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

[RShayne]

The right setup you can handle anything, wrong setup and you will be fighting to keep them and having to replace them.

If you want easy and friendly I suggest you go big chicken, Jersey Giants or Barred Rock. I grew up with Jersey, Rock, and Rhode Island Reds. I picked the Barred Rock because they are just sweet hearts, even the roosters. The RI Reds were so bad I will never let one on the farm!

The 3.5 feet fence has me really concerned. That will not be much of an obstacle. For reference. My barred rock did this while I was working on the run.

Have you considered Ducks? Pekings are easy to raise and so heavy they are easy to keep in with a small fence and fun to watch if you provide them a kiddie pool. Attitudes not as good as a Barred Rock, but better then a RIR.

 

[Oldblue]

Thanks, all!

We are still thinking, so it might take us a while to make a decision. I don't plan on letting chickens free range when we're not out with them, just want to be able to let them out of the run and not have to worry every second about a fly- over.

I would consider ducks, but I grew up with a mean duck, so... I'm probably biased against them.

 

[Tonyroo]

If your gonna let them out for observation, you can still have cochins just have treats for them and they wont try to fly. Helps to interact with them a lot so they know its there home and they shouldn't have a reason to wander off to your neighbors.

I let my Swedish flowers and Wyandotte out everyday in a fenced yard. The Swedish chickens did fly on top of my fence to roost but stayed in the yard. They never were curious enough to jump the fence since they know there yard is there home and that's where the food is at. If that helps.

Oh also my fence goes from 8ft to 5ft on the perimeter, my entrance fence is 3ft, they never jumped on that one go figure.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

Hi all!

We don't have chickens yet. We don't even have a coop. Our family is still in the planning phase. Right now we're trying to decide what breed of chickens we might want to keep because that will determine everything else, like the coop planning, etc.

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.

Considerations:
We live in Denver, so our yard is smallish, but we have room to build a decent-sized coop and run. The weather is hot and dry in summer (but not as hot as some places) and cold in winter (but not as cold as some places). We have short fences. A dog who loves to chase fast things, but is intimidated by big, slow things (she's met mature hens and their stink-eye was enough to put her in her place). We want some eggs, but are in this mostly for chickens that will be gentle and friendly. Would like four hens, ideally.

Thanks in advance for any help!

I have my first backyard flock this year of nine hens that right now are 13 weeks old. I have three different breed among the nine with three hens of each. I have the Swedish Flower Hen, the Creme Legbars, and the Black:Lavender Orpingtons. The sweetest of the three is actually probably my Legbars and the most easy going and most heat or cold extreme tolerant. They can pretty much go either way as long as either way is not too excessive. I live in MS and the heat has been awful this year. Worse than most and they have trooped on like nobody’s business. My other two breeds have had it a little harder. Now the Swedish Flower Hens are my favorite. They are like my children. They know I am Mama. They all but call me Mama. To them I am Mama. To the others I am but as they get older I am still Mama but I am also the food and treat lady. To the SFH’s I will always also be Mama. They love me and always want to be with me and want to know what I’m doing. They are sweet, curious, inquisitive birds. The Orpingtons are the crazies of our bunch. They are the bullies and the main food hogs. I have one Legbar who is also but the Orpingtons have real personality for sure. They are not docile love bugs yet like everyone has said they would be. No sir. I’m waiting on that. Maybe they have to become layers first. However,mine have been well taken care of but all three breeds have been very healthy. I don’t think you can go wrong seriously with either one. I have handled all mine daily and can approach mine and catch them easily when I need to and they like getting petted and we have daily hen parties the ten of us in the run where I teach them the facts of life with treats or veggies- usually veggies in hand or grass but it’s treats to them. There are so many good breeds out there. Chickens are great for kids to have. You won’t go wrong. Just do your research. Handle your chicks as much as possible very easy. Let them enjoy being handled all the time and expect it from all the family. Just be calm and slow and gentle with them and they will always trust you.

 

[BDutch]

Thanks, all!

We are still thinking, so it might take us a while to make a decision. I don't plan on letting chickens free range when we're not out with them, just want to be able to let them out of the run and not have to worry every second about a fly- over.

I would consider ducks, but I grew up with a mean duck, so... I'm probably biased against them.

How much is the max space for a coop and run? How important are the size and number off eggs? How many chickens do you want?

If you have limited space bantams (like bantam Wyandottes, Cochins, New Hampshire, Sussex ) might be a nice option.

A higher and covered run (roof/strong netting) can eliminate you’re fear of chickens getting out. And if chickens can get out , other animals (dogs/other predators) sure can get in.

Another important issue can be you’re relation with the neighbours. My Dutch bantams often go to the neighbours (through, over and around the fences) but they don’t mind. And my chickens are quit safe free ranging because they are excellent flyers for a chicken.

 

[Chicalina]

Another vote for bantam cochins here. Total sweethearts. Or silkies. Both make great pets. My bantam cochin doesn't go broody. The silkie does though, but its not a problem to break her of it if I want to. They both lay eggs regularly but aren't laying machines whose bodies will wear out in 3 years.

Here is Peggy the Pekin (bantam cochin to you). So gentle natured, can't really fly, never hops the fence, never bullies other birds, looks cute, very fluffy, copes with hot and cold well, lays nice pink eggs. Doesn't like mud much because of feathered feet so needs a fairly dry run. Great for beginners.

 

[Oldblue]

We are planning on making the coop itself either 4'x4' or 4'x5' depending on what chickens we decide on. The attached (predator proof) run will be at least 16'x4' with an option for more if we think we need it. We have a weird, narrow space right now, which I think will work. My husband really, really doesn't want to dig up and move our sprinklers around.

I'm mostly worried about fence-hopping because our one side neighbors have no fence, so the chickens would be free if they went that way, and the other side neighbors have weirdo, spastic dogs who bark at everything. They assure me their perfect angels would never eat a chicken, but I still don't trust them

 

[RShayne]

By coop do you mean Hen house is going to be 4'x4'? Saying coop some on this site will get their panties in a wad and start replying you can only have 1 chicken with that size coop.

Is the run going to be covered and can it be setup to block wind? Honeymooned at Estes Park (just to be different) in late fall, dang you guys got some wind! Wind chill is going to be your major issue.

If you are dead set on getting something pretty you might consider an Electric Poultry Pen Netting when you have your girls out during the day and put it up afterwards.

You had issues with a mean duck, do you know the breed and was it guarding a nest or young? We had a Peking hen, as soon as she found 3 eggs together she would go broody (try to hatch them) and get really mean. Pekings are bad mothers but this hen took it to the next level (2 hour breaks off the nest) ever egg would go bad and I would have to dispose of them, wait until you pick up a rotten egg and it explodes in your hands.

 

[NatJ]

We are planning on making the coop itself either 4'x4' or 4'x5' depending on what chickens we decide on.

Just make it the bigger choice: 4' x 5'
No matter what kind of chickens you decide to get, a bit more space is a good thing. If you could easily go to 4' x 6' or even 4' x 8', that would be even better.

There will probably be plenty of winter days when it's better for the chickens to just stay inside--and extra space will make a big difference then. (Even if it's only a small part of the year, several weeks in a row can feel like FOREVER if there isn't much space!)

You are worried about whether chickens will stay inside a 3.5' fence when you're outside with them. I'm pretty sure silkies will stay in (because they cannot really fly), but I'm not sure about anything else.

If you don't want silkies, your next-best choice would be big, heavy, fluffy chickens. They just don't fly as well as little ones.

So cochins could be a good choice. I have a personal preference for chickens without feathers on their feet, but many people find that they do just fine.

Silkies and Cochins are prone to going broody. When a hen is broody, she does not want to come play, or scratch in the yard. She just wants to sit on the nest and be left alone. So broody hens are not much fun.

If you want big chickens that go broody less often, you could try Orpingtons, Jersey Giants, or Australorps.

Any kind of chicken (except silkies) will probably fly to the top of the fence, especially when they are a few months old (like teenagers testing boundaries). But they will often sit on the top and look around before deciding which side to come down, which gives you a chance to get them home again. (Stand to one side and use a long stick to lightly tap or push one side of the chicken, to encourage them to go back INside the fence.) When they finish growing up, they usually settle down a bit, and become less adventurous.

It is often fun to have several breeds, because each is a bit different and because that makes it easy to recognize each individual chicken.

I'm glad you're planning ahead--it can help avoid so many problems!
(For example: if you walked into a store and bought some cute little Leghorn chicks, and only discovered later that they fly really well.)

 

[lomine]

Build the coop and run as big as you can from the start. You'll be glad you did. A 4x4 coop would be the minimum space needed for 4 chickens. If you cover your run in the winter, it will help with those winter cold spells.

I'm in Peyton, CO and have two LF cochins. One goes broody a lot and the other has never gone broody in 3 years. I have never had a problem with ice on their feathered feet. I don't have a covered run; mine free range on several acres. I don't cuddle my chickens but both of them are calm and can be handled easily. They both seem to prefer the lower roosting bars so I don't think they can jump that high. However, they could easily out maneuver me so I would cover in gaps in fencing while they are out. Just some temporary net fence would work if you're out there watching them. Or the panels from a dog exercise/play pen that you can easily put up and take down.