Breda Fowl thread

[Sylvester017]

I had a boy like that last year--- see these crazy fan feet!

How well do these sweet babies roost on a perch? Free-ranging I imagine will cause a lot of the feathers to wear down. I know it does on my Silkies but they have so much fun ranging that I don't mind that their feathers are not show perfect fluffy.

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Quote: My Bredas free range, and it doesn't seem to cause wear on their foot feathers. My silkies, yes, as well as my d'Uccles, but not my Bredas. They roost just fine as well.

 

[Sylvester017]

My Bredas free range, and it doesn't seem to cause wear on their foot feathers. My silkies, yes, as well as my d'Uccles, but not my Bredas. They roost just fine as well.

How interesting that I found someone with Silkies that also has Breda. They seem to be a good combination to put in a mixed flock - gentle.
Thank you for the information about the feet and roosting. I am so glad to get all this research completed before getting my Breda hopefully in the Spring.
Are the Breda aloof staying to themselves or do they mingle with the flock? Or what characteristics can you share?
My 3 chickens are backyard free-range with a lot of hiding/snoozing shelters. I have gone through a total of 9 chickens in 3 years due to a couple unexpected chick deaths, a re-homed roo, and 3 aggressive LF hens that were re-homed so I am taking time to research whatever new additions I put in the flock. Don't want to deal with chicks any more and don't want anything but non-combative breeds and under 5-lbs so our Silkies don't get torturously bullied. The 2.5-lb Silkies can hold their own in flock squabbles but not against 6 or 7-lb mean breeds. Our non-combative APA Ameraucana is the only breed we kept that plays nice with the Silkies and we're hoping the Breda does likewise.

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Quote:
Bredas have awesome temperaments. Total sweethearts. I keep them with my silkies and there have been no problems whatsoever. I don't have a Breda rooster though, so I've never experienced their personalities. My girls tend to follow me while I do chores. It's so cute. I noticed though that they pick a friend (normally one low in pecking order) and stay together.

 

[welasharon]

I have my silkies with my tolbunt. They can't hardly see past the feathers in their face so maybe that is why they get along. My breda seem nice but they are in with larger birds. My roo is really good sized. All of them are heavy when you pick them up.

 

[Sylvester017]

Quote:

Bredas have awesome temperaments. Total sweethearts. I keep them with my silkies and there have been no problems whatsoever. I don't have a Breda rooster though, so I've never experienced their personalities.

My girls tend to follow me while I do chores.

It's so cute. I noticed though that they pick a friend (normally one low in pecking order) and stay together.

I have yet to talk to a Breda owner that hasn't basically relayed the same story as yours. As for picking a buddy, I have a Silkie matriarch who was raised with LF chicks as a baby and got mercilessly picked on as the littlest chick - so now at almost 4-years-old she continues to pick a gentle LF buddy to hang out safely which happens to be our gentle non-combative Ameraucana (my avatar) who allows the Silkie to chest bump her or peck at her and the Amer is very submissive and never fights back. The Silkie feels secure having a LF buddy for some reason and thank goodness the Amer is sweet since the Silkie's old buddy Leghorn had turned aggressive toward her after 3 years - Legs are just too unpredictably assertive but we were surprised she turned against her Silkie buddy after so long.

I am getting 2 Breda pullets so the pair will probably be most comfortable growing up together before being introduced to my backyard flock of 2 Silkies and 1 Amer. I wanted white eggs to replace the white egg-layer Legs I had to re-home last year and Breda seemed to fit the criteria for lightweight gentle fowl. The Breda roos look way larger than the hens and considered fairly non-combative also but we aren't zoned for roos, darn it!

Thank you for sharing your experience about a mixed flock of Bredas and Silkies.

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Quote:

Bredas have awesome temperaments. Total sweethearts. I keep them with my silkies and there have been no problems whatsoever. I don't have a Breda rooster though, so I've never experienced their personalities.

My girls tend to follow me while I do chores.

It's so cute. I noticed though that they pick a friend (normally one low in pecking order) and stay together.

I have yet to talk to a Breda owner that hasn't basically relayed the same story as yours. As for picking a buddy, I have a Silkie matriarch who was raised with LF chicks as a baby and got mercilessly picked on as the littlest chick - so now at almost 4-years-old she continues to pick a gentle LF buddy to hang out safely which happens to be our gentle non-combative Ameraucana (my avatar) who allows the Silkie to chest bump her or peck at her and the Amer is very submissive and never fights back. The Silkie feels secure having a LF buddy for some reason and thank goodness the Amer is sweet since the Silkie's old buddy Leghorn had turned aggressive toward her after 3 years - Legs are just too unpredictably assertive but we were surprised she turned against her Silkie buddy after so long.

I am getting 2 Breda pullets so the pair will probably be most comfortable growing up together before being introduced to my backyard flock of 2 Silkies and 1 Amer. I wanted white eggs to replace the white egg-layer Legs I had to re-home last year and Breda seemed to fit the criteria for lightweight gentle fowl. The Breda roos look way larger than the hens and considered fairly non-combative also but we aren't zoned for roos, darn it!

Thank you for sharing your experience about a mixed flock of Bredas and Silkies.
You're very welcome.

I can't say enough good things about this breed!

 

[Sylvester017]

I have my silkies with my tolbunt. They can't hardly see past the feathers in their face so maybe that is why they get along. My breda seem nice but they are in with larger birds. My roo is really good sized. All of them are heavy when you pick them up.

I considered the lovely gentle Polish, along with Houdans, or Crevies as white egg-layers to replace my two re-homed white egg-laying Leghorns. But I already have a flock of crested, bearded, muffed, feather-footed gentle hens and didn't want to deal with any more fluffy-faced breeds so that narrowed our choice to Breda - no crests, muffs, beards, OR combs!

True, Breda have feathered feet but it's a nice trade-off not having to deal with head/face fluff for a change - from what ya'all have said the feathered feet are not that much of a problem. I love my crested, muffed gentle birds but if I can get a gentle temperament in a Breda without having to deal with head fluff breeds it will be nice. My DH is seriously looking forward to a Blue Breda and I am looking forward to a Mottled Breda.

My preference after a 3-year experience of a mixed flock is to not mix gentle-temperament non-combative breeds like Sultans, Bredas, Ameraucanas, EEs, Araucanas, Polish, Houdans, Silkies, Crevecoeurs, Faverolles, or gentle bantams with LF or dual-purpose breeds like RIRs, NHRs, JGs, Javas, Wyans, Marans, Orps, 'Lorps, Mediterraneans (i.e. Legs, Minorcas, Catalanas, Anconas, Penes, Empordanesas, Buttercups, Black Spanish, Andalusians, etc). As pullets most larger heavier fowl get along with the gentler breeds while growing up together but it's been our sad experience that at about 18 months to 2 years old the bigger breeds start bullying or becoming hurtfully aggressive toward the gentler non-combative breeds just because they take advantage of their size in pecking order squabbles. I suppose with a roo in the flock to intervene this may occur less but in an all-hen flock where no roos are zoned it can become a real problem. Even gentle Brahmas or Sussex will take advantage of opportunities to bully gentler smaller breeds so we just keep our breed weights under 5-lbs and with gentle non-combative reputations only. Our backyard has been more peaceful for us and eliminates having to re-home assertive aggressive bullies later on. We had a Marans that surely would've killed one of our Silkie pullets if we hadn't caught it immediately. Both our Legs got obnoxiously aggressive chasing or chewing off the crests/muffs/combs of our gentler breeds. Lightweight Mediterraneans are not shrinking violets and are okay mixed with each other or put in dual-purpose flocks but I don't see a gentle Breda in the midst of such an arrangement without a roo in the mix to referee. We aren't zoned for a roo so we've had to opt for a gentle breed backyard flock.

Thanks for sharing your Breda and Polish experience!

 

[gritsar]

I know this question has been asked before in this thread, but there are 77 pages to read.

I am fairly good at determining gender on most of the common breeds, but now I have nine Breda. Any tips for me? Do they show the secondary sex characteristics as most breeds do, at 4 to 6 weeks old, or will I have to wait longer? I have a Breda chick that is pretty bold at 3 weeks old and I want to call him a cockerel because of his confident, "look at me" attitude. He/she is a splash.

Hoping one of my brahmas goes broody next year because I want more Breda!

 

[RFR of CA]

Sorry you probably have to wait. Bredas are very hard to sex. Some have fooled me for months!