Small, regular chicken

[DwayneNLiz]

@Sassysouth a bantam EE might be a good choice too, good layers and not a 'true' bantam and fun egg colors!

 

[lazy gardener]

I am in the process of adding. Last year I knew I wanted chickens, but felt so overwhelmed and lost looking at breeds. I saw Red Production at TSC and bought them. I am adding to my chicken run to accommodate more, but still want to be conscious of size. I wondered my current hens size (because I like it) and had a digital kitchen scale and weighed her the other day. She was just under 5 pounds. I bought day old Buff Brahma Bantams and some Silkies this week, but would like to have a couple more the Red Production size, but different. It looks like LegHorns seem to be a smaller, full size breed and good temperments (in general). I would like to look at Easter Eggers, but it seems their size varies greatly (from what i read).

Barnvelders are also a bit of a smaller large fowl bird. And Buckeye's from hatchery aren't really big either. Both are considered docile breeds.

My reds are 18 months. I had 4 and re-homed 3 due to bullying, but that is another topic on another thread. I might try to bring one back, but I am interested in looking at taking my time and trying other breeds. Instead of just having one breed, I would like to have a little mix.

Leghorns, and the other Mediterranean breeds have a rep as being flighty. Leghorns and Red sex links can have a rep as being on the aggressive side as well. My BE's from Cackle are a nice beefy size, though not as beefy as my Colombian Wyandottes. The BE cockerel is massive. So much so, that he's been named Goliath.

I like the idea of a mixed flock. A mixed flock looks very pretty ranging across a lawn! For smaller sized LF birds, I love Dominique and EE. These birds are well matched as far as temperament goes. To OP, you are going to see a lot of variation in published specs regarding weight/egg size/productivity from one source to an other. A lot of that may be based on the particular strain being offered by a certain hatchery. Also bear in mind that a lot of the info is simply an average. YMMV no matter where you get your birds from. When I was starting my first flock, I also wanted smaller sized LF birds, assuming that would translate into less stress regarding spacing in the coop/run. I've found that not to be the case. As long as I provide plenty of space, it matters not whether my birds weigh 4.5 or 7.5#. One thing that DOES factor into the size is the feed conversion rate. You will find that you get the best mileage on feed conversion with a leg horn or a production sex link. It all depends on your goals!!!

 

[Tlmcq]

I also have mixed flock presently of silkies, Isa brown, BSL, SLW, RIR, Australorp, all the way up to a Jersey Giant girl and Light Brahma roo and EE roo and BO roo. My Australorp and Isa brown are same size. My brown Leghorn is a bit smaller but not by much. My BSL are big but not as big as my Brahmas or Jersey Giant of course. My silkies are bigger than Leghorn but smaller than Australorp. It also varies from hatchery stock to show or heritage stock and line they come from. I did also have some lil mille fleur with these guys before and size never mattered to those guys...they ran the show with my big birds...lol. Coop wise I use same rule for size for all breeds no matter how small or large the bird. 4 sq ft each. As far as their run, well they don't have one they roam my 10 acres by day and are secured in coop at night.