May I add that in addition to Plymouth Barred Rock, the Dominique is also a gentler quieter outgoing friendly dual purpose bird with all the heritage features of the PBR. In fact, the founding breed of PBR was the Dominique and then game bird was added to the breed history to make a bigger bird. The Doms are not as huge as the PBR so will be easier on the feed bill. These birds are talkers and conversationalists but not all-out squawkers. Great around humans and if you need it Doms will brood their own young. We've had PBRs and Doms and in the end preferred the heritage Doms.
Production Reds are nosy and curious and friendly to humans. Two of them accepted an adult White Leghorn in their coop - but then the Leghorn was a confident alpha type. The Legs are independent constant foragers, easy on the feed bill, intelligent as they can learn several simple voice and hand signals, stay in an established fenced area, lay a mountain of eggs well into their 4th and 5th years of production. Because of their huge floppy comb their vision is obstructed causing them to be more skittish. We decided to get a Buff Leghorn rather than another White or Brown Leg because the Buff Leg is calmer in temperament and has a smaller straight comb that only flops slightly. Prod Reds and Legs normally do not brood.
Never had a Wyandotte as I've read too many reviews on how unpredictable their temperaments are. My egg seller friend won't have them either so I've stayed away from them. Gorgeous eye candy though.
Ameraucanas (true Ameraucanas and not Easter Egger) are an interesting breed. They mature slowly. They are not known broodies. It takes them a while to get really comfortable in their surroundings. We thought our APA Ameraucana was the dumbest thing on the planet until she matured. She was the kookiest spookiest flock member and stayed clear of everything and everyone until she was certain about what and who was safe to be around. She is our most alert, prolific, foraging girl in the yard. She's not interested in flock politics, loves a crustacean diet along with sweet potatoes, turmeric, cranberries or cranraisins, quinoa and corn as her South American history denotes. This breed no matter how kooky or spooky she is growing up, will always be a sweet-natured bird. We socialized her indoors for a couple weeks and she is very trusting of us. She is a fantastic flyer but stays in the yard. She loves chasing away the stray cats out of the yard. She is not normally a broody breed so she's a prolific layer of LG to XL blue eggs. Our friend says her Ameraucana as well as her Easter Eggers are her sweetest, most talkative birds in her egg laying flock. She loves how nice they are to both humans and other birds. OurFlyBabies.com said they keep Ameraucanas because the breed readily accepts orphans and injured birds into their flock where other breeds may not be so willing. This was enough of a testament to us to invest in a true APA Ameraucana and we are so glad we did.
