Me and a friend of mine (who also want to get chickens some day) sometimes engage in a little thought experiment: If one were to buy a flock of chickens with the weirdest-looking and most diverse breeds, which breeds would one pick?
That is, don't just pick one breed that looks the weirdest, but pick weird-looking breeds that look totally different from one another.
Another "rule" of this thought experiment is that the flock has to "work". It has to be a healthy flock. So, one rooster per 5-15 hens, preferably no mixing of huge and tiny breeds, etc. Also, you have to be able to obtain the birds reasonably easy where you live. So possibly no breed that only exists in a tiny part of Asia.
Furthermore: Feel free to include pictures in this thread!
Okay, my personal thoughts:
- I'm gonna go with "average sized" chickens in my whole flock.
- For rooster, I think I'll go with a rumpless Araucana. Rumplessness looks so weird. And I want it to have the full regalia regarding headgear: Beard, muff, tufts, the works. Color doesn't really matter.
Alternatively: A Swedish Black rooster with a purple comb. They are weird, and metal, and beautiful.
- Two Silkies. That's a no-brainer.
- Two Turkens. That's also a no-brainer. (I'm going with two of everything, to reduce risk of bullying).
- Actually, no Showgirls. Showgirls are in between silkies and turkens, so that would kind of ruin the diversity a little.
- Two Cochin hens. Or maybe Orpingtons. What I'm looking for is walking perfect spheres. And I realize I'm leaving the "average size" territory here, so let's start calling my flock "average/large".
- Two Malay hens, or some similar very gamey looking game breed.
- Two Sultan hens. Polish would be okay; anything with ridiculous headgear, really. But Sultans have feathered legs, so...
- A wide diversity of colors. Doesn't matter which breed has which, but one pure white, one jet black, and so on. If possible, a lot of lacing and banding.
So, in pictures, my flock could look like this:
Hmm, that would make eleven in all... Maybe too many? I need to have room for their offspring too... Maybe I'll just get one of each...?
Oh well. What are your submissions?
That is, don't just pick one breed that looks the weirdest, but pick weird-looking breeds that look totally different from one another.
Another "rule" of this thought experiment is that the flock has to "work". It has to be a healthy flock. So, one rooster per 5-15 hens, preferably no mixing of huge and tiny breeds, etc. Also, you have to be able to obtain the birds reasonably easy where you live. So possibly no breed that only exists in a tiny part of Asia.
Furthermore: Feel free to include pictures in this thread!
Okay, my personal thoughts:
- I'm gonna go with "average sized" chickens in my whole flock.
- For rooster, I think I'll go with a rumpless Araucana. Rumplessness looks so weird. And I want it to have the full regalia regarding headgear: Beard, muff, tufts, the works. Color doesn't really matter.
Alternatively: A Swedish Black rooster with a purple comb. They are weird, and metal, and beautiful.
- Two Silkies. That's a no-brainer.
- Two Turkens. That's also a no-brainer. (I'm going with two of everything, to reduce risk of bullying).
- Actually, no Showgirls. Showgirls are in between silkies and turkens, so that would kind of ruin the diversity a little.
- Two Cochin hens. Or maybe Orpingtons. What I'm looking for is walking perfect spheres. And I realize I'm leaving the "average size" territory here, so let's start calling my flock "average/large".
- Two Malay hens, or some similar very gamey looking game breed.
- Two Sultan hens. Polish would be okay; anything with ridiculous headgear, really. But Sultans have feathered legs, so...
- A wide diversity of colors. Doesn't matter which breed has which, but one pure white, one jet black, and so on. If possible, a lot of lacing and banding.
So, in pictures, my flock could look like this:
Hmm, that would make eleven in all... Maybe too many? I need to have room for their offspring too... Maybe I'll just get one of each...?
Oh well. What are your submissions?
