Is there a breed that you’ve had that you would absolutely not have again?

[AnnaSeek]

I once had a wheaten maran that was super aggressive to humans. When he was trying to attack my dad my dad hit him with a pole twice a the rooster kept coming at him. I am not saying to not get a wheaten maran, just probably don't get a rooster. It might of just been my rooster who was aggressive but... just probably don't get a wheaten maran rooster.

I have a wheaten maren that gets broody all the time. I have to shove her in a cage for a week until she gets over It, as recommended by my vet. We’re currently on our 3rd bout since January. Never again.

 

[Bantie Barb]

I have an adoption bunch from Meyers (Easter egger Jersey giant polish etc) and now 2 brahma and 1 lavender Orpington

I’m just curious if there are any breeds that you would stay away from and why

I know for me I wouldn’t raise silkies again just because they need special accommodation (roosts etc) and didn’t seem to be part of the flock.
I will never raise Frizzles again. They are so aggressive to all the other chickens and would fight to the death if allowed. The hens are also very broodie. Only lay a few eggs and start setting again.

 

[chickenlittle21]

I have a wheaten maren that gets broody all the time. I have to shove her in a cage for a week until she gets over It, as recommended by my vet. We’re currently on our 3rd bout since January. Never again.

Why don't you sell her? Lots of people probably want a broody hen instead of getting an incubator.

 

[leslielbk]

Love this thread! I wouldn't have the Delaware again. I have 3. They make a screechy sound that's hard on the ears. They bully my other breeds, and lay a medium so-so egg. I'm all about egg quality so that matters to me. A peaceful flock matters too.
I've had Rhode island red in the past, no to that as well.
I've more breeds, though, that I'd have again. Over the years I've had 11 different breeds, which isn't alot, but I thought I'd pipe up anyway.

 

[Ellegibs]

I have Orpingtons, Brahmas, Wyandottes, Barred Rocks and Ameraucanas. Never will I get Barred Rocks again. They are nasty witches and like to pick on everyone else. They can be very mean. Orps are the best - friendly and loving.

 

[Uff Da]

I've never heard of Icelandics being considered Mediterranean. Is it because of the Leghorn blood that was introduced? Being they are a landrace, I can see how they would be a perfect choice in Montana!

There is actually no leghorn blood in the Icelandics descended from the RALA conservation flocks. The gene pool is unmixed going back to the 10th century. The reason they are considered a Mediterranean-type breed is because the founder chickens were brought back to Scandinavia by Viking traders from the Mediterranean region. According to some DNA studies, Icies are closely related to Egyptian Fayoumis and Bedouin landrace chickens (as are Norwegian Jaerhons).

Sorry for the thread detour!

 

[equustears]

I have an adoption bunch from Meyers (Easter egger Jersey giant polish etc) and now 2 brahma and 1 lavender Orpington

I’m just curious if there are any breeds that you would stay away from and why

I know for me I wouldn’t raise silkies again just because they need special accommodation (roosts etc) and didn’t seem to be part of the flock.

I was given 10 Ayam Cremanti chicks as a Bday gift a year ago. I found them to be really bigigity and then in the late summer they started dropping like flies. I had beautiful Roos and hens good one day dead or dying the next . Ended up with 2 hens out of 10. And they are goofy. They fly to top of the barn to lay eggs in the eaves ! My coop is new and nest boxes are clean and nice !
my question to you , why would you not have Silkies? I have 12 chicks I’m raising

 

[Willowspirit]

Lakenvelders. Too goofy and flighty.

 

[slukeplass22]

I’m just curious if there are any breeds that you would stay away from and why

Anyone with feathered feet as I'd have to clean the feet. Apart from that, there isn't anything definitive, except for New Hampshire maybe. I had bad luck with my first one and haven't bothered to get any more since.

I also see a lot of comments where one person writes "x breed was mean" and another writes "x breed was nicest breed I've had". I've had both in the same chickens - where initially mean feather-plucking Barred Rocks ended up becoming nice later on. There's two reasons why this happened

- Slowly improving living conditions - new coop with TONS of ventilation, better and better run area, etc.
- Less Barred Rocks to non-Barred Rocks

The latter is almost as important as the former, I think. Each time a BR died, my flock got noticeably more peaceful.

You see, in my experience most BRs are bossy. They like to go out of their way to manage subordinate hens. Sometimes, this involves pecking, which sometimes involves feather plucking (most of the time this is accidental). So if you have a flock of half-bossy and half-non bossy birds as I had, what you have is half of your birds trying to go out of their way to boss their subordinates (including each other) around, which increases feather plucking. It also increases stress, as each hen can't boss and manage as they see fit without a competitor coming and bossing them around. So the less bossy birds you have (proportional to non-bossy ones), the less stressed each bossy bird is, and, the less feather plucking you get. I've also found that with less competition, bossing others around isn't as important to the BRs, and they take time enjoy life a bit more.

So nowadays I balance the flock with a small amount of bossy to non-bossy birds. I'd say around 1-3 bossy to non-bossy is a good rule of thumb (Once the bossies were only 25% of the flock, bald patches of feathers were gone). Rn my ratio is 1-13 bossy to non-bossy, lol. I planned for 1-3, but my other BR and my PR aren't bossy, it turns out.

Also, I know there are aggressive hens who do actually try to hurt other hens. I've never had an aggressive hen, but they are out there. I'm not here to discount other people's experiences, only to report my own findings. Since we all are dealing with living creatures with their own personalities, ymmv.

 

[Milkshakeroo]

I have an adoption bunch from Meyers (Easter egger Jersey giant polish etc) and now 2 brahma and 1 lavender Orpington

I’m just curious if there are any breeds that you would stay away from and why

I know for me I wouldn’t raise silkies again just because they need special accommodation (roosts etc) and didn’t seem to be part of the flock.

I don’t like the skittish breeds. Ancona’s are naturally skittish and hard to tame. She brought up adopted babies as a predator ate her eggs and then all her babies were scared of humans too.