Turkens and showgirls are at the top of my least favorite breed list, but I am basing that on appearance. I have never had any so am not sure about temperament, but they would not fare well here. We get a lot of snow in the winter.
Not a fan of cuckoo marans, either. We have had one hen that was downright MEAN to everybody else in the flock, and she was a hatchery stock cuckoo marans.
BTW, not all hatchery birds are crappy. I've met people who've done well at shows, etc., with hatchery stock. In fact, of all the birds in my flock, the only ones that don't drop like flies are the hatchery birds. All my breeder barnevelders except 4 have died by the time they were a month old, and I've had about 10. I have a lot of mixed breed chickens in my flock that are kinda funny looking, but they're hardy and robust. As long as they lay me yummy eggs that I can sell, I'm not too particular.
White faced black Spanish are my absolutely favorites in so far as appearance... they're just so strikingly gorgeous! I have 16 of them. Well, really only 15, but one is a cross-beak and is missing an eye. I just kept her because even with her disadvantages, she's vigorous, healthy, curious, and really sweet.
