hey folks - after many years, i've finally got the space in my new backyard to keep chickens which I've wanted to do for quite some time.
My city allows me to keep up to 4 hens, and I'm currently trying to plan out which breeds would be most suitable for my situation.
My backyard isn't large, but I'm looking at purchasing or building a coop/run that's a similar size to the Eglu Cube (the13ft run).
As far as breeds, I'm looking for quieter breeds (we are in the suburbs) that are docile and generally like human company. We're not overly concerned with the amount of eggs but want a decent balance between the "pet" breeds and the breeds strictly for egg-laying.
My thoughts so far:
My questions:
My city allows me to keep up to 4 hens, and I'm currently trying to plan out which breeds would be most suitable for my situation.
My backyard isn't large, but I'm looking at purchasing or building a coop/run that's a similar size to the Eglu Cube (the13ft run).
As far as breeds, I'm looking for quieter breeds (we are in the suburbs) that are docile and generally like human company. We're not overly concerned with the amount of eggs but want a decent balance between the "pet" breeds and the breeds strictly for egg-laying.
My thoughts so far:
- 2 Silkie Bantams - small, generally quiet (although I've heard some folks' silkies can be a bit loud), docile, entertaining, cute, not great egg layers. Really love the look of these guys and so does my wife.
- 2 standard or bantam sized Plymouth Rocks - great egg layers, easy going, generally quiet, hardy
My questions:
- If that breed mix makes sense, would you recommend standard or bantam sized plymouth rocks for our coop/run size? The Eglu Cube site says it can house up to 6 large, 8 medium, or 10 bantam sized hens. My thought with going with the standard is they would be able to lay much larger eggs than their bantam counterparts. Maybe I'm overthinking that a bit too much, but just concerned that having all bantam eggs would be too small.
- If we did decide to go with the standard, would the bantam silkies and the standard plymouth rocks be able to be housed together? I’ve heard that it will be fine from several folks but just want to be sure.