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

[SegiDream]

I have chickens that can fly a little. In my case it is great ti have free ranging chickens who are able to flee from dogs and other predators during day-time.

I have a covered run of 15m2 (10’ x 15’?) for my small bantams. If necessary they can stay in the coop+run whole day. When nobody is at home they stay inside. If possible we let them free range a few hours each day.

The run has predator-bird netting on top and proven to be safe for 5 years now. To keep the chickens in and keep predators out (during daytime).

P.s. I love my chickens. No reason not to want Dutch bantams or naine de Tournaisis in the future. The Dutch are friendlier, the Tournaisis are better layers. Because I am curious I prefer trying another bantam breed next year. Reading about silkies and polish I definitely wont buy fertile eggs of those feather balls.

Honestly my silkies weren't too too bad. I said I wouldn't keep them again mostly because they don't fit into our egg/meat/free range needs and wouldn't earn their keep. I'd say they're tolerable if you want a pet and don't mind getting pecked 20 times while collecting eggs (small ones) and going the extra mile to protect them from predators. Their drama was funny to watch sometimes. Mine didn't like to roost despite low roosts and encouragement, and they preferred to lay their eggs on the ground instead of the nesting boxes. Little busy bodies doing their own thing. It wound up being their demise when something broke into the chicken house overnight and picked off my last few silkie hens.

 

[Alissa802]

Mean rooster?? I had one that was the spawn of Satan! I'll never tolerate a nasty rooster again. Check out his normal "demeanor". This was Cody:

View attachment 2127920
If he could growl and roar he would have!!

 

[noregerts]

How on earth would I keep their area dry.

Unless there’s a drought that is

They are in the highest part of the yard and have 400+ square feet of Fort Knox run but it’s still going to get rained in

My feather-foot varieties just have dirty feet sometimes, it doesn’t bother me or them.

 

[Cazook]

i have a leghorn that is very flighty and refuses to lay anywhere but secret nests (which change on the regular). i think she even encouraged the others to start laying in these nests as i find 3 eggs in there sometimes (any tips on stopping this behaviour btw? tried locking them in coop for a whole day but they just laid under the roosts and smashed up the eggs. a messy nightmare). she also sings all day which can get annoying. i like her but i wouldn't get another, lol

 

[rascal66]

Not to say I wouldn't have it again, but with my short time having silkies, ive learned that they are quite sensitive and higher maintenance. They don't roost, and they tend to be a bit not so hardy? They were cute, but with our mucky weather, its just unpractical unless they have a nicely covered area. I think the only thing i did like, was their personality and their carcass size. (We sadly ended up processing the roos.) For bantams, they pack a nice little breast!
Wanted to add: since I free range my birds, I ended up trimming up their head poof to help them see better since it was covering their eyes way too much. But when it rained they tend to get a bit soggy. :s

 

[Peppercorngal]

i have a leghorn that is very flighty and refuses to lay anywhere but secret nests (which change on the regular). i think she even encouraged the others to start laying in these nests as i find 3 eggs in there sometimes (any tips on stopping this behaviour btw? tried locking them in coop for a whole day but they just laid under the roosts and smashed up the eggs. a messy nightmare). she also sings all day which can get annoying. i like her but i wouldn't get another, lol

Oh, the Leghorn! I have four and they are the most mischievous of all my chickens. They climb the trees and get on top of the run and coop. They obviously are finding treasure up there! They have encouraged the other chickens to try that too, but the others are too heavy to make it! It's so funny to see the big chickens jump as high as they can flapping, flapping, flapping their wings, only to fall back down to the ground, *plop*. I have found the leghorns to excellent layers of large eggs, but very independent and a little spooky of things at times. They are a favorite of our rooster, Harvey, too!

 

[NatJ]

i have a leghorn that is very flighty and refuses to lay anywhere but secret nests (which change on the regular). i think she even encouraged the others to start laying in these nests as i find 3 eggs in there sometimes (any tips on stopping this behaviour btw? tried locking them in coop for a whole day but they just laid under the roosts and smashed up the eggs. a messy nightmare).

To fix the egglaying issues, you could try any of these:
--make sure there are enough nests, they're big enough, have clean bedding, have some fake eggs
--maybe add some cardboard boxes on the floor of the coop as temporary nests to see if the chickens prefer them larger, smaller, in a different corner, less competition, etc.
--lock all the chickens in for a week or so, giving them more days to perhaps form a new habit
--consider making chicken soup out of any hens that don't get with the program

 

[chickenlittle21]

We don't like most of the sexlinks the Red Star in particular. Beautiful birds, great layers but they don't weigh enough and can fly like crazy, even if their wings are clipped. We call them the ninja chickens. I once saw one run and flap it wings and jump into the chain link fence. It made it about 6' high, then grabbed on with its feet and scaled the rest of the way over. We have about 60 chickens and an acre fenced, the only ones that get out are the handful of Red Star sexlinks. We rotate our flock on pasture in the summer and use electric poultry netting, that didn't keep them in either.

Last month we made the Chicken Brig, it is completely fenced with a fishing net stretched tight over the top and lashed down. They are not super happy, but staying put and not tearing up our gardens anymore. We've decided the fat bottom girls like Orphingtons and Australorps are better for us. The Brahmas are great can't seem to fly at all, but they are not super high egg production.

Anyone have ideas on how to keep chickens from flying out? I thought maybe putting a ball and chain around their leg. lol.

My red sex link has a pretty big build and doesn't fly often. I love red sex links and recommend them for their friendliness and steady egg production.

 

[Franklinridgefarms]

I haven’t been impressed with the Golden Comet/Red Star chickens. While I haven’t had a lot of them I have had 3-5 of them at a time maybe 3 different times and from different hatchery sources. They lay great and are early to start laying. My issues are with egg quality and longevity of the birds. It seems like often they will lay eggs that are misshapen and or have places of excess shell material and the shells are thinner than the other breeds of chickens. I have always fed a layer ration and kept grit and oyster shells free choice. Another issue which I guess is tied to their high egg production is that they seem to start dying off before they are 2 years old.

 

[Peppercorngal]

I haven’t been impressed with the Golden Comet/Red Star chickens. While I haven’t had a lot of them I have had 3-5 of them at a time maybe 3 different times and from different hatchery sources. They lay great and are early to start laying. My issues are with egg quality and longevity of the birds. It seems like often they will lay eggs that are misshapen and or have places of excess shell material and the shells are thinner than the other breeds of chickens. I have always fed a layer ration and kept grit and oyster shells free choice. Another issue which I guess is tied to their high egg production is that they seem to start dying off before they are 2 years old.

I have seven Red Stars that are 3 years old now and have had no flying issues and they are the best layers in my flock. Not a day sick, no reproductive issues either. I don't expect them to live to be 10 or anything, but so far real good!