Love the coop! Wish you could come make mine.
Im new to chickens too, but have a ton of them, various breeds. I have 3 polish out of my original batch that are approx 8 wks. Out of my RIR's, Orpingtons, Australorps and bantam Cochins, the most gentle and friendliest are the Orps, cochins and RIR's...in that order. And 1 of my RIR's has turned out to be a roo!
I am seriously thinking of selling the trio of polish. I love how they look, but I think 1 is a roo and he absolutely DOES NOT like being touched...and right now I have to pick them up to transport outside during day and bring back in at night. My kids are part of taking care of the birds, and I dont want them (or myself) to get torn up by one. And I dont want any that hate being touched.
The bantam cochins are very docile and gentle. My silkies are gentle and dont mind being picked up. My wyandottes dont like it so much (they are about a month old).
The polish, even when we first got them as little chicks, seemed very standoffish and didnt like being messed with compared to the other breeds.
Ive read that black/red stars or sex links are docile and friendly and really good brown egg layers.
As for killing the chickens, I plan on having some in the freezer. When I ordered my silkies, the hatchery sent 10 boy as packing peanuts. Well I dont have enough room for so many roos, and they are already starting to get crazy with each other. Now I KNOW I cant do it. But I found someone who will butcher and dress for $2/bird. I figure I didnt pay for these and you cant buy a whole chicken at the store for $2, so works for me. And I dont know how many roos will come out of all the ones I hatched and am hatching.
