Breda Fowl thread

[DutchChicky]

That is great!! She is looking great, a lot like her Momma. Any pictures of her brother? Have to see how I can upload a picture of their parent stock. Do anything from my mobile phone and have a hard time with BYC

 

[Sylvester017]

They are beautiful. I have 11 of these. It's very true that they grow slow. They are such an amazing breed. I love mine so much.

You are so lucky to have 11! I only have one Blue pullet in our little flock and I also find this is an amazing breed. Every time I read a comment or review on the Breda or talk with other owners I recognize the same traits and temperament in our girl. "Our girl does that too," or " she acts the same way," or "we've seen her do the same thing," and "yes, she follows me around exactly like that," and "yes, she likes to perch in high places too." Only owners who have Bredas can understand what we Breda people love about this breed.

I have had several breeds in my lifetime but the Breda is the most unique, curious, unafraid, outgoing, trusting bird I've ever had the pleasure of owning. We were sent a Breda cockerel by mistake and fell so in love with him and found him a good home with people who adore him, that we were absolutely ready to try a pullet next and she was every bit as great as the cockerel had been. Since the cockerel and the pullet came from two different breeders in different states I knew it was not just a particular breeder or strain that made these birds so fabulous but it is just their own inherent breed characteristics that shines through. There's a lot to say about the beauty and uniqueness of the Breda's appearance but above the eye candy appeal is their quickness to bond with their human. The only other breed I ever had to bond that quickly with us was the Dominique. The Breda bonds moreso because the breed is calm yet quick to approach you as you build their trust in you so we waited for the Breda to approach us first rather than forcing the issue and she was eating out of our hand the first day she arrived (obviously treats help with any breed). As much as we loved our Dominique the Breda has a calmer aura about her.

We have a very sweet Ameraucana (my avatar) who is kind to flockmates but she is an independent bird who does things on her own terms so when we tried to use a diaper on her she stubbornly refused to move in it so after a week we discarded the torture. For feedings the Amer selectively chooses whether to eat from our hand or waits for us to leave it for her somewhere. If we call the Ameraucana by name she knows it but sometimes refuses to acknowledge that we want her to come. And when the Ameraucana spooks she will keep running every time until she runs into something that stops her. The Breda is also a sweet and kind flockmate but different from the Ameraucana in that she is not as ridiculously wary but more trusting of us, and she easily will follow us about the house or yard. She responds and comes immediately at her name wherever she might be in the yard. She readily takes treats from our hand while the Ameraucana takes time to decide if she should or not. Where the Ameraucana can spook and keeps running the Breda may suddenly spook or jump straight up but immediately calms down while the Ameraucana can still be running LOL! Both the Amer and Breda are sweet and kind with flockmates but we have really fallen in love with our Breda girl. She has a unique almost deep voice for a smaller fowl and she is quite a conversationalist. Wish I knew what she was saying but since it is a sweet low tone I suspect it must be something pleasant she's telling me!

 

[welasharon]

Anyone in North Florida or South Georgia have breda? I need a male of any color. I have one blue and one black female.

 

[Sylvester017]

Absolutely LOVE this breed!


This is our girl at about 5 months and ready to join the outside flock soon.


During quarantine she would spend most of her day in front of the door mirror we laid on the floor for her to nibble, talk, and snooze next to her reflection.


She was never afraid of the camera the way our other birds were. She comes right up to the lens when she sees it in my hands. The plastic bag on the end of the mirror was a fun toy for her to "groom."


She had such beautiful feathered feet before we put her outdoors.


Evenings she often joined me on my computer bench.


Once she went outdoors her toe feathers weren't as pretty any more. .


Our other hens cower from the camera but our Breda is a regular ham!


Another curious look into the camera lens!


Construction is keeping the chickens from free-ranging the yard. We are going through construction building a new block wall and can't let the flock range the whole yard any more and the chickens don't like the limited confinement


Our Breda's first egg. She has reached 1.75-oz now.


This is the construction chaos we're living in at the moment with only a very little bit of garden bed for the chickens to scratch in.


The chicken's only access to dirt for dust baths!


The Breda gets bored in the little area we fenced off for the chickens. She has figured how to "jump" the little fence barrier so we had to secure plywood across the gate areas of the block wall until the custom gates arrive. We often find her roaming the yard outside the chicken fence but she comes to the door to ask us to put her back into the pen once she's done exploring.


I can't wait for building to be completed so I can get my garden bed back again.


She's still a beautiful Blue Breda even though her toe feathers are not as long any more.


Pictures just don't do her personality justice!


Can't help sharing how wonderful the Breda is - she is a very congenial flockmate, a curious outgoing friendly pet, and a great layer of glossy white eggs!

 

[boskelli1571]

Absolutely LOVE this breed!


This is our girl at about 5 months and ready to join the outside flock soon.


During quarantine she would spend most of her day in front of the door mirror we laid on the floor for her to nibble, talk, and snooze next to her reflection.


She was never afraid of the camera the way our other birds were. She comes right up to the lens when she sees it in my hands. The plastic bag on the end of the mirror was a fun toy for her to "groom."



She had such beautiful feathered feet before we put her outdoors.


Evenings she often joined me on my computer bench.



Once she went outdoors her toe feathers weren't as pretty any more. .


Our other hens cower from the camera but our Breda is a regular ham!


Another curious look into the camera lens!


Construction is keeping the chickens from free-ranging the yard. We are going through construction building a new block wall and can't let the flock range the whole yard any more and the chickens don't like the limited confinement


Our Breda's first egg. She has reached 1.75-oz now.


This is the construction chaos we're living in at the moment with only a very little bit of garden bed for the chickens to scratch in.



The chicken's only access to dirt for dust baths!


The Breda gets bored in the little area we fenced off for the chickens. She has figured how to "jump" the little fence barrier so we had to secure plywood across the gate areas of the block wall until the custom gates arrive. We often find her roaming the yard outside the chicken fence but she comes to the door to ask us to put her back into the pen once she's done exploring.


I can't wait for building to be completed so I can get my garden bed back again.


She's still a beautiful Blue Breda even though her toe feathers are not as long any more.


Pictures just don't do her personality justice!


Can't help sharing how wonderful the Breda is - she is a very congenial flockmate, a curious outgoing friendly pet, and a great layer of glossy white eggs!

I feel sorry for you with all that construction! Your Breda girl is a beauty. I can hardly wait for Spring - I have found a source within driving distance, so hope to pick some up then

 

[BlueJayFarm]

Sylvester017,

Thanks for the pictures of her. What is her name?? She looks just like my beautiful blue Breda Elsa, who is perfect in every way. I too have been very impressed with the breed and am planning on focusing on them this spring. Looking now for good breeders I can get some hatching eggs from.

I feel bad for their little feet because free-ranging breaks their feathers, but they are known to be excellent, predator-wary birds.

Your hen is lovely. I think you will only fall more in love with her! If you have room for one more, I would suggest getting another Breda, since they really seem to hang out together and prefer each other's company (and people's company) over being with the other breeds.

OH, and, where did you get her from??

 

[Sylvester017]

I feel sorry for you with all that construction! Your Breda girl is a beauty. I can hardly wait for Spring - I have found a source within driving distance, so hope to pick some up then

So glad to hear you are trying some Breda. I wish I wasn't limited to how many hens we're zoned for because I would love a flock of just them! Except for not being known to be a broody hen the Blue Breda is a perfect backyard bird. Dominiques and Bredas are my favourite LFs and Silkies are my fave for bantams. I do like our Blue Wheaten Ameraucana for a lovely non-combative flock temperament but she sucks at being a production bird - she gave only 3 eggs her 2nd year and our friends' Ameraucana and EEs have also been pretty duddy layers their 2nd year so we won't be getting any more of them - it's a 50/50 gamble as to whether they'll be good layers. A Farmer's Market seller said they like the blue/green eggs but for lack of production they cull them by the 2nd year so they'll not invest in any more. Not a good track record for my investment. My Silkies are old yet still out-produced my young Ameraucana.

Kooky spooky jittery jumpy wary alert kind Ameraucanas are sweet birds as flockmates but a real drain on the feed bill. We had ordered a Blue Ameraucana pullet that arrived sickly and had to be euthanized a couple weeks afterwards when the vet couldn't save her. We had another Blue Wheaten Amer a couple years ago and she didn't survive past 3 months either. I have to assume Ames are not particularly hardy birds - at least not in our experience. Out of 3 Amers only 1 survived. Both the Breda cockerel and pullet arrived with respiratory issues - apparently a common Breda ailment - but with vet visits they came through with flying colors whereas the Blue Ameraucana had to be euthanized. Muddy soggy soil is also not good for Breda (or Silkie) feathered feet so that is something to consider if you have Breda. We've had feather-footed Silkies for years so feathered feet is not problematic for us. In SoCal we don't experience a lot of snow, rain, or soggy soil conditions.

The Breda like the Dom are curious, outgoing, unafraid, exploratory, friendly birds. They make other breeds look lazy! When I show photos of our flock to friends and family they ooooh and aaaah over the Blue Breda - she is a very striking bird but more importantly a very friendly outgoing (nearly pesty) personality. Like all chickens the Breda will test out its pecking order status but not aggressively like the popular heritage dual purpose birds do. We were sent a Blue Breda cockerel by mistake from a different breeder and he was every bit as great as our Breda pullet except we had to find him a home in the country with friends who rescue unwanted cockerels and battery hens -- they send us updates on him and said he comes into their house to take over the dog's bed! We were so glad to have found him a loving home since this breed deserves everything good that comes its way! I'm sure all the color varieties of Breda are great birds but we get very specific comments about the beauty of the Blue Breda. Most photos I see of the Blue Breda just don't do it justice like the real in-person bird!

As for production our Breda pullet has been giving 1.75-oz eggs consistently rarely missing a day. Of course our Blue Wheaten Ameraucana as a pullet was a great layer for 5 months her first year but only gave 3 eggs total her 2nd year. We have yet to know what our Breda will produce her 2nd year -- the breeder told us the eggs get bigger as the Breda gets older. But we are pleasantly happy with the egg size now. Another nice thing about the Breda is that when spooked they settle down almost instantly whereas an Ameraucana or EE will continue running until they're stopped by bumping into something LOL!

Bredas are very exploratory birds. Not a flighty bird that flies away or wanders off premises but definitely a bird that likes to keep busy. I would not want to confine a Breda in an enclosed pen as my personal choice only because I love seeing our Breda having fun keeping busy. Every new backyard configuration or change in coop location has her exploring every nook and cranny with renewed interest. New construction crews in the yard during our remodel just added to her curiosity to investigate and keep abreast of all the changes taking place with absolutely no fear on her part. Growling Bobcat tractors and power saws sounding off in the yard never bothered her.

I love non-combative chicken breeds and Breda is at the top of my list along with Silkies, Dominiques, Ameraucanas, and EEs. I understand Faverolles and Polish are non-combative also but like Amers and EEs are not particularly great layers. For a broody breed we've been pleasantly surprised at the decent egg numbers we get from our Silkies - especially the older girls.

I'll have to post again after we find how well our Breda lays in her 2nd year. Hope you find the Breda as pleasant and unique as we have!

 

[Sylvester017]

Sylvester017,

Thanks for the pictures of her. What is her name??

I was mis-sent a Breda cockerel instead of a pullet. I was going to call her "ILSE" in the Dutch spelling but had to re-name to "ICHABOD" when a cockerel was mis-sent instead! When we finally got our current Breda PULLET we named her "PHAEDRA" which means "brilliant" and she definitely is that in so many ways.

She looks just like my beautiful blue Breda Elsa, who is perfect in every way. I too have been very impressed with the breed and am planning on focusing on them this spring. Looking now for good breeders I can get some hatching eggs from.

I live in Calif and got my first Breda from Colorado and was mis-sent a Breda cockerel along with a Blue Ameraucana pullet and both birds were sickly. The vet saved the Breda cockerel but had to euthanize the Ameraucana pullet which attests to the hardiness of the Breda for surviving - IMO. Anyway after euthanizing the Amer pullet and getting the Breda boy healthy we had to re-home him with friends and frantically looked for another breeder that might have an available Breda juvenile pullet since we were without any birds after this fiasco. RFR of CA (Northern Calif) happened to have a couple available juvenile Blue Breda pullets and shipped us one. She's the Blue Breda I adore. Only us Breda owners can really understand what we're talking about when we share how amazing this breed is! RFR of CA is breeding Mottled Bredas currently, was breeding Cuckoos also, but I know she still has Blues too. All Breda varieties are great from dialogue I've had with other owners but IMO the Blues are still the most stunning variety. My first dialogue 2 yrs ago with a Breda owner was someone who loved their Blue Breda and ordered hatching eggs from RFR of CA. At the time RFR wasn't shipping live birds but does now and she's my closest and reliable source for Breda. There is another excellent source in the Midwest who also adores the Breda but I wanted a breeder closer to me (RFR of CA).

The Bredas can get a rocky start as youngsters but after I was shipped a sick Breda cockerel and the Breda pullet (she was wormed before shipment but still had cocci in her fecal sample) both were treated by my vet -- both birds turned out hardy as adults. To be honest the Bredas are prone to CRD issues, bumblefoot in soggy climates, and broken toe feathers (our cockerel left blood spots from chewing his annoying toe feathers) but these are just issues to be aware of and not problematic when you are prepared to watch out for them. We disinfected and soft-taped the offending quills so he couldn't chew and when the new quills feathered out we removed the tape and he stopped chewing his toes. I did have to treat both Bredas for respiratory issues (which normally in Bredas is just some little sniffles because of those cavernous nostrils) but when the juveniles started to sneeze/wheeze a lot or cough I decided not to wait it out and medicine cleared them up. As for cocci that is something that is common and with new birds I immediately take fecal samples for testing and so far 9x out of 10 my new birds have been positive and I treated immediately. Only one pair ever of juveniles shipped to me years ago were positive for worms. Fecal testing is a good practice I employ when I receive shipped juveniles (I do not order baby chick for shipping). I know a lot of breeders want to raise hardy naturally-immune chickens and won't vaccinate their birds but for my personal choice I prefer a breeder that will at least vaccinate their chicks for Marek's - it's an ongoing debate and an individual choice.

I feel bad for their little feet because free-ranging breaks their feathers, but they are known to be excellent, predator-wary birds.

Yep, Breda feathered feet and hocks stay beautiful while in-house but our girl has too much fun foraging outside to stay a house chicken. We've had Silkies for 5 years so feather-footed breeds are not problematic for us - the feathers break in half but there's still enough feathers left to look impressive. I do agree the Breda are predator savvy - our PHAEDRA watched the Cooper's Hawk from the henhouse door before she ventured out a couple hours later.

Your hen is lovely. I think you will only fall more in love with her! If you have room for one more, I would suggest getting another Breda, since they really seem to hang out together and prefer each other's company (and people's company) over being with the other breeds.

Yep, Breda are fairly independent only because other breeds of chickens can't keep up with them. I have one little Silkie that the Breda hangs out with because they are my "chow hound" girls and always are actively seeking bugs and grass seeds together. I have all the birds I can handle at the moment but I would not hesitate getting another Breda again.

OH, and, where did you get her from??

RFR of CA (on this thread). I believe RFR has BCMs and Lavender Orps too but of course I'm only interested in the fabulous Blue Bredas! The Splash Breda are pretty but too much white turns dingy looking until the next molt and the Black Breda are gorgeous but our hot SoCal heatwaves will dull black feathers. Our Black Silkie's gorgeous black feathers have faded mostly to rust-red from our brutal summer sun.

All-Black Silkie faded to rust-red from the brutal summer sun.


Another view of the all-Black Silkie (middle chicken) where her tail, back, and crest feathers have faded to wispy rust-red. When we had our White Leghorn she turned dingy yellow with stained dark feathers from mud and dirt and never looked white again until her next molt. Our Partridge Silkie (right chicken) never looks faded or dingy since she has a multitude of different colored feathers so fading or dirt is never noticed. Phaedra on the left still has a decent amount of vulture hocks but her leg/toe feathers have obviously shortened from digging and dust-bathing around the yard.

Where else but on BYC can we talk about chickens in such detail and not get blank stares or boring sighs (like from our friends and relatives)?

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Glad to see this thread has some activity again! We had a break in the bad weather we've having and I was finally able to snap some quick pictures.

 

[BlueJayFarm]

Beautiful! Your splash is like looking at my Lily. So cute. Where did you get yours from?