help me select some breeds for a suburban yard (kind of long)

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ericz

ericz

In the Brooder
8 Years
Mar 16, 2011
65
1
39
media pa
hi all,

my daughter has a few bantam chicks she got about five weeks ago. two buff brahmas and one buff cochin. we also have about 12 cockerels of unknown variety which were shipped along with the bantams for warmth. the roosters will be given away as soon as they start to crow (we live in a suburban neighborhood).

until i can build a suitable replacement, the chickens are living in my 8' x 9' garden shed with plywood floor. i have cut a 1'-square hole at the bottom of one of the walls which leads out to a pen i built that is 8' long x 4' wide x 4' high and is covered on all open sides and top with chicken wire, and has a door at the end. i have two heat lamps hanging from the rafters of the shed, straw lining the floor, and a roost made of an 8' long 2x4.

as i alluded to in my introductory post, i have become smitten with these birds, and my daughter and i are interested in expanding our flock. so i have a few criteria for desirable characteristics and hopefully i can get some suggestions for what i should get:

1) we're not interested in meat. eggs would be a fun bonus, but the primary idea is just the natural attraction of the birds themselves.

2) we'd like to know about breeds whose hens are as attractive, or nearly so, as the roosters.

3) or... are there any breeds whose roosters do not crow, or are more "subdued" than normal roosters? if we lived in the country this wouldn't be an issue, but i do have close neighbors here, and i get along with them, and want to keep it that way.

4) we live in USADA zone 7, but on the northern edge of it (philadelphia suburbs), but will be moving back to central virginia in two and a half years. in this area, the winters can be cold, as far down as teens and occasionally single digits during a real cold snap. summers are hot and humid.


i guess to summarize, we'd like chickens who are not noisy, who can stand confinement, who are showy and visually interesting, are not too skittish, and mix well with other breeds. and roosters are pretty much "out", unless they are quiet. they will not be slaughtered. eggs would be nice, but are not a must-have.

thanks in advance for your time and advice,

-eric
 
Get a few Ameraucanas or commonly called EEs Easter Eggers. the ones you get from a farm store will usually all be different colors. The hens, while no quieter than any hen when she is singing the egg song, are friendly chickens. I have had a lot of roosters, but, unless they are an exception, they all crow. Smaller rooster seem to crow louder than large roosters or at least higher pitched.

Oh and
welcome-byc.gif
from Ohio
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...but assuming your neighborhood DOESN'T want the crowing rooster may be a mistake.... some people actually like it, and look forward to it once they hear "you're getting chickens"!

Depends on the rooster, too. Some crow like a foghorn, some like squealing brakes. Sometimes its very nice and lovely. We heard a RIR roo that was Magnificent.

Maybe wait and see what sort of noise you get, and what sort of noise you then get from the neighbors?

Some people around me have complained, but they are far outnumbered by the folks who come to visit just because they like the crowing. For the most part, it would be helpful if our rooster crowed a little more; suburban noise of screaming kids, leafblowers, ambulances, dogs and more screaming kids overpower the rooster "noise".

An elderly lady told me, "we'll get used to it again (she remembers the 1930's), it's just another neighborhood noise, except the rooster noise is JOYFUL!"
 
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another bonus to feathery, fluffy chickens = the occasional bath and blow dry. Two of our hens will come to the backdoor and hop into the tub for a bath and a blow dry if they get pooped on. They hold their lil wingies up for a nice warm blow dry, then prance around to show it off!
 

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