Best chicken breed for tick control?

[hypnozze]

Hello everyone!

I am new here and am looking for the best chicken breed which will eat ticks.
We have a lot of ticks here and therefore are looking for ways to get rid off them.

Haven't had any experience with chickens before.

The main favorable traits for the desired breed would be foraging skill, friendliness and tolerance of low temperatures in the winter as it sometimes gets around -20°C (-4°F) here. Egg production is just a bonus and not the reason for owning chickens for us at the moment. Friendliness is desired due to having small children around. And they would be completely free ranging.

Guinea fowl was my first pick however their noisiness would cause problems (kids having naps, neighbours are not that far away).

I have looked through similar threads however where I'm from (I'm from Latvia, Europe), we don't have a lot of breeds that are being talked about here. I am currently looking at the Dominique, Sussex and Sebright breeds.

What can you recommend for the most suitable chicken breed for our case?

 

[chickencheeper]

You could look at some standard American gamefowl, maybe barred rocks

 

[hypnozze]

You could look at some standard American gamefowl, maybe barred rocks

Thank You for reply! Unfortunately, I have not seen this breed in advertisements around here. Only similar to it (I guess) might be the Old English game chickens which are available here. However, as I understand, they are not friendly..

 

[armygirl]

I live in Knoxville tn i would like to buy a Turkey and some silkie chicks

 

[J.Bird]

I would say guinea fowl. No, they're not chickens, but they're hardy and take care of bugs including ticks very well. Guineas tend to be flighty however, but if you get them as babies and handle them lots when they're young, you can get them to be friendly. Guineas come in many beautiful colors and their feathers are often used in fancy feather displays.

This is what a standard guinea looks like. Guineas can be really noisy however, but will alert you if danger is near or if something is wrong. Good luck!

 

[hypnozze]

I would say guinea fowl. No, they're not chickens, but they're hardy and take care of bugs including ticks very well. Guineas tend to be flighty however, but if you get them as babies and handle them lots when they're young, you can get them to be friendly. Guineas come in many beautiful colors and their feathers are often used in fancy feather displays. View attachment 1335467This is what a standard guinea looks like. Guineas can be really noisy however, but will alert you if danger is near or if something is wrong. Good luck!

Thanks for your answer! However the noise is something that will not be tolerated - the neighbours will surely be angry..

 

[chickencheeper]

Thank You for reply! Unfortunately, I have not seen this breed in advertisements around here. Only similar to it (I guess) might be the Old English game chickens which are available here. However, as I understand, they are not friendly..

Try purelypoultry.com

 

[jadip4]

Following since I've been curious about this myself.

Thanks for your answer! However the noise is something that will not be tolerated - the neighbours will surely be angry..

But they make such great alarm clocks .. lol

 

[jadip4]

... and Welcome to BYC!

 

[hypnozze]

Try purelypoultry.com

Thanks, but I am in Europe.