Breeds for me and my grandparents

[Spikes Chooks]

My Australorp (Beetle) squats for me most times I put my hand out to her, then I just pick her up for a stroke when I fancy it. She feels like silk! And I give them all a quick check too, feel the crop, check their eyes, feet etc. They certainly are easier to handle if you do it regularly from when they're young. She is a great chook!

Share your irrits with the magpies and it's only going to get worse as we go into the breeding season.

Last spring when my 4 girls were only about 10 weeks old, they divebombed and even scratched the comb of one and just above the eye of another. At least the chooks are bigger now. Quick to run under cover. Or to me - that was their tactic last year. RUN to the funny-looking featherless Big Chicken!!!!!. Cue wild waving of arms and shouting from the mad woman...... Must have kept the neighbours well amused....

 

[Veer67]

My Australorp (Beetle) squats for me most times I put my hand out to her, then I just pick her up for a stroke when I fancy it. She feels like silk! And I give them all a quick check too, feel the crop, check their eyes, feet etc. They certainly are easier to handle if you do it regularly from when they're young. She is a great chook!

Share your irrits with the magpies and it's only going to get worse as we go into the breeding season.

Last spring when my 4 girls were only about 10 weeks old, they divebombed and even scratched the comb of one and just above the eye of another. At least the chooks are bigger now. Quick to run under cover. Or to me - that was their tactic last year. RUN to the funny-looking featherless Big Chicken!!!!!. Cue wild waving of arms and shouting from the mad woman...... Must have kept the neighbours well amused....

There aren't any magpies in my backyard but I saw a crow once standing on a tree stump in the chicken's enclosure staring at them. I wonder what it wanted?

 

[Min27]

My Australorp (Beetle) squats for me most times I put my hand out to her, then I just pick her up for a stroke when I fancy it. She feels like silk! And I give them all a quick check too, feel the crop, check their eyes, feet etc. They certainly are easier to handle if you do it regularly from when they're young. She is a great chook!

Share your irrits with the magpies and it's only going to get worse as we go into the breeding season.

Last spring when my 4 girls were only about 10 weeks old, they divebombed and even scratched the comb of one and just above the eye of another. At least the chooks are bigger now. Quick to run under cover. Or to me - that was their tactic last year. RUN to the funny-looking featherless Big Chicken!!!!!. Cue wild waving of arms and shouting from the mad woman...... Must have kept the neighbours well amused....

You must have a healthy chicken if it feels that soft. Mine always feel like that just after moulting. They hate getting picked up at that time though. Yeah they're easier to pick up and cuddle if you hand raise them and/or regularly pick them up as chicks.

The magpies in my yard are strange. They only swoop the chickens (which only gives them a bit of a scare). They're actually really nice to me. They let me hand feed them (well I try to give them scraps outside the chicken coop so they won't come in, but it doesn't work). They're almost like pets. However when the magpies come around the chicken run the chooks immediately run for cover under the trees. They won't come out until the magpies are gone. Meanwhile the magpies eat their food and drink their water. It's a problem I'm trying to sort out.

 

[dretd]

Thanks. We were going to get point of lays (because we don't have time to go through chicks again) and keep the different flocks in separate runs. I wanted to gradually introduce mine to the chickens I already have, but I know there will be a big fight while they try to work out the pecking order.

At the produce store, they have large leghorns, australorps and isabrowns available year round (and the staff told me they were vaccinated). However I was looking for bantams just in case the chickens I got became bullies (but if large chickens can get along with bantams at laying age then I'll just get normal size chickens). Only now have I discovered that bantams can be a fair bit more expensive than large chickens (maybe it's because they're harder to get). I'm still on the fence about whether to settle with regular leghorns or try to find bantams somewhere else.

Hi Min27. I can see why you want more chickens--they are very addictive! I personally really enjoy a flock of many different breeds because I can tell them apart easily (and their eggs are all a bit different, too) and so I know who is who. We have one layer flock with a duplicate breed, a Speckled Sussex, and they were called Cluckles 1 and Cluckles 2 cuz I could not remember who was who (RIP C2). This breed is what I would call aggressively friendly. You can increase the friendliness factor if the girls associate you with treats like scratch--it can help tame them if you didn;t hand raise them.

Since you want to have chickens mainly for eggs, I would recommend sticking with a large fowl since their eggs are bigger. I have several friends with mixed flocks and the bantams either rule the roost or hold their own. Here's a list of possibilities:

-Some have mentioned the Australorp. I agree-friendly breed, awesome layer. I know they also come in Blue (and Splash, but you can't show them) and White colors.
-I have a Faverolles and she is by far the sweetest chicken we have. Very friendly and easy to handle, but can be bullied by the other girls.
-Sussex are very friendly (at least the Speckled variety) but their eggs are only medium, and less frequent. They come in many colors some that are White Columbian patterned and Coronation.
-Red and Black Sexlinks (aka ISA Brown), some are very friendly and some not as much--it depends on the breeds used to create them. Very good layers. I have a friend who's Red Sexlink is still laying at 6 years, so I think that the idea they don't live long may be because they are used at battery hens and not well cared-for.
-Buff Orpington--one of the friendliest chickens, may tend to broodiness.
-Barred Rock-I know they are available in Australia but not sure how popular. Very friendly bird, excellent layer. They also come in a white color in the States--you'll have to check locally for your selection?

I haven't owned a Langshans but I know their eggs are beautiful and I also know they come in Blue (and slpash) as well as White varieties in the States so you could check them out for your White color as well.

Have fun!

There are other breeds I like and are friendly--Brahmas for instance, but I don;t know how well they do or their availability in the UK.

 

[Min27]

Thanks dretd for an informative post. Usually I would like a variety of breeds but the more exotic ones are very expensive and hard to find. I wanted more chickens because I only have 3 right now (a bantam Ancona, a bantam Cochin and an Isabrown) and only 1 is laying eggs. They have a lot of space in their chicken run and I thought they could use some company in there.

- I have never seen a splash or white Australorp. I always thought they only came in black. I do agree they're friendly around people, but I don't know how they'll react around a couple of bantams
- Hearing nice things about Faverolles but I will have to look up a breeder, because I can't find any at the produce shops
- Have been wanting light Sussex or Brahmas for a while but they're $55 a chicken and I'll have to drive a long way to get them
- After some research I've found Barred Rocks are called Plymouth Rocks (or just Rocks) here. They're at the same place as the Sussex chickens but they're $75 a bird
- A buff Orpington sounds like a great chicken for hugging. They're very hard to find though. The only place I've seen them for sale is offering for $100 a chicken. They're also sold out until January next year
- Had no idea Langshans came in any other color than black.

My budget is about from $20 to $50 a chicken, but I can understand having to spend more to get a rarer breed.

So far the Australorp seems to be the most viable option. I will still look up breeders for Plymouth Rock, Light Sussex and Faverolles though.