are the standard "backyard" bird.

I only had RIR once & they were mean, noisy and didn't lay worth a hoot! Not being mean, just saying I really don't think you can generalize about any breed. I have had about 10 different breeds over the last 19 years & some of each have been quiet, loud, nasty, good & bad layers. Chickens make noise. Dogs make noise. I had bantams and they were as loud as large fowl. If you have to worry constantly about neighbors, I can't imagine it's any fun! Good luck with your search, just don't expect any certain breed to be exactly as someone says.

 

[Eggcessive]

Mille Fleur d'uccle chickens lay a decent sized small egg for a banty, and my hen is as quiet as can be. They are beautiful birds, too. My salmon faverolles are also quiet, very sweet, layed back, and lay good size large eggs. We have 21 different breeds and those are the most quiet.