Breed Personalities as Chicks (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly)

[RanchHens]

As my chicks are getting older their personalities are really starting to show. For some of the breeds that's a good thing, for others not so much...


For instance, the Marans... We hatched two and had five shipped, from a different source, in as a Christmas Present. If I had met these chicks before, I would have just bought her a nice sweater.

They are flighty, they scream bloody murder, they run each other over just to get away. I can't imagine what they'll be like as adults. Oh wait... Yes, I can, I have Leghorns.

I keep a large flock (80+) of free-range chickens as pets and occasionally like to interact with my chickens without them running into walls to try and get away. Almost all of last year's chicks settled down in time, but, if anything, their dispositions are worsening as they get older.

It almost makes me wish I wasn't a vegetarian...


Then we have the Legbars, they are absolutely the friendliest birds I've ever been around. I have two Roos and a Hen and at one month old I can already tell you that they are on the list for next year, even if the hens never laid a thing.

They are feisty, so I don't worry about them free-ranging at all, and are excellent flyers/escape artists, but even when they've flown the coop, so to speak, they come running to the door to greet me. I honestly think that they'd just follow me around all day if I let them. 10/10 for personality. If you don't have one, go get one right now!


My EE's .... Not so much. They're almost as bad as the Marans, but they stop short of trampling the other birds to death, like stampeding water buffalo, and they don't feel the need to scream if someone looks at them cross-eyed.

But having had EE's before, I kind of expected it and once they're outside I like the eggs enough to out up with some antics.


The two Buff Brahmas are friendly, but not pushy, unless there's food.


But, the most entertaining birds this year have been the Wynadottes. I have never seen such confident little birds. They aren't afraid of anything and they are all attitude!


So how are your chicks shaping up this year? Are the personalities what you expected.

 

[Alaskan]

Nothing from this year yet... Still in the land of snow.

Last year: (all from Meyers unless noted)

My first time ever with cannibalism, and I really think that it was the fault of the white leghorns. BUT, now that they are all grown I LOVE my leghorns. They are the most inquisitive, they need to know what I am up to. They don't panic when I try to catch them, they don't like it, they put up with it. When they were little chicks they would throw a fit if you tried to hold them, so I forced the children to hold them all every day. The leghorns lay better than any chicken I have ever owned. They lay almost every single day, no heat, no light, they just lay.

RIR, but they are more production red types, not hatchery. And Golden Comets. The RIR are a bit calmer and more mellow than the comets, but they are similar. They don't wow me.

My three White Cochins I bought hoping that one would turn into a broody for me..... They haven't yet, but then no sane chicken would go broody right now. They are nice, not as cuddly as I had hoped, but sweet and quiet.

Light brahmas, I got one male and one female. I wasn't impressed with either and the male started getting bad with the kids, so we ate him. I like the personality of the hens (we have had them in past years too) but I am always so disappointed that something so gigantic lays a medium sized egg.

I did get 5 French Black Copper Marans from a breeder, and WOW, I loved their personalities! It had me raving over breeder raised chickens, since before then I had only bought from hatcheries. They were all sweet and mellow, very laid back. The rooster wasn't perfect, he messed up the ladies backs, but he wasn't bad either.