Which breed scratches the most?

[Acre4Me]

We have 6 breeds. The ones that scratch the most seem to be the silver laced Wyandotte, Black Australorp, and maybe the barred Rocks.

We have EEs, black Jersey Giant, and Dark Brown Leghorn (DBL). Would not say they excel here. The DBL are skittish and run around more than they scratch or forage, it seems.

We also have broody mamma hen raised chicks (12 weeks old) and they all seem to scratch more than the others did when they were young, but they were taught by a hen at a young age, which seems to have made a big impact on their overall behavior.

 

[Birdsong 82]

Noticed my OEGR scratches up for all his ladies and my reds seem to be the big scratchers in my flock. All of them do but my rooster and reds can get some ground!

 

[1cock2hens]

I have only had 9 different kinds of chicken so far. Most of them would eat all the feed given to them then pick around out in the woods except my rosecomb bantams, I had a la fleche that never ate the feed i gave him but constantly scratched and my standard american games will run straight out in the morning and start scratching away completely ignoring there feed for most of the day.

 

[HuffleClaw]

My red sex links! They never stop scratching!
(Not the best pic of her, but I’ll try agin later):

 

[SarahGfa]

We found the Fayoumis to be bonkers though, and would probably not get them again.

What do you mean by bonkers? I am planning to add some Fayoumi to the flock in the spring.

 

[Compost King]

I am considering Egyptian Fayoumis also. But I am waiting until I have less projects going on. I hear they can be a handful. They mature rapidly and its a trait I would love to use in breeding.

 

[Seaecho]

I only have bantams, and I thought I was weird because I love to watch them scratch! Especially my tiny one pound Serama. She can scratch with the best of them, and it looks hilarious, because she thinks she's a bad ass! My neighbor must think I'm nuts because I laugh at length at it! My bantam cochins and Frizzle also scratch, but the Serama is definitely a pro at it. I could watch it all day long!

 

[SarahGfa]

O yeah... I have Saipans. Their legs are like backhoes. They scratch through roots and rocks no problem.

 

[Shadrach]

Over here the Black Minorcans have a good free range reputation and make good foragers which of course means they scratch.

 

[centrarchid]

It can be variation within a breed. A rooster I outsourced for a genetics project was kept in a mobile pen just like several others. He was particularly quick at disrupting the vegetation and soil he had access to. The pattern was repeated each time I moved the pens. His offspring also stand out as major bioturbators. Even within a breed, genetics can impact tendency to scratch.