Chicken Breed Behaviors from Experience!

[pecky33]

I have owned mostly easter eggers,
Most of them have been friendly, one was simply the sweetest, one was an s tier flock leader, one is mischievous, one is calm, curious and has earned her name (Ginkgo was named after Ginko from mushishi and he's very calm. Even as a day old chick Ginkgo just looked like she was calm and sweet), one was skittish, 1 is a little skittish and one was mildly aggressive. 3 of my easter eggers are lakeside eggers, all are friendly, one is loud and dominant (but not a bully), one is quiet and one is the flock helper. My buff orpington is sweet, but a little dumb

How cute!

I have had 3 Easter Eggers. 1 was absolutely the sweetest and would always cuddle with me. She was low in the pecking order. Her name was Flower. Another (Aimee) was high in the pecking order but not bully-ish. She was calm but timid. The third one I still have (Tilly) and she’s a wild girl! Sometimes she lets me catch her other times, she’s like, “no way!”. She is midway in the pecking order. She’s curious and will eat anything!

 

[JenniMcChick]

My favs are Barred Rocks and Black Stars. Barred Rocks for the long haul egg laying when they are older. They can be abit bossy. Black Stars for their egg laying and friendliness.
I like Buff Orpingtons, docile and good layers.

I had the same experience with a couple Barred Rocks in my very first flock almost 20 yrs ago. My BOs bore the brunt of that so I've never gotten any more as Orpingtons will always make up the majority (if not all) of my flock. They are my OGs & my favorite breed.
I bought 2 Production Blues (aka Rhode Island Blue) last year along with 4 BOs when starting this new flock. PBs are a cross between Blue Australorp and RIR. VERY pretty hens! Both at top of pecking order. Neither mean or pick on BOs. But neither has a problem putting anyone else in their place if need be. Both are good layers and were the first of the 6 to lay. Dot started laying about a week before Penny.
Penny was calm, quite and had no red bleed through. Looked just like a Blue Aussie. Lovely girl! & don't tell my Buffs cause I tell them all the time they're my favorites, but Penny was the prettiest bird in our coop. Unfortunately, we lost her after she was attacked by a husky & German Shepherd mix who worked it's way under the gate in our backyard while the girls were "free-ranging".
Tried treating both the one puncture wound she received before we got to her, as well as the shock, but she passed away a couple hours later. Never thought I'd cry over a chicken, but I did that day.
Her sister is the alpha. Dot has some of the RIR bleed through & acts more like a RIR than Blue Australorp, or so I hear & read. Bossy, LOUD, and all up in your business....always! Very curious & has no issue barking (or is it bawking) out orders at the top of her chicken lungs. Especially if she thinks you're taking too long to give her what she wants (mealworms, feed, water, open coop door, etc). Oh, and don't walk outside without something she would like to eat or she will definitely express her displeasure with your inconsiderate actions. Of course, again at the top of her chicken lungs!
But she gives us 5-6 huge gorgeous eggs/week & didn't slow down at all through the winter.
So...tradeoffs, I suppose. The girl is just standing up for herself and demanding the performance-based benefits she feels she's earned! LOL!
Dot's personality is summed up in the last picture. I was squatting at one end of the run taking some pictures & she was not getting the treats she wanted. After being ignored despite her protests, she went & recruited some muscle & headed back to me to try again. She's a persistent one anyway!

 

[pecky33]

Never thought I'd cry over a chicken, but I did that day.

I’m so sorry your sweet hen died! It’s always so hard to loose animals. I still cry over my dear Easter Egger that was very friendly and we had to put down a couple months ago.

 

[Auma]

I want this thread to be an open platform for people to talk about their chickens and how their breeds are docile or otherwise.


I have had Golden-Laced Wyandottes before (they passed away) and they always were at the top of the pecking order. They weren’t very friendly to us humans even though we raised them since chicks. I think they were just assertive and more interested in scratching in the dirt.

What’s your experience with Wyandottes?

I've only ever had one Wyandotte but she is at the top of the order after my RIR passed, she is also one of my friendliest birds. You can hold her, and she'll hop onto your lap or shoulder. She is also a snack thief

 

[Labsandchickens8]

Hi! I have all sorts of breeds that I’d love to share about! I’m fairly new to chicken keeping but here are all the breeds I’ve owned

-Delaware
-Buff orpington
-Lavender orpington
-Chocolate Orpington (might be an australorp)
-Light brahma
-Silkie
-ISA brown
-EE Wyandotte x
-sapphire gem
-French black copper marans
-bantam mottled cochin
-standard grey cochin
-barred Plymouth rock
-buff chantecler

-Delawares raised inside as chicks from the feed store. The two Delawares are SO sweet and friendly. Both hop on me every chance they get and love to cuddle. Not the biggest I have but definitely flock leaders. Not mean or bullies but can get a little territorial. Not broody, not nest hogs.

-buff Wyandottes were gotten as chicks from the feed store and raised inside. Closer to the bottom of the pecking order, one is always chatting, the other is pretty quiet. The chatty one is friendly and will occasionally jump on my lap to sleep and cuddle, but much more tentative than the Delawares for sure. The second buff Wyandotte does not want to be picked up or held at all and will flap and kick to get away (she’s the biggest chicken I have too, so those kicks and wing smacks hurt). Neither is a bully and will submit to everyone else. My silkie hates them for some reason and they just stand there frozen and let her jump up and peck them on the heads.

-buff Orpington gotten at 8 weeks from a breeder. She was very standoffish at first and was the only one out of her little group that would bite me. As she got older and got used to me she became extremely affectionate and loved to be cradled in my arms and held and talked to. She would fall asleep and purr every time. More skittish than some of my others, tried to bully her sisters the same age but failed. Didn’t like new additions, would chase younger chickens.

-silkies have been hit or miss. I’ve had one out of maybe 15 I’ve owned that wasn’t skittish and actually enjoyed being held. Very broody, to the point of physically harming themselves. Two of mine have gone broody twice in a row and all their flock mates ended up hating them for hogging the nesting boxes. The one I have now is very tiny and nervous, she will run when being picked up but will settle for a little bit and let herself be held. She’s jumped up on me on her own before and fallen asleep, but not often.

-ISA brown, gentle, not cuddly, head of the flock, not a bully. Taught the new girls where to lay eggs, would tidbit for the younger girls, not broody. Was the only chicken I’ve ever had who didn’t bother new additions at all. As long as the didn’t try to take her treats she didn’t care.

-light Brahma, super sweet and cuddly. We call her a pancake chicken because she will get up on your lap and just spread out flat like a pancake. She’ll sit on you all day if you let her. Can be a bully sometimes, but not super bad. Not skittish at all.

-choc orp/auatralorp, one of the biggest of my girls. She’s very curious but not cuddly, it’s like she wants to jump up on me like the others but can’t quite get the courage. Kind of a bully, she hates my silkie and chases her away.

-bcm is about the same as the choc orp but less of a bully. She enjoys being held a little more but won’t jump up on her own.

-both Cochins are very skittish, especially the standard. The bantam bullies younger chickens that will submit but gets picked on quite a bit herself (deservedly I might add lol) neither will jump up on me, the bantam does not enjoy being held at all. Standard is very skittish but likes being held some when you get ahold of her.

-lav orp has one of the best personalities. She’s calm, friendly, cuddly, easy going. She doesn’t get picked on, doesn’t bully, she almost kind of “steps in” when things get too heated between the others. She’s also a lap chicken and will stay on me as long as I’ll let her.

-ee x Wyandotte, very high strung. Paced constantly when not free ranging. Chased all the other chickens for sport. Chased away wild birds in the yard, chased rabbits and squirrels too. She harassed my younger girls so much that I had to rehome her. She didn’t fight or anything, just constantly stressed them out chasing them. She was super sweet when she was younger and would hop up on me and lay over on her side.

-sapphire gem is the only one I’d say doesn’t have a lot of personality. She’s not curious of me at all, will not be held, won’t jump up on me, doesn’t bully, isn’t mean, But is skittish.

-barred Plymouth Rock, lol maybe the funniest girl but also annoying. She’s always under foot and will not run away like some of the others. She just stands there or worse yet she squats and is even harder to move. Jumps up on me all the time, but less interested in “cuddling” it’s a status thing for her. She follows me around and if I stop long enough she pecks me HARD. Hard enough to bruise and leave blood blisters. Not sure what she wants, attention I guess. She was definitely a bully and had to be separated by herself for a few days to knock her down a peg. I thought at one point her fat self would kill my tiny silkie by jumping on her. She’s a lot more meek now thank god. She’s not skittish AT ALL. Out of all my girls she’s the only one that just stands there to be picked up. Even my friendliest chickens walk away a little bit at first. Not her!

Thank you so much for all the information! Your girls are beautiful+