I just got 4 new chicks today

[Granny23]

In 2021 I started raising hens after finding a chick in my front yard. My beautiful rooster Pepper. He had to go to a rooster sanctuary.
We have lost 2 hens in the last year, Goldie the Buff Orpington and Penny a RIR last month.
We have 4 hens. Today I went to get 2 RIRs at Tractor supply because the regular feed store didn't have any. When we got there we were told we had to buy 4 not just 2.
So we got 2 RIRs and 2 Arconas.
I've never heard of this breed before. Aracanas yes, but not Arconas.
Can anyone tell me their experience with the hens. I'm getting mixed reviews reading about them. Big combs and waddles which is fine, very noisy which I definitely DON'T WANT, that they can FLY good distances if chased ....just what I don't need is them flying over my neighbors wall.
I tried to post a picture of the little darlings but couldn't.

 

[WingItRanch]

In 2021 I started raising hens after finding a chick in my front yard. My beautiful rooster Pepper. He had to go to a rooster sanctuary.
We have lost 2 hens in the last year, Goldie the Buff Orpington and Penny a RIR last month.
We have 4 hens. Today I went to get 2 RIRs at Tractor supply because the regular feed store didn't have any. When we got there we were told we had to buy 4 not just 2.
So we got 2 RIRs and 2 Arconas.
I've never heard of this breed before. Aracanas yes, but not Arconas.
Can anyone tell me their experience with the hens. I'm getting mixed reviews reading about them. Big combs and waddles which is fine, very noisy which I definitely DON'T WANT, that they can FLY good distances if chased ....just what I don't need is them flying over my neighbors wall.
I tried to post a picture of the little darlings but couldn't.

Congrats on your new chicks! Do you mean Ancona?

I have one and I will say she doesn't want me anywhere near her. Not exactly a cuddly chicken but to be fair, I didn't handle them a lot when they were babies. However, she's beautiful and handles the extremely hot days like a champ. She has a more sleek body style than my others and I would be willing to bet she could fly high and far but I keep them in a predator proof run. You could try clipping their wings to deter escape.

She isn't laying yet at 5 months but is close and I've heard they give you pretty big white eggs. She's about middle in the pecking order. She does make a kind of whiney noice instead of clucks but it's not super loud.

I have no complaints! Just a recommendation... handle yours often from the very start and continue through teenage months.

Here's a pic of her when she was a baby and now at 5 months old.

 

[Granny23]

Congrats on your new chicks! Do you mean Ancona?

I have one and I will say she doesn't want me anywhere near her. Not exactly a cuddly chicken but to be fair, I didn't handle them a lot when they were babies. However, she's beautiful and handles the extremely hot days like a champ. She has a more sleek body style than my others and I would be willing to bet she could fly high and far but I keep them in a predator proof run. You could try clipping their wings to deter escape.

She isn't laying yet at 5 months but is close and I've heard they give you pretty big white eggs. She's about middle in the pecking order. She does make a kind of whiney noice instead of clucks but it's not super loud.

I have no complaints! Just a recommendation... handle yours often from the very start and continue through teenage months.

Here's a pic of her when she was a baby and now at 5 months old.

Yes! Anconas. Thank you so much for your response. We have hand raised each of our hens in the house. These are really tiny, a week old I believe where my others were 2 weeks when I got them. My granddaughter has them in her room in a big box with food, water and warmth. She handles them and snuggles with them. When they are a couple weeks older we'll start taking them outside periodically .
I have dogs and cats and for the most part they don't pay much attention to the hens.I wondered about clipping their wings if flying becomes a problem. I have birds so I am familiar with wing trimming. The other hens are 2-3 yrs old and I know introducing them to the flock takes time.
Again thank you for the info!!