Secret Chickens?

[Dannyo]

My wife still won't let me have chickens, but I want them BAD! I love researching the different breeds and imagining how much fun it will be to watch my very own chasing crickets it the yard. But I had a thought just recently...

Is there a breed that doesn't crow? Maybe a mute chicken?

I thought to myself with the popularity of the backyard flock on the rise, a mute chicken would be perfect.. We would no longer need to worry about the neighbors, and noise ordinances. Then I took off from there, what else would the perfect urban backyard chicken be like..?

>Calm, easily handled. The small backyard flocks we all love so much should have this pet quality.

>Fast maturing. My research leads me to believe that patience (waiting for first eggs) and the extra effort involved in the brooder stage of a chicks life is the hardest for inexperienced chicken owners

>Doesn't scratch much. I've read in the behavior columns of some breeds that they don't scratch as much, this would be handy to save our flower beds and lawns.

>Easy on the feed bill. Even though everyone likes to spoil their pets this would be a nice quality for the backyard farmer keeping a couple of chooks just to "go green"

>quiet. duh

I obviously have no clue, other than what I read, however I would like to see how an Australorp/Dorking behaves.

Any thoughts on this? What's your perfect backyard breed?

 

[Jennings Gamefowl]

mute chicken = hen lol sorry had to say that.. try a RIR hen

 

[Wifezilla]

Calm and easily handled = Faverolle ?

Of course, anything raised from a chick and handled a lot could be a very mellow chicken.

 

[Jennings Gamefowl]

true but just depends on you... i even have game roos that i raised from chicks that are very nice..... sorry for that mute chicken = hen though

 

[Felicitas]

A chicken that doesn't scratch much doesn't exist. You'll have better luck finding a mute rooster.

Chickens scratch all day long. It's how they find food to eat.

 

[Chicky Tocks]

Get silkies! Nobody can resist a silky.

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

Silkie hens are your best bet in my opinion. They dont crow obviously cause they are hens. They are very calm and easy to hold. They do scratch up the ground, all chickens do that. You wont find a chicken that doesnt scratch up the ground. But usually if you put a cat littler box with some sand or something like that in it they will scratch more in it and less on your glass. They like taking dust baths which is why. And I'm sure your wife wont be able to say no to a cute little silkie. Seriously. Who can say no to a silkie? They have to be insain to not like them. lol

But on the down side of this breed. They do take a little longer to mature then other birds. Your best bet would be to get a started bird or an adult bird if you want it to be mature fast.

 

[Dannyo]

Yes the Silkies are super cute, however my wife is not the type easily won over by something cute. She needs to see that the cost of feed is = or less than the cost of feed, that they don't stink (which is her big argument) because her grandpa never cleans his coop ever. And that they will not destroy the backyard that is barely starting to show signs of growing grass again. (it was badly neglected before we moved in.)

My plan was all along only to keep hens, I thought the scratching thing was perhaps a stretch. This forum is just such a handy learning tool I had to ask.

How do I convince her they do not stink when properly cared for?

I like the dual purpose nature of the Orpingtons. plus they are supposed to be kept by low fence. Also looked at the plymoth rock. I'm not wild a bout silkie because they don't have a strong argument on the side of giving back to my table what I give to theirs.

 

[tdgill]

Cats and dogs poo smell worse much worse than chickens. At least so far! hahah. I have 5 chickens in the house right now. Around 2 months old. Not the spot cleanest either. Its surprising to me how little odor there is being that they are pooping machines!!!!

 

[australorpchick]

I currently have covert chickens quarantined in my HOA restricted, nosy-neighbor-looking-over-the-fence, backyard. So far so good. The 22 week old barred rocks whisper. I'm not sure if this is normal for their breed or if they understand the need for discretion. I would advise that you avoid australorps if you don't want diggers. One of my girls diggers better than our lab.