Breda Fowl thread

[boskelli1571]

I only have 2 hens, and they are a bit smaller than my Welsummer hen who is about as heavy as a cinder block. Most of their "size" comes from height. They are quite leggy. I have heard that the size difference between Breda hens and roosters is pretty significant, though I've never owned a male so I can't say for sure.
I would think that usual coop size requirements for the usual chicken would work fine for Bredas.

had to laugh at the Welsummer being compared to a cinder block!! You are so right...pretty eggs tho'

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Quote:

Yes, very pretty eggs!

 

[Sylvester017]

So - I have a couple of questions for you Breda folks. First - I'm told they are lager than the average chicken. Since I'm building the coop and run from scratch, do I need to make size accommodations? Secondly, are they/do they get broody - or do I need to get a Silkie or some other broody type to hatch eggs? Anything that you can tell me about them is gratefully received - info. is sparse on these beauties.....

Supposedly the hens are not prone to broodiness but I don't breed or hatch chicks so can't say first hand other than what I read. With our Breda she has not shown any broody tendencies. Most of the info I've been able to glean is that the males get to 6-lbs and the females about 4-lbs. They look larger than what they weigh. With all the feathers on the tail, vulture hocks, and legs/toes, the Bredas seem larger. The males are slow growing and at 6 months old barely have any tail feathers but once they slowly mature they are gorgeous! I was mis-sent a Breda cockerel 4-mo-old when I pre-ordered for a Breda pullet. When he arrived I thought he looked strange for a pullet and got confirmation from a Breda breeder who confirmed my suspicion. We re-homed him with a friend who rescues unwanted cockerels/roos and battery hens. He became part of their family taking over the dog bed to sleep every night! He comes and goes in the house as he pleases, they really love him -- more like a dog than a chicken! We finally got a Breda pullet juvenile and she was a lot lighterweight at 4-mo-old than the cockerel we were mis-sent but she was every bit as friendly, outgoing, curious, and unafraid as the cockerel was. She was very dainty as a juvenile taking careful steps with her big fluffy feet but since she's been outside, a lot of her leg feathers and vulture hocks have dwindled because of all her activity free-ranging, dust-bathing, and exploring every nook and cranny in the outdoors. I've been told by breeders that with their cavernous nostrils Breda are prone to sniffles. Both Bredas we received had sniffles that turned into very frequent sneezing so I took both of them to the vet when the issue didn't resolve by itself. Both Bredas arrived with cocci but easily treated with Corid. The cockerel had worms and had to be treated accordingly. I take fecal samples to the vet on any new birds so I can nip things in the bud right away.

A curious look into the camera by this Blue Breda cockerel 41/2 mo-old. He's developing long wattles.


He liked looking at himself in the oven window. We had to tape his leg quills because he kept picking and making them bleed. The paper tape over the quills allowed the quill roots to heal and he stopped picking at his feet. The paper tape gave him good freedom of walking motion and he hardly noticed his toes were bandaged.


He was growing very fast and the wattles were darkening and he had a nice triangle crest growing on his head.


Sickle feathers growing in on the cockerel and tail feathers not growing as fast.



This was the first day our 41/2 mo-old Breda pullet juvenile arrived at 2.1-lbs and right out of the box started to follow us around the house as if it was the most natural thing to do. Notice that she doesn't have the developed wattles that the cockerel above had and she was definitely more petite.



While our Breda pullet was in quarantine indoors she was a dainty little thing with long flowing feathered feet and she stepped high when she walked.



For size comparison this is our Blue Breda pullet about 11-mo-old with our 21/2 yr-old Blue Wheaten Ameraucana (flapping her wings).


Our 11-mo-old Breda pullet with 2 bantam Silkie hens. She still has feathered hocks and legs but not as pretty as when she was living indoors. Still she gets the most notice from our visitors.


Another size comparison with a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana hen, a Silkie hen, and the 11-mo-old Blue Breda pullet. The Breda weighs about 11/2 lbs more than the Silkie and about 1-lb less than the the 5-lb Ameraucana. The Ameraucana looks bigger/heavier than she really is because she has an abundance of downy feathering. The Breda's feathers are sleek and close to her body in comparison and she has very pretty long tail feathers.



Breda pullet standing next to a Silkie hen looking through our screened door. Bredas have a very beautiful confidant stance but more beautiful than their appearance is their great temperament -- ours is active in the backyard but not aggressive toward flockmates, yields and submits respectifully to our older Silkies, does not pick on our docile timid Ameraucana. She loves digging in my garden when I'm digging and she's really worn down her toe feathers -- but then so have our feather-footed Silkies.



I've been accused of really adoring our particular Breda hen and we were impressed with the mis-sent cockerel as well. But in talking with other Breda owners and breeders they have similar favorable experiences with their Bredas. Some have said to be careful in a henhouse that if a Breda spooks they jump straight up rather fast and can hit you in the chin but then they calm down just as fast. They are calm birds but can surprise you with their sudden quickness to run after a bug or lead the pack running to get treats from your hand. I think Breda breeders are trying to develop a larger bird but for myself I'm quite pleased that we have a good egg-layer without the aggressive demeanor like some of the larger dual-purpose breeds we've had to re-home because they didn't play nice in the flock and turned bully on the smaller gentler breeds. Don't know if any of this info helps you. Hope I haven't bored you

 

[boskelli1571]

Supposedly the hens are not prone to broodiness but I don't breed or hatch chicks so can't say first hand other than what I read. With our Breda she has not shown any broody tendencies. Most of the info I've been able to glean is that the males get to 6-lbs and the females about 4-lbs. They look larger than what they weigh. With all the feathers on the tail, vulture hocks, and legs/toes, the Bredas seem larger. The males are slow growing and at 6 months old barely have any tail feathers but once they slowly mature they are gorgeous! I was mis-sent a Breda cockerel 4-mo-old when I pre-ordered for a Breda pullet. When he arrived I thought he looked strange for a pullet and got confirmation from a Breda breeder who confirmed my suspicion. We re-homed him with a friend who rescues unwanted cockerels/roos and battery hens. He became part of their family taking over the dog bed to sleep every night! He comes and goes in the house as he pleases, they really love him -- more like a dog than a chicken! We finally got a Breda pullet juvenile and she was a lot lighterweight at 4-mo-old than the cockerel we were mis-sent but she was every bit as friendly, outgoing, curious, and unafraid as the cockerel was. She was very dainty as a juvenile taking careful steps with her big fluffy feet but since she's been outside, a lot of her leg feathers and vulture hocks have dwindled because of all her activity free-ranging, dust-bathing, and exploring every nook and cranny in the outdoors. I've been told by breeders that with their cavernous nostrils Breda are prone to sniffles. Both Bredas we received had sniffles that turned into very frequent sneezing so I took both of them to the vet when the issue didn't resolve by itself. Both Bredas arrived with cocci but easily treated with Corid. The cockerel had worms and had to be treated accordingly. I take fecal samples to the vet on any new birds so I can nip things in the bud right away.

A curious look into the camera by this Blue Breda cockerel 41/2 mo-old. He's developing long wattles.


He liked looking at himself in the oven window. We had to tape his leg quills because he kept picking and making them bleed. The paper tape over the quills allowed the quill roots to heal and he stopped picking at his feet. The paper tape gave him good freedom of walking motion and he hardly noticed his toes were bandaged.


He was growing very fast and the wattles were darkening and he had a nice triangle crest growing on his head.


Sickle feathers growing in on the cockerel and tail feathers not growing as fast.



This was the first day our 41/2 mo-old Breda pullet juvenile arrived at 2.1-lbs and right out of the box started to follow us around the house as if it was the most natural thing to do. Notice that she doesn't have the developed wattles that the cockerel above had and she was definitely more petite.



While our Breda pullet was in quarantine indoors she was a dainty little thing with long flowing feathered feet and she stepped high when she walked.



For size comparison this is our Blue Breda pullet about 11-mo-old with our 21/2 yr-old Blue Wheaten Ameraucana (flapping her wings).


Our 11-mo-old Breda pullet with 2 bantam Silkie hens. She still has feathered hocks and legs but not as pretty as when she was living indoors. Still she gets the most notice from our visitors.


Another size comparison with a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana hen, a Silkie hen, and the 11-mo-old Blue Breda pullet. The Breda weighs about 11/2 lbs more than the Silkie and about 1-lb less than the the 5-lb Ameraucana. The Ameraucana looks bigger/heavier than she really is because she has an abundance of downy feathering. The Breda's feathers are sleek and close to her body in comparison and she has very pretty long tail feathers.



Breda pullet standing next to a Silkie hen looking through our screened door. Bredas have a very beautiful confidant stance but more beautiful than their appearance is their great temperament -- ours is active in the backyard but not aggressive toward flockmates, yields and submits respectifully to our older Silkies, does not pick on our docile timid Ameraucana. She loves digging in my garden when I'm digging and she's really worn down her toe feathers -- but then so have our feather-footed Silkies.



I've been accused of really adoring our particular Breda hen and we were impressed with the mis-sent cockerel as well. But in talking with other Breda owners and breeders they have similar favorable experiences with their Bredas. Some have said to be careful in a henhouse that if a Breda spooks they jump straight up rather fast and can hit you in the chin but then they calm down just as fast. They are calm birds but can surprise you with their sudden quickness to run after a bug or lead the pack running to get treats from your hand. I think Breda breeders are trying to develop a larger bird but for myself I'm quite pleased that we have a good egg-layer without the aggressive demeanor like some of the larger dual-purpose breeds we've had to re-home because they didn't play nice in the flock and turned bully on the smaller gentler breeds. Don't know if any of this info helps you. Hope I haven't bored you

Not boring at all! Thank you for so many pics and info. all very helpful. The Bredas' look so stately, like the Queen of all she surveys......I am really looking forward to getting mine. I will be getting 2 separate lines so I'm hoping to get some chicks next year - fingers crossed. So I guess I had better get a Silkie or something else broody....never thought I would get a Silkie!

Not that I don't like them, but all my birds are utility breeds.

 

[Sylvester017]

Not boring at all! Thank you for so many pics and info. all very helpful. The Bredas' look so stately, like the Queen of all she surveys......I am really looking forward to getting mine. I will be getting 2 separate lines so I'm hoping to get some chicks next year - fingers crossed. So I guess I had better get a Silkie or something else broody....never thought I would get a Silkie!

Not that I don't like them, but all my birds are utility breeds.

If you get a Silkie you might need two. A Silkie is only 2 to 2.5-lbs so a same-sized companion would be advisable. Also, Silkies are a very broody bunch but they don't go broody when you want them to. With 2 Silkie hens you'll have more of a chance that at least one will be broody when you need a broody. Also it can take from 6 months to as late as a year for a Silkie to go broody the first time. Cochin bantams are also a broody bunch if you don't want to deal with a crested/bearded Silkie (but of course I'm already partial to the Silkie teddy bears!). The feathered feet on Silkies or Cochins will fit in with your health care maintenance of feathered Breda feet too. Not hard to do once you've done maintenance health checks a couple times.

If you have utility breeds of chickens I wouldn't put new younger Silkies into their flock. I've not had any luck having my gentle Silkies with utility breeds and had to re-home my dual-purpose birds because I don't have room for separate yards. Most larger birds even if gentle-tempered can be tempted to push around smaller docile breeds just because they can - it's a chicken thing - not always, but just be watchful - or keep the smaller docile breeds in a separated area but where they can still have plenty of room to roam and forage and flap their wings. Silkies jump but don't really fly so having plenty of running room for them is healthy. When Silkies lay eggs, their eggs are the biggest of the bantam breeds from 1.25 to 1.5 oz.

WHITE BREDA EGG 1.75 oz, TINTED SILKIE EGG 1.3 oz, and a SILKIE "FART" EGG (My first fart egg ever!).




This is what one vicious 7-lb Marans did to our 2-lb Partridge Silkie on the roost at night before I realized the little bird was NOT molting but being eaten alive. Her body feathers were gone and nothing left but her underdown. Even her walnut comb got chewed off! We immediately re-homed the aggressor. Just be wary about adding new smaller docile breeds to a utility flock. The stress of this caused the little Partridge to use her physical resources to regrow her plumage before she layed another egg again a whole year later! I felt so new and dumb not to realize what was really going on! When the Leghorns began to chase and yank on the beards/crests/muffs of the Silkies and Ameraucana I decided then that utility breeds were not going to work in a mixed flock with smaller gentle breeds. We experimented this last year adding a Breda to our gentle backyard flock and so far she has been respectful and submissive to the Silkies but that could be because the Silkies are older and established in the yard. By the same token the Breda has not been mean toward the docile timid Ameraucana like our utility breeds were. Chickens like to take advantage of a docile, smaller, or timid chicken but our Breda hen so far has not displayed this tendency much to our relief!


Again, hope I didn't bore you!

 

[PhoredaBurds]

So - I have a couple of questions for you Breda folks. First - I'm told they are lager than the average chicken. Since I'm building the coop and run from scratch, do I need to make size accommodations? Secondly, are they/do they get broody - or do I need to get a Silkie or some other broody type to hatch eggs?  Anything that you can tell me about them is gratefully received - info. is sparse on these beauties.....

Bredas are so sweet. It's wonderful that you are interested in making more of them. Average LF chicken sized accommodations will do. The thing to think about w these cuties is that due to their bell bottoms and vulture hocks, they are not the most graceful of chickens. Keep this in mind when building ramps and roosts. I found mine prefer wide roosts, set a little lower than the other birds. I use 2x4s with the 4" side up. Of course their BBs and VHs make them adorable when they are running up to u asking for treats, so it all works out.

 

[boskelli1571]

If you get a Silkie you might need two. A Silkie is only 2 to 2.5-lbs so a same-sized companion would be advisable. Also, Silkies are a very broody bunch but they don't go broody when you want them to. With 2 Silkie hens you'll have more of a chance that at least one will be broody when you need a broody. Also it can take from 6 months to as late as a year for a Silkie to go broody the first time. Cochin bantams are also a broody bunch if you don't want to deal with a crested/bearded Silkie (but of course I'm already partial to the Silkie teddy bears!). The feathered feet on Silkies or Cochins will fit in with your health care maintenance of feathered Breda feet too. Not hard to do once you've done maintenance health checks a couple times.

If you have utility breeds of chickens I wouldn't put new younger Silkies into their flock. I've not had any luck having my gentle Silkies with utility breeds and had to re-home my dual-purpose birds because I don't have room for separate yards. Most larger birds even if gentle-tempered can be tempted to push around smaller docile breeds just because they can - it's a chicken thing - not always, but just be watchful - or keep the smaller docile breeds in a separated area but where they can still have plenty of room to roam and forage and flap their wings. Silkies jump but don't really fly so having plenty of running room for them is healthy. When Silkies lay eggs, their eggs are the biggest of the bantam breeds from 1.25 to 1.5 oz.

WHITE BREDA EGG 1.75 oz, TINTED SILKIE EGG 1.3 oz, and a SILKIE "FART" EGG (My first fart egg ever!).




This is what one vicious 7-lb Marans did to our 2-lb Partridge Silkie on the roost at night before I realized the little bird was NOT molting but being eaten alive. Her body feathers were gone and nothing left but her underdown. Even her walnut comb got chewed off! We immediately re-homed the aggressor. Just be wary about adding new smaller docile breeds to a utility flock. The stress of this caused the little Partridge to use her physical resources to regrow her plumage before she layed another egg again a whole year later! I felt so new and dumb not to realize what was really going on! When the Leghorns began to chase and yank on the beards/crests/muffs of the Silkies and Ameraucana I decided then that utility breeds were not going to work in a mixed flock with smaller gentle breeds. We experimented this last year adding a Breda to our gentle backyard flock and so far she has been respectful and submissive to the Silkies but that could be because the Silkies are older and established in the yard. By the same token the Breda has not been mean toward the docile timid Ameraucana like our utility breeds were. Chickens like to take advantage of a docile, smaller, or timid chicken but our Breda hen so far has not displayed this tendency much to our relief!


Again, hope I didn't bore you!

Not at all! Very good to know. Last year I got some Mille Fleur D'Uccles - cutest little things. I housed them with some RIRs'. The initial start was rocky, so I started another coop for the Milles', but they got wise to the RIRs' and would just fly up and away! So, I now have a hospital coop for whoever needs it....
It's funny, but none of my 3 Marans' have been friendly - they don't care for the others and don't care for humans unless you are feeding them. I really am not impressed with the breed and when mine die off, they will be replaced with something a bit more affectionate.
Oh goodness! I have to get 2 Silkies - oh my! Another chicken...

. The Silkies will be ok if I put them with the Bredas'?

 

[boskelli1571]

Bredas are so sweet. It's wonderful that you are interested in making more of them. Average LF chicken sized accommodations will do. The thing to think about w these cuties is that due to their bell bottoms and vulture hocks, they are not the most graceful of chickens. Keep this in mind when building ramps and roosts. I found mine prefer wide roosts, set a little lower than the other birds. I use 2x4s with the 4" side up. Of course their BBs and VHs make them adorable when they are running up to u asking for treats, so it all works out.

I can't wait to get your girls here and let them get settled in! I think with the Milles and Bredas I might just be in love with vulture hocks - I think they are so cool!

If this weather keeps up, I plan to start 2016 'buildathon' soon. Thanks for the heads up on ramps etc. easier to do that the first time around.

 

[PhoredaBurds]

I'm so happy to find a breeding home for them. I wish I had space and time and money to work with so many different breeds.

 

[SFIcelandics]

I got mine as hatching eggs off of ebay. Great seller, reasonable price, and apparently his birds came directly from Green Fire Farms. 

Your birds must have came from me! I still have all the originals after 6 years, and still producing strong! I only offer on ebay when I have excess eggs, which is rare. Waiting list has just started!

. I love my Breda fowl, never had a sick bird, but we raise all out birds outside in open uh-heated coops with water outside!
Nate