Ideal breeds for backyard track home

[CynAlexa]

Hello! I am seeking advice on which breeds are best for a backyard in a track home community.
Quiet breeds? Breeds that like to be in or enjoy a smaller space? Thanks for your help

 

[LateBirdFarms]

What's your main goal for your flock? Pets? Eggs? Bantams that aren't super fliers are great for smaller settings, such as silkies or bantam cochins, and the neighbours tend to think they're adorable which helps to avoid the chicken stigma!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I kept chickens in a past life in a tract home back yard with very close neighbors. We had 6 pullets (only 5 were allowed, but no one ever checked).
You should choose breeds that "tolerate confinement" well, but still have to make sure they have enough space in their coop and run.
Agree, depends on what your goals are.
Bantams are great, though usually not the best layers. My silkies are LOUD! Much louder than my 8 lb english orpington, that hardly makes any noise at all. Many characteristics are breed specific, but also can be individual from bird to bird.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

I kept chickens in a past life in a tract home back yard with very close neighbors. We had 6 pullets (only 5 were allowed, but no one ever checked).
You should choose breeds that "tolerate confinement" well, but still have to make sure they have enough space in their coop and run.
Agree, depends on what your goals are.
Bantams are great, though usually not the best layers. My silkies are LOUD! Much louder than my 8 lb english orpington, that hardly makes any noise at all. Many characteristics are breed specific, but also can be individual from bird to bird.

My silkie boy is loud, but not so much my girls... unless one in particular is feeling the beginnings of a broody spell, then she can get pretty squawky and shrill pushing the bigger ladies around, which I suppose is quite often now that I think about it.
In all honesty, and my personal experience, I've had both the loudest and the quietest birds often be of the same breed, so it can vary a lot between different personalities, so it pays be careful about how much stock you put into the "quiet" breed description when you see it.

 

[CluckerFamily]

This is a tough question.
Within a breed some can be loud and others can be quiet. Some hens live to tell the whole neighborhood they have just done the impossible and lain an egg.
Have a backup plan for if you happen to get some loud layers.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

This is a tough question.
Within a breed some can be loud and others can be quiet. Some hens live to tell the whole neighborhood they have just done the impossible and lain an egg.
Have a backup plan for if you happen to get some loud layers.

It's the layers who have to tell the neighborhood for 45 minutes that they're GOING to lay and egg, and then for 45min that they HAVE laid! Those girls!

 

[592667]

I’d recommend Golden Comets, since they are sooo quiet for me!

very rarely do one of my Golden comets announce that they’ve laid an egg.
They are super friendly, love people, and lay the most gorgeous and large brown eggs!

 

[LateBirdFarms]

I’d recommend Golden Comets, since they are sooo quiet for me!

very rarely do one of my Golden comets announce that they’ve laid an egg.
They are super friendly, love people, and lay the most gorgeous and large brown eggs!

Bahahaha My extended egg song singer IS a golden comet! (But my quietest lady is a golden comet too!) But for all my Crooked Toes' hollering, I would totally recommend them if you're looking to get a decent supply of massive eggs. I would not recommend them if you get extremely attached, while I found they seem to have less reproduction issues than some of the other production red varieties, and I've owned a lot of them, they are still prone and you may end up with issues around the 2.5-3year mark.

 

[592667]

Bahahaha My extended egg song singer IS a golden comet! (But my quietest lady is a golden comet too!) But for all my Crooked Toes' hollering, I would totally recommend them if you're looking to get a decent supply of massive eggs. I would not recommend them if you get extremely attached, while I found they seem to have less reproduction issues than some of the other production red varieties, and I've owned a lot of them, they are still prone and you may end up with issues around the 2.5-3year mark.

Lol!
Really? I guess that explains the prolapsed vent, multiple impacted crops, and egg impactions I’ve had to treat them for, in the last year
It’s so hard to not get attached! I’ve named them and can’t imagine my life without them haha

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Lol!
Really? I guess that explains the prolapsed vent, multiple impacted crops, and egg impactions I’ve had to treat them for, in the last year
It’s so hard to not get attached! I’ve named them and can’t imagine my life without them haha

That's the main reason I branched out into various non production hybrids over the last while. The oldest red girl I've had made it to 5(if my memory serves me correctly), I love my eggs, but I adore my ladies far to much to keep watching them go the same way over and over. It's such a shame too, my golden comets are such people lovers.