Couldn't Decide which breed?

[evhammond1200]

We are new to the chicken world. This is what we decided we picked the ones that our local feed store recomended as friendly and or docile? We have 13 chicks coming: 3 Buff Orpingtons, 3 Silver-Laced Wyandottes, 3 Barred Rocks, 2 Golden comets, and 2 Araucanas. We have three children ages 7,4 and 2. Our seven year old is going to help take care of them so I hope some of them are friendly in the end? We live in New Hampshire these were also all breeds fit for our weather and good egg layers? Exept the Araucanas they werent listed as great layers but the colored eggs had my daughter hooked! We get them may 14th! If anyone has experiance with these breeds? Please give feed back?




this is what our selection was at our local feed store : Araucana, Bantam, Barred Rocks, Black Sexlinks, Buff Orpington, Cornish Rock Cross, Golden Comet, New Hampshire Red, Rhode Island Red, Silver-Laced Wyandotte, White Leghorn, and White Rock.

 

[joe17]

Your buff orpington will be the friendliest by far. If you want a pet, get a silkie!

 

[evhammond1200]

They are meant to be egg layers with a side effect of being pets.

 

[Lorije1]

Everywhere I read there is something about Buff Orpingtons being the friendliest chickens and the #1 choice for kids. I have a couple of very young Golden Comets and they are so docile and sweet! They are supposed to be "egg laying machines". My Barred Rocks are really comical and outgoing. Don't know how much you can go off of my opinion though, since they are still all chicks.

 

[abanjaf]

Your Araucanas will most likely be EE's (Easter Eggers). True Araucanas can only be obtained by breeders. However, my EE's lay extremely well, better than my Wyandottes and also the Barred Rocks that I've had in the past. I have 3 EE's, all colorful, pretty, and friendly. In fact, one of them is the mischief-maker out of the flock. Buff Orps are indeed friendly and sweet. I lost my 8 year old hen 1 1/2 ago, she was a sweetheart. She had enjoyed going to show n tell in my daughter's classroom one year. I'm warning you, though! Having chickens is addicting! Welcome to the madness

 

[NonnasBabies]

I have 18 Barred Rocks and they are great!! But I'm not a pick up and cuddle the chicken kinda person so mine aren't the kind where you can just walk up to them and pick them up. But they have never been aggresive to anyone except the dogs (cause my little Jade just loves to chase them)

Can't really say about the others cause mine are in between 4-8 weeks old and their still in that "Scared/Coward" mode!!

Missi

 

[felidaet]

I have one year old birds of all the breeds you listed. The Buff Orpington is not very friendly even though I held her a lot as a chick. I guess they can't all be friendly. I have another Buff Orpington chick in the brooder. So far she is one of the least friendly chicks. Hopefully she will get friendlier as she gets older.

Out of the breeds you listed my EE's are are the friendliest. And they were great layers all winter. I think I averaged 2 eggs per day from three pullets. Mine lay much better than many people report.

My Gold Comet is a laying machine. She lays a large to x-large egg nearly every day. I bought two more Gold Sex Links this year. I have no idea if they are Comets or some other kind of sex link.

I don't think my SLW lays very often. I am not absolutely certain which egg is hers but if it is the one I think it is, she may only be laying 1 or 2 a week.

 

[Serrin]

You got that right Jessi!!! Madness indeed!!

Welcome Evhammond and family! You're about to embark on a life long love affair, whether you know it or not yet!

You and your children are going to really love the Buff Orpingtons! My most favorite girl in the whole world (now deceased) was a BO. She would come running to me from anywhere in the yard whenever I called to her. Not for treats, as the others would do, but simply to be picked up and loved and cuddled. They are truly one of the sweetest egg breeds out there, and darn good layers to boot! I'll warn you now though. They are prone to going broody! (wanting to sit on and hatch eggs in layman's terms

)

The Golden Comets are also a great choice. I have four of my original six who are now 4 years old and are still laying very well considering their age. On average I get about 4 eggs each per week. Sometimes more, like when they're NOT molting. Their personalities range from the down right sweet and lovable to the absolutely pesky. They are sometimes an "In your face" kind of bird and won't be denied attention when they want it. If you allow your birds to free range, you'll soon discover that one or two will decide that you need a second shadow and follow you everywhere you go in the yard. My Molly and Lacey (both now deceased) were wonderful little girls, always curious about what I was doing in the yard and flower beds.

OH! Speaking of flower beds! If you're going to free range your chickens and you have flower beds of which you are especially fond of, you might want to invest in some good fencing for them now. Chickens always have a different opinion on how a flower bed should look than what we have. And while they're good little gardeners when it comes to tilling the soils and weeding out undesirable bugs, they can be brutal in their pruning practices. My impatiens and petunias took a beating frequently until I took steps to assure that they were well protected from chicken landscaping techniques!

The Barred Rocks are without a doubt, in my humble opinion, the biggest clowns in any back yard flock. I'd be hard pressed to define what it is about them. You'll just have to wait and experience them for yourselves. I will say however, that nine times out of ten, if there is a scene to be made over anything in the scratch yard, it's usually our Rosie who is at the heart of it! She's a real drama queen that one!!

Barred Rocks are consummate at instigating hijinks's and then giving you the most innocent of expressions. For all they protest their innocence, they sure seem to be at the scene of the crime more often than any of my other birds!

As for Wyandottes, I only have one. A beautiful one year old Blue rooster named Griffin. He's very good with his ladies, always gentle and considerate. He's constantly on guard against predators and always watches the skies for threats from above. He's also a chatter box! I don't think a moment goes by in the day that he doesn't have a comment to make about everyone and everything. Beyond that, I can't tell you much about the Wyandottes as I only have the one to judge by. Having said that, you will be getting one of the prettier color variants of the line with the Silver Laced. If you're lucky and the feed store where you're getting them from is dealing with a local breeder, then chances are good that you'll get some really outstanding looking birds. But even from the hatcheries, SLW are eye candy for sure!

Jessi is right on the Araucana's I'm sorry to say. This is a difficult breed at best to get your hands on. In all likelihood, they will be simple Easter Eggers. But fear not, EE's are a great chicken too. They tend to lay an egg that is more of a greenish blue hue as opposed to the true blue that Ameraucanas and Araucanas lay. They're friendly and curious so should be good breeds for your daughter to handle with ease.

The biggest piece of advice I can give you on all of your choices is to spend as much time handling them as you can. It is through constant attention to them that they develop a bond with their humans and thereby make for friendly family pets.

Good luck with all of them and be sure to post lots of pictures here when you get them!

 

[Chicken Jack]

The Buff Orpingtons are a very nice and friendly breed. We also love EEs and Black Austrolorps (BA). Our experience with BAs has been great; they are very docile and sweet. Our BA cocks are also nice and none of them are aggressive towards us. I just increased the size of my flock and haven't given my new pullets the TLC I gave the others...my loss. Serrin is correct spend as much time handling them as you can. Enjoy!

 

[clothdiaperingmom]

1 of our BOs is very gentle and friendly (the other 2 arent mean by any means, just arent as friendly as the 1). Shes the 1st at the fence when I come out. But our bantam cochins are very gentle and docile as well.

Our australorps are the least friendly, least tolerant of being messed with of our bunch (they were older chicks when we got them).

My barred rocks are only about 4 wks old. They are in a large dog crate, and they jump out at me (not aggressively at all) when I open the door. Sillies.

My RIR's are gentle, even the roo.

My polish didnt like handling at all!

My silkies are in that afraid stage, but dont mind being handled...some more than others.