What should i do?

[gamblersclub]

A friend just gave me a coop and my wife and i want to get chickens. Our daughters are 2 yrs old and a 2 months old. We want friendly chickens which the family can be around and produce alot of eggs. We would like to get 12 chicks .A friend suggested Rhode Island reds. Should we get a rooster as we do not want to reproduce for chicks. I heard roosters can be nasty and I DO NOT WANT A NASTY ROOSTER.Any suggestions?

 

[Ema]

I have Rhode islands reds and they are very friendly with my kids, unless they got food in their hands ahahahaha, but in all seriousness they are great.

I do not have a roo, because one I don't want to reproduce my chickens, yes they are great for protecting the flock, but I prefer not to have one, as some can be agressive. the last roo I was around was my grandmothers and it used to fly at me all the time when I was little.

I think you should get those little chicks and raise them and then decide later on if you want a roo or not

Ema

by the way

 

[crtrlovr]

RIRs are fine, but I have found my buff Orpingtons to be less flighty and a bit more docile than my RIRs. The most mellow, laid back hen of all the ones I have is the Jersey Giant hen. She's curious, friendly, and once picked up, loves to be cuddled and talked to.

ETA: the light Brahma hen is also tame; she isn't quite as cuddly as the JG but still is not a "fighter" if you want to pick her up. You might check the Henderson's chicken chart and review some of the breeds to check for characteristics you want (or don't want!) in your girls.

 

[justbugged]

My Salmon Faverolles are very docile. I don't have a roo, because I live in the middle of a suburban sub-division. That and I don't want to listen to the rooster crow either.

 

[oldchickenlady]

I had a RIR roo that wasn't nasty, but I kept him intimidated once he became grown. However, he did tear up a couple of my hens' backs. They both had no feathers and fairly signigicant skin tears that required doctoring. I had 11 hens so it wasn't due to not enough hens. He did protect them and settled hen squabbles and led them all over the property to forage once I let them out of the run, but it wasn't worth it to me to have to deal with treating skin tears on my hens, so I killed him and ate him. I do intend to have another rooster this spring, but I will have a separate 'bachelor pad' pen to put him in when he gets too 'amorous' with the girls. They are neat to have and are so pretty, but you need a separate place to keep them sometimes. I have RIR's and Buff O's. Only a couple of the RIR hens are friendly, but they all come running to me when I go outside because they know I bring treats. Welcome, and have fun with your chickens.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

and

from Ohio. I would go with a bunch of different kinds. The hatchery catalogs will tell you what their temperments are. Good luck.