new chickens!

[birdbrain5]

i went to an auction a few days ago and got some chickens! i got a pair of black cochins, dont know if they are bantam or standard. im not even sure if one is a rooster or both hens! they didnt specify, just said pair. most of the time they would say if there were roosters, so i first thought they were both hens, then realized one might not be. thats ok though. then i got 3 rhode island red/ bantam crosses... dont know much about that. they announced them as 3 hens, but when i got home i saw written on thier box 2 roosters and one hen. we will see, they are young so i have no clue yet. when i was a kid we had 3 chickens, a black and white checkered color, which i believe would be a barred rock? an all black, no clue what it was, and what i believe was a rhode island red, or nh red. i really dont know much about chickens, just wanted to get some and collect a few eggs (not real important) and have them roam the farm as my pets. i would like them to be friendly though. did i get the right breed for this purpose? i seem to see that alot of people like the sex links, and commets and barred rocks. in time i will probably add to my group, just wondering what breeds are friendly and will stick around the barnyard rather than run or wander off too far.. im not looking for alot of egg production, mainly just pets! also, if it is a rooster, is it undesirable for my cochin to mate with the rir/bantam crosses?
we thought about getting a couple guiney hens, any advice on those? will a chicken rooster mate with guiney hens?

i probably sound dumb

but any positive advice would be appreciated!

 

[MuranoFarms]

Quote:
First of all

Congrats on your new chooks! I'll just answer the questions I'm sure of: there is no reason why you can't let the cochin and batam mate. If you're just going to eat the eggs, it doesn't matter at all. If you are going to hatch them, you might get some pretty cool looking birds!

yes a guinea and a chicken can mate....most of the time they wont though. They can create guinea/chicken crosses but it's believed they are the mules of the poultry world. Sterile.

Sex links and Golden comets are common. Feed stores tend to stock these ones in the spring and many people pick them up there. Also, Golden Comets are known to start laying around 17 weeks old. Many breed don't start till 20 weeks or more, so comets are quite popular.