I assume Saffron is a he?

[ChickenChick46]

Just be aware that they can FLY! I mean fly almost like a bird, not just like a heavy-breed chicken.

Free ranging would be fine, as long as you don't expect them to stay inside a fence. If you do need to keep them contained, I would recommend a covered run. I've seen them go right over a 7 foot fence if something scared them, and I saw one fly about 100 feet across a yard and land on the roof of a house.

Some of them are also prone to broodiness, which is good or bad depending on what you want. I've had ones that never went broody and others that did frequently, so it's not a guaranteed thing.

That's impressive! And really good to know. Our current run and run in the making are both enclosed, thankfully. I had no idea they could fly that well!

 

[MROO]

Maybe I shouldn't be afraid of getting oegb after all!

If I wasn't hooked on my Nankins, I'd have OEGBs. They're little, smart, docile and come in so many colors I'd never get tired of watching them. I'd also never stop collecting them until I had at least one of each, so it's a good thing I'm in love with my Nannies.

 

[ella2025]

Just be aware that they can FLY! I mean fly almost like a bird, not just like a heavy-breed chicken.

Free ranging would be fine, as long as you don't expect them to stay inside a fence. If you do need to keep them contained, I would recommend a covered run. I've seen them go right over a 7 foot fence if something scared them, and I saw one fly about 100 feet across a yard and land on the roof of a house.

Some of them are also prone to broodiness, which is good or bad depending on what you want. I've had ones that never went broody and others that did frequently, so it's not a guaranteed thing.

Black Breasted Red has different coloring for males and females. If you find any chicks that are old enough to have their breast feathers, males have a black breast and females have a salmon color.

That might be handy if you find one of those great marked-down deals on chicks that didn't sell right away

And of course you can look at combs as the chicks get older, too.

Are they cold hardy? I just thought of this lol. Sebrights are also on my list of no no bantams because they're super super not cold hardy lol. The breast trick is really useful! But I've had a silver duckwing Easter egger who didn't start growing the salmon breast feathers until 18+ weeks and JUST finished growing them now at like 26 weeks. is that just because she's not a pure breed or something? Chicken genetics, man...

 

[ChickenChick46]

If I wasn't hooked on my Nankins, I'd have OEGBs. They're little, smart, docile and come in so many colors I'd never get tired of watching them. I'd also never stop collecting them until I had at least one of each, so it's a good thing I'm in love with my Nannies.

That collection thought gets me too, lol. There are so many! I've only got one, but she is so, so sweet.

 

[NatJ]

Are they cold hardy? I just thought of this lol. Sebrights are also on my list of no no bantams because they're super super not cold hardy lol.

In the past, I had a number of bantam hens in an unheated pen in temperatures below freezing (including a few days below freezing, not just nights.) I did not notice any real problems, except that I think maybe one hen lost the tips of her comb to frostbite. Breeds included OEGB in several colors, bantam EE, Dark Cornish bantam, I think a Barred Rock bantam or maybe some color of Wyandotte bantam.

But I have not yet had them in a place with really cold temperatures for a long time. So I'm not sure at what point they might start to have trouble.

The breast trick is really useful! But I've had a silver duckwing Easter egger who didn't start growing the salmon breast feathers until 18+ weeks and JUST finished growing them now at like 26 weeks. is that just because she's not a pure breed or something? Chicken genetics, man...

Hmm, I don't know what happened there. What color were her breast feathers before they were salmon colored? Were they a different color, or just not there at all?