Is an 'exotic' breed too much for a newbie to handle?

[NatJ]

They both seem to prefer the lower roosting bars so I don't think they can jump that high.

Oh, that's a good point about height of roost bars.

If you have birds that do not fly well (or at all), then they need low roosts.

(And if they get used to high roosts in the coop, they may be more likely to fly up on your fence, because they will already be used to going that high.)

 

[BDutch]

If you are new with chickens I would stick to one breed. Or at least breeds with similar size and temperament to avoid problems.

 

[RShayne]

We were thinking about cochins. (My girls are already in love!) We have pretty short fences on two sides (3.5 ft at the lowest), and I'd want a breed I could let out of the run with supervision, so my girls and I could enjoy them as pets without having them hopping over into our neighbors' yards. But, I'm worried that fluffy feet and butts might be difficult to handle. Plus, they're big. If we should forget about cochins and go with something more often recommended like Easter eggers or orpingtons because they're easier for beginners, that would be good to know.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Look into clipping their wings, it may work with most saying 4 feet is the max jump afterwards. and you will have to design the hen house around this with no high roost bars.

Never done it myself since I live on the farm I grew up on. (I can't even see my closes neighbor). The reason it occurred to me is a ugly teenage rooster bit me while I was feeding tonight (yes he is ugly, small body, small head, no hips, and a bad attitude) grabbed it and picked it up just so it knows not to do that again and it spread it wings and for some reason I thought of clipping wings and your post. Strange I know.