If you were to choose a hen strictly for their personality, which ones would you take home?


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Okay, I’ve decided on Egyptian Fayoumi, Cream Legbar, Splash Ameraucana, Splash Favaucana, Partridge Olive Egger, Barred Plymouth Rock and Black Copper Marans. If anyone knows of any reason these guys wouldn’t work together, please let me know. I think this is a decent group of foragers who have a nice mix of docile and more independent and who are predator-savvy. I was also told that any rooster who snuck into the mix wouldn’t be a problem, no matter what type of hens I have- I’m assuming that’s true? lol
Hello minaayindra.
I'm a bit late.;)
I'm going to write stuff that completely contradicts most of the 'advice' you've already been given.:)
I read you want 'friendly' chickens and for some reason, lots of different colored eggs.
In your position I would be thinking of rather more of which breed of chicken is most likely to thrive in such conditions
You've got 250 acres at relatively high altitude and it reads as if you are planning to free range these chickens and you have a lot of predators. Docile chickens are probably not going to do well in this case. Game fowl and/or flighty fowl are what I would be looking for. This would rule out all but the Egyptian Fayoumi in your choice preference above.
You will get better flock cohesion if you stick to one breed. I have yet to find any evidence bar anecdotal that any one breed is friendlier than another given the right treatment. Game fowl have a reputation for being less human aggressive than some of the dual purpose/production breeds and bar predation are likely to live longer but won't produce a great number of eggs. Given these are to be more like pets you will I assume prefer them to have a longer life span than the production breeds.
The Marans I've had here fared reasonably well but tended to be less predator aware and less mobile in the event of a predator attack. The Old English bantams fared much better. There is however a downside; they will roost in trees.
Give a rooster a choice here, which I have, often, they will always prefer to live and mate with with their own breed. This doesn't mean roosters won't mate with other breeds.
 
Just when you think you have it settled, you were wrong again! The cold and wind are my biggest risk factors, the elevation isn’t enough to bother animals. I’ve gotten negative feedback on the Fayoumi because they aren’t cold hardy- otherwise they sounded like the perfect bird for my needs. I was told the Cream Legbars were very predator-wary and cold hardy, so they would be an excellent choice. No one has contradicted that so I’m assuming they are good to go. The Barred Plymouth Rock’s were supposed to be decently friendly and, should a rooster sneak into the lot, the males are supposed to be mild tempered, plus they are good in cold. I am thinking about giving up the Americana and the Favaucana since there are a lot of varying opinions about them. I ditched Guineas because they had a reputation as being chicken aggressive and being difficult to coop at night (although I may be the only person alive who finds their chatter and warning calls adorable). Eggs are always secondary (or thirddary or fourhdary-lol). While my husband wants SOME, we can only realistically use a dozen a week, so high production is almost a problem instead of a blessing. I have been concerned about finding cold-hardy breeds, which all of these were supposed to be, and BIG foragers due to our tick explosion. I’m providing them with as safe a coop as is available and most of the local predators are only active at night. The coyotes are supposed to be early morning feeders but none of us have seen them except in the middle of the night via a network of game cameras. Snakes are here but I can’t even imagine them going after larger chickens! We do have rattlesnakes at times but I have no idea why they would want to attack something as big as a chicken when there are so many mice available. The Guineas and others who were tree roosters were at an increased risk of being taken out by the owls and raccoons at night so I looked for hens who would return to the coop without difficulty. I’m just fond of colored eggs, which is why I was putting some different ones into the mix, also because I’m assuming many will survive even if I chose one breed that ends up meeting some ugly fate. So, you can see from all the opinions and research, I thought I had the perfect flock picked out! Of course I want them to live longer, healthier lives, as opposed to being egg “machines”, so game fowl sound like a good addition, but only if they get along with other chickens and will come inside... so, that’s where I was at. I really appreciate all your help here and I’m very interested in hearing your opinions regarding my needs and rationales.
 
Just when you think you have it settled, you were wrong again! The cold and wind are my biggest risk factors, the elevation isn’t enough to bother animals. I’ve gotten negative feedback on the Fayoumi because they aren’t cold hardy- otherwise they sounded like the perfect bird for my needs. I was told the Cream Legbars were very predator-wary and cold hardy, so they would be an excellent choice. No one has contradicted that so I’m assuming they are good to go. The Barred Plymouth Rock’s were supposed to be decently friendly and, should a rooster sneak into the lot, the males are supposed to be mild tempered, plus they are good in cold. I am thinking about giving up the Americana and the Favaucana since there are a lot of varying opinions about them. I ditched Guineas because they had a reputation as being chicken aggressive and being difficult to coop at night (although I may be the only person alive who finds their chatter and warning calls adorable). Eggs are always secondary (or thirddary or fourhdary-lol). While my husband wants SOME, we can only realistically use a dozen a week, so high production is almost a problem instead of a blessing. I have been concerned about finding cold-hardy breeds, which all of these were supposed to be, and BIG foragers due to our tick explosion. I’m providing them with as safe a coop as is available and most of the local predators are only active at night. The coyotes are supposed to be early morning feeders but none of us have seen them except in the middle of the night via a network of game cameras. Snakes are here but I can’t even imagine them going after larger chickens! We do have rattlesnakes at times but I have no idea why they would want to attack something as big as a chicken when there are so many mice available. The Guineas and others who were tree roosters were at an increased risk of being taken out by the owls and raccoons at night so I looked for hens who would return to the coop without difficulty. I’m just fond of colored eggs, which is why I was putting some different ones into the mix, also because I’m assuming many will survive even if I chose one breed that ends up meeting some ugly fate. So, you can see from all the opinions and research, I thought I had the perfect flock picked out! Of course I want them to live longer, healthier lives, as opposed to being egg “machines”, so game fowl sound like a good addition, but only if they get along with other chickens and will come inside... so, that’s where I was at. I really appreciate all your help here and I’m very interested in hearing your opinions regarding my needs and rationales.
I'm at 300 metres here and it's windy. A guy I know has Fayumies here another 50 metres up. He has free range pairs.
The coldest it gets here is about -6 degrees centigrade. It tends to very roughly drop a degree per 50 metres going up this mountain so say -7 or -8 centigrade over the worst of the winter nights. What we do get normally is bright warm sunny days.
 
We are at 2000 ft., right on the crest, so the wind is always blowing. I usually see it around 10 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle of winter but we have been known to drop below zero at times. I'm guessing, after I did my metric conversions, that we might be too cold? It certainly hasn't put a dent in the animals up here but the Fayoudis might be another story.
 
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We are at 2000 ft., right on the crest, so the wind is always blowing. I usually see it around 10 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle of winter but we have been known to drop below zero at times. I'm guessing, after I did my metric conversions, that we might be too cold? It certainly hasn't put a dent in the animals up here but the Fayoudis might be another story.
Yes, I also think that would be too cold.
You could look for cold hardy game fowl.
Maybe this guy can help. He keeps game fowl and has good knowledge of his birds and what they can cope with and can probably give better advice than I can for your temperatures.
@centrarchid
 
Yes, I also think that would be too cold.
You could look for cold hardy game fowl.
Maybe this guy can help. He keeps game fowl and has good knowledge of his birds and what they can cope with and can probably give better advice than I can for your temperatures.
@centrarchid
Okay, I sent an email. I will be interested to see what he says!
 
You may not end up with the breeds you’re thinking about.... Free ranging is great but comes with high risk of losses due to predators. So - flightier breeds may be able to avoid a level of predation but if you want friendlier chickens that will ‘come home to roost’ and lay eggs where you can find them (preferably in nest boxes) you have to make some choices. My cold hardy heritage breeds and EEs eat plenty of bugs. I don’t have a large property but they ‘free range’ most days. I do have a very sturdy coop and run for the times they can not or choose not to go in the yard. We have lots of predators as the property backs into conservancy and some years foxes or coyotes are bolder and are out during the day. During winter the girls sometimes don’t want to spend much time in the yard and happily stay in their coop and fully roofed run (run stays snow free and I use plastic sheeting in winter to block wind and snow). Personally I would suggest to start with hardy breeds, not ornamental breeds. Egg color variety can be found in those breeds . If you are able to provide coop and large run and then free range once your flock knows their home base you can figure out what works for you and your flock. Unfortunately chickens are welcome prey for many creatures....
 
Are you sure you don't live down the mountain from me? :D It sounds like you have the exact same weather environment, plus I back up onto 16,000 acres of state game lands; while beautiful, it certainly comes with an influx of predators, as you know. This is the first year I have heard and seen coyotes this close, but they have stayed to the nighttime so far. I also have rattlesnakes but I don't think they would attack chickens, right? A weasel has decided to move in under an old outbuilding we have, so I know that little sucker could be a problem. Our bears do come around but they have shown themselves to be avid berry eaters who really haven't bothered any other animals. I'm not worried about their eggs but if the birds refuse to come inside the coop, I'm pretty sure they won't last long in the dark hours. I just purchased what I think will be an excellent coop, which should be built and delivered within a month or two; it has a covered run but I'm pretty sure the ladies would have a better time having the run of the land. I am putting the coop in a non-fenced area but it is on a trailer and can be relocated as necessary. Thanks for the plastic sheeting suggestion- I think that will be a wonderful winter addition. No, I don't need lap chickens, I just don't want chickens who will not be aggressive with other chickens- it would be nice if they weren't flighty and running away from humans but I certainly want them running from predators at all costs! After hearing the same opinions, the ornamental breeds are out for their own safety. I really think the cream legbars will work, sex-linked EE and Red Star and the barred Plymouth rocks. The Marans I still have some concerns over after being told they were slow and a little too friendly for safety from predators. If you have any opinions about these, or hens you have tried that worked well for these circumstances, please let me know. This is how I have gone from the complete opposite from what made sense to an evolving but far better list! :jumpy
 
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