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tlynn289 said:
HAHAHAH! I currently don't have any. We are getting ready to move to our homestead and we are still undecided about which breeds would be best for our family. We have 2 small children so docile is preferred. I know my kids want at least 1 Silkie but I've heard mixed things about them being able to tolerate the cold weather we get. We are open to ideas tho ;)
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I've had no trouble with my silkies in the winter. As long as they have shelter from the wind (I plastic my run) and other chickens to snuggle with, they should be fine. I don't recommend hatchery silkies though if you want the most friendly and social ones. True bantam silkie are the sweetest little things! I Also suggest cochins, brahmas, ameraucanas or orpingtons for friendly and social breeds.
 
tlynn289 said:
HAHAHAH! I currently don't have any. We are getting ready to move to our homestead and we are still undecided about which breeds would be best for our family. We have 2 small children so docile is preferred. I know my kids want at least 1 Silkie but I've heard mixed things about them being able to tolerate the cold weather we get. We are open to ideas tho ;)
Click to expand...
There are many breeds suitable for children. One option that is often overlooked is to get a group of bantams. The eggs are small, but perfectly edible, in fact, sort of "child sized", if you know what I mean. Silkies are bantams and I think they are perfectly hardy if you give them proper housing, and that is a bit easier because they are smaller and more sedentary than the large fowl laying breeds. I have an outdoor coop with silkies and cochin bantams that is about 4x6 and has had 10 or so chickens in there for many years. It's not of ideal construction, but still I have never lost a bird due to bad weather and we've had some ferocious winter storms here in that time. I use a cheap tarp on the windward side during the winter to keep out most of the snow. Moving it close to a building with electricity to power a heated dog water bowl has been a huge help. Sometimes they go several days without attention in the winter. Summer is actually harder, you need to ensure they don't run out of water.
Other breeds of bantams I highly recommend:
Cochins (love these, like silkies, but some in prettier colors)
Ameraucanas (little blue eggs and sweet little hens)
D'Uccles (Mille Fleur is a popular color, very pretty little things)
Polish (everyone loves a little mop-top chicken)

The cool thing about bantams is you can fit a whole group into a pen barely large enough for a pair of the larger breeds, so you could build a "bantam" condo with several pens and keep different breeds in each pen. Their small stature makes them kid-friendy, even a mean roo is not a threat if you just stand up and laugh at him. I have a mean lavender Ameraucana roo that tries his best to attack my hand at times. I let him do it, it tickles. I have one mean LF rooster that has drawn blood on several occasions and I go in to that pen always on high alert, but the bantam just amuses me.

So, you should consider bantams for the kids, but if you want lots of eggs, or want to sell them, then you need a pen of large fowl. If you want a pen of purebreds with a roo, I recommend Orpingtons or Welsummers. They seem very mellow. If you aren't keeping a roo, then Cream Legbars are perfect for a laying flock with small children, they are calm and small, but excellent layers, and their blue eggs are eye catching. Most of my Legbar roos have perfect manners, but I've had a few with a "Napoleon complex" that liked to challenge me. They are quite intimidating for their size, it could terrify a child to have them jump up at them. They are immediately cut from the breeding pen, because I'm selecting for nice males, but I don't recommend then for a "first rooster" because of the few bad apples I've had.
 
Auroradream26 said:
I've had no trouble with my silkies in the winter. As long as they have shelter from the wind (I plastic my run) and other chickens to snuggle with, they should be fine. I don't recommend hatchery silkies though if you want the most friendly and social ones. True bantam silkie are the sweetest little things! I Also suggest cochins, brahmas, ameraucanas or orpingtons for friendly and social breeds.
Click to expand...
True. I forgot, large fowl Ameraucanas are also very docile birds. I can't believe I forgot them. I really prefer a male Ameraucana over the Legbars for temperment, and the black roosters are simply stunning when strutting around with their hens in the sunlight.
 
dheltzel said:
There are many breeds suitable for children. One option that is often overlooked is to get a group of bantams. The eggs are small, but perfectly edible, in fact, sort of "child sized", if you know what I mean. Silkies are bantams and I think they are perfectly hardy if you give them proper housing, and that is a bit easier because they are smaller and more sedentary than the large fowl laying breeds. I have an outdoor coop with silkies and cochin bantams that is about 4x6 and has had 10 or so chickens in there for many years. It's not of ideal construction, but still I have never lost a bird due to bad weather and we've had some ferocious winter storms here in that time. I use a cheap tarp on the windward side during the winter to keep out most of the snow. Moving it close to a building with electricity to power a heated dog water bowl has been a huge help. Sometimes they go several days without attention in the winter. Summer is actually harder, you need to ensure they don't run out of water.
Other breeds of bantams I highly recommend:
Cochins (love these, like silkies, but some in prettier colors)
Ameraucanas (little blue eggs and sweet little hens)
D'Uccles (Mille Fleur is a popular color, very pretty little things)
Polish (everyone loves a little mop-top chicken)

The cool thing about bantams is you can fit a whole group into a pen barely large enough for a pair of the larger breeds, so you could build a "bantam" condo with several pens and keep different breeds in each pen. Their small stature makes them kid-friendy, even a mean roo is not a threat if you just stand up and laugh at him. I have a mean lavender Ameraucana roo that tries his best to attack my hand at times. I let him do it, it tickles. I have one mean LF rooster that has drawn blood on several occasions and I go in to that pen always on high alert, but the bantam just amuses me.

So, you should consider bantams for the kids, but if you want lots of eggs, or want to sell them, then you need a pen of large fowl. If you want a pen of purebreds with a roo, I recommend Orpingtons or Welsummers. They seem very mellow. If you aren't keeping a roo, then Cream Legbars are perfect for a laying flock with small children, they are calm and small, but excellent layers, and their blue eggs are eye catching. Most of my Legbar roos have perfect manners, but I've had a few with a "Napoleon complex" that liked to challenge me. They are quite intimidating for their size, it could terrify a child to have them jump up at them. They are immediately cut from the breeding pen, because I'm selecting for nice males, but I don't recommend then for a "first rooster" because of the few bad apples I've had.
Click to expand...

Thank you all!! Our local ordinances says we can't have a rooster :( we are only allowed 6 hens which is fine we are a family of 4. I will definitely be doing my research and checking everything. Are there any issues I should be aware of with housing different breeds together? Or is that a big no no?
 
tlynn289 said:
Thank you all!! Our local ordinances says we can't have a rooster :( we are only allowed 6 hens which is fine we are a family of 4. I will definitely be doing my research and checking everything. Are there any issues I should be aware of with housing different breeds together? Or is that a big no no?
Click to expand...

There should be no issues housing different breeds together. I have bantam silkies mixed in with large fowl and at least 6 different breeds together with no problems.
 
tlynn289 said:
HAHAHAH! I currently don't have any. We are getting ready to move to our homestead and we are still undecided about which breeds would be best for our family. We have 2 small children so docile is preferred. I know my kids want at least 1 Silkie but I've heard mixed things about them being able to tolerate the cold weather we get. We are open to ideas tho ;)
Click to expand...
Open to ideas?? ORPINGTONS they are the world's best chickens. (No biase here, either....they really are)
 
Blarneyeggs said:
Open to ideas?? ORPINGTONS they are the world's best chickens. (No biase here, either....they really are)
Click to expand...

We love our Orpingtons, they were cheap to buy, started laying at around 24wks old, very friendly, lay big eggs and lay almost every day. The down side is you won't have a rooster, and will therefore not be hatching any chicks, so you will have to have a cage on hand to break the Orpington's broody cycle. One of our Orpingtons has never gone broody, but the other has 3 times so far this year. She averages 3 days and nights in the cage before she stops sitting in the nesting box. Then takes 14 days before she starts laying again.

I'm getting the hang of breaking her and our Welbar. If your maximum is 6 chickens and you are looking for high production however, if one of your Orpingtons goes offline for 2 or 3 weeks, then you only get about 6 eggs from her that month. We have a few more than 6 hens and we love how pretty they are like big fluffy clouds so dealing with a broody cycle every now and then isn't a big deal for us. Something to consider when choosing Orpingtons as a breed though. Depends on the individual hen as well as we discovered.
 
@Auroradream26 Here is one the chicks that came from some of your (and Dheltzel) eggs from a few months ago. Is this an SPR? Maybe just a mix?


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