ok somebody say why about rir's i was thinking i wanted some rir hens.....but not if they are crazy or something. i don't like game chickens....i don't like fighting for breakfast and getting my tale kicked by something two feet tall!
I pretty much like all the breeds I've had, however, if I had to pick one, I would most likely not get Brahmas again. Nothing really wrong with their personalities or their egglaying prowess, though neither my Lt or my Buff are particularly friendly, however, both mine have issues with feather follicles and thickened scales, ingrown foot feathers, etc. They almost look like they have scaly leg mites, but they dont. My Lt Brahma has come into her own in the size dept this year, however. She'll be 2 yrs old in January, I think.
EDITED TO ADD: Asked my DH and not knowing what I had said, he also named Brahmas.
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RIR roos can be nasty, but I love my RIR hen, she's calm, very pretty, lays well and lets my little 2-year-old pet her
Right now, I'm not liking my White Leghorns. I have to walk into my pen to feed/water/collect eggs and they both wait at the front of the pack and come pelting out to attack my shoes, then I reach down to turn the slop pan right-side-up so I can lay out the kitchen scraps and they're right there biting my hands. They're really fast, no matter how fast I move, they're faster. I might like them better after they start laying...
Ameraucanas, Sultans, marans, Japanese bantams. Ameraucanas were vicious and the sultans were too high maintenance, Marans was just plain nuts to the point that i feared going out to do chicken chores, and the japs were tooo fleighty and mean to all the other chickens.
Oh yes, the other breed I would NOT have again -- ISA Browns. I loved mine to pieces but in the first year and a half I lost 2 of the 3 to internal laying type issues and the 3rd seems to have gone that direction too now (still not yet 2 yrs old), although she is still alive and reasonably ok. Sigh. Too high a mortality rate for me, no matter WHAT their personality and their qualifications as layers.
Leghorns, I was so grateful that someone wanted to buy mine when they were here one day. I parted with them in a heartbeat.
They were just too off the wall for me, even when they were chicks they were like that.
I probably would not go out of my way to get black sex links again.
I have some that are 6 months old and just started laying. They are only just now starting to be at all friendly or approachable.
Since day one they were standoffish with people- but aggressive and I mean extremely go out of their way to attack the other hens in the yard aggressive.
They even go after the roosters.
They have their own coop so to avoid problems but it bothers me that it even has to be that way.
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RIR's are great but do not get them from a hatchery. Find a breeders like Julie (Bamachcken) and gets eggs or chicks from them. They are so much sweeter.
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My RIR's are laying machines. Kind of stand-offish and very independent. The 2 roo-lettes that I had earlier this year were rather aggressive to the pullets even at 12-15 weeks.
Can't say what breed I wouldn't have. Have only had RIR's, Black & Red Sexies. They've all been good for me.