Im looking for a few chickens for my little garden, and just cant decide on breeds... There are way too many nice ones out there, and my garden is way too small and urban to keep them all D: I'd like to be self sufficient with eggs (the equivalent to 3 normal sized eggs a day would be great) and Id like chickens that are calm and friendly since they will be pets more than livestock. If they dont drive my neighbours mad, that would be nice too ATM Im (still) trying to decide between bantams and full sized ones.... In the bantam corner sits bantam cochin, bantam orpingtons and silkies - in the full sized one is blue orpington, wyandotte, austalorps and maybe barnevelder With the mentioned breeds in mind: 1. Are bantams more likely to jump/fly over fences (I'll be fencing my garden off with a 110 cm electric poultry fence) than full sized chickens? I've heard they are better flyers due to their lower weight? Im gonna wing clip them anyway just in case but still.. 2. Are bantams more quiet than full sized ones? 3. Are bantams more likely to get killed by birds of prey? (Northern goshawk is a common chicken killer in my country, I dont know about any others that are known for taking chickens here) 4. How many bantams vs big ones would I need to get the amount of eggs Id like?
if you want a friendly, social and quiet bird i would recommend buff orpingtons. they lay one to two large eggs a day, rarely fly and are to heavy for a northern goshawk to carry away, it might kill one in the pen if you let it. you could put flagging tape to discourage them, it works for me. but bantams are fine to, they are good layers, you just have to watch more. hope this helps