If it's a fishtank atmosphere you are after, then go for it. This is a hobby after all! I was merely sharing my own bias for a more orderly chicken-yard. I have actually said no to people trying to give me excess cluckers on those grounds (I know, hard to believe) and the last time I got all glassy-eyed over chickens was...well... I never have, come to think of it. I did cry, though, when my entire flock was wiped out by my eff-ing devil dogs.
Understand, too, that unlike many here, I feel chickens should DO something besides run amok and look "cute" - I've never called them 'babies' or put a diaper on even one bird. Eggs are their first job in my yard, meat coming second when laying plays out. A homogenous flock proves more manageable in these regards. You can get there with a ragtag grouping, but it is more troublesome to do so.
Just out of curiousity, why not bantams? From what people say on here, they're just as nice as standard breeds. And as for the leghorns, we've decided against that already, but I've never known them to be aggresive, just nervous and flighty.
Its not the birds - tis the pesterful small chiclren that are the issue. Chilluns have an uncanny ability to disturb chickens with their eye-level, rapid movements, shrieking and penchant for tossing things at chickens when you aren't looking. Now add in birds with nervy dispositions and you might find the birds to be more noisome and flighty than otherwise. Bantams and Med breeds are best kept under quiet conditions, as a rule.
Having reared five children and more chickens than I can count, I feel qualified to make these statements. Too, I recommend you be careful about laying stock in what someone tells you about THEIR experiences with this or that breed... since they wil not be duplicated in yours. This includes MY comments, too.
But one thing rings clear in all this: No matter how angelic you believe your yunggins to be, it is unlikely that your flock would agree with your assessment if they could speak for themselves.
As always, YMMV.
Understand, too, that unlike many here, I feel chickens should DO something besides run amok and look "cute" - I've never called them 'babies' or put a diaper on even one bird. Eggs are their first job in my yard, meat coming second when laying plays out. A homogenous flock proves more manageable in these regards. You can get there with a ragtag grouping, but it is more troublesome to do so.
Just out of curiousity, why not bantams? From what people say on here, they're just as nice as standard breeds. And as for the leghorns, we've decided against that already, but I've never known them to be aggresive, just nervous and flighty.
Its not the birds - tis the pesterful small chiclren that are the issue. Chilluns have an uncanny ability to disturb chickens with their eye-level, rapid movements, shrieking and penchant for tossing things at chickens when you aren't looking. Now add in birds with nervy dispositions and you might find the birds to be more noisome and flighty than otherwise. Bantams and Med breeds are best kept under quiet conditions, as a rule.
Having reared five children and more chickens than I can count, I feel qualified to make these statements. Too, I recommend you be careful about laying stock in what someone tells you about THEIR experiences with this or that breed... since they wil not be duplicated in yours. This includes MY comments, too.
But one thing rings clear in all this: No matter how angelic you believe your yunggins to be, it is unlikely that your flock would agree with your assessment if they could speak for themselves.
As always, YMMV.
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