Your friendly chickens opinions

[Roseynose]

Hi I am thinking of making my flock just a bit bigger. I was thinking of a olive egger and a Sapphire gem as I've heard they are very docile. I want to be careful about what I add so all the chickens will play nice. Can anyone tell me on there experience with Sapphire gem and olive eggers? Or other easy going chicken breeds?
Thanks

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Adding any new bird to your flock will change the dynamics and the pecking order. So there is never a guarantee that everyone will play nice in the coop. With that caveat:

Olive eggers are hybrids, meaning they are a mixture of 2 breeds. Those breeds vary to get an olive egger, so temperaments will vary. Also within any type of hybrid, temperaments will vary. Several of the breeds used can be somewhat assertive verging on aggressive, in my personal experience, Welsummer and Marans. My olive eggers are hybrids of Barnevelder and Cream Legbar and have excellent temperaments.

I've not had Sapphire Gems, so I can't comment personally on them. They are a new breed, meaning more standardization, of 2 Rocks, in particular a Blue Plymouth Rock and a Barred Plymouth Rock. Rocks tend to be very inquisitive and mostly friendly. I find they are the ones that will follow you in the yard just to see what you are up to. I enjoyed my Barred Rocks. Some can get more aggressive, but not normally.

If you want blue eggs, I can say that Cream Legbars are a bit flighty but not aggressive. My CLs tend to be in the middle of the pack.

If you want brown eggs, I can say that Barnevelders typically are very sweet birds. They tend to stay in the middle of the flock as well.

My thoughts
LofMc

 

[Roseynose]

Adding any new bird to your flock will change the dynamics and the pecking order. So there is never a guarantee that everyone will play nice in the coop. With that caveat:

Olive eggers are hybrids, meaning they are a mixture of 2 breeds. Those breeds vary to get an olive egger, so temperaments will vary. Also within any type of hybrid, temperaments will vary. Several of the breeds used can be somewhat assertive verging on aggressive, in my personal experience, Welsummer and Marans. My olive eggers are hybrids of Barnevelder and Cream Legbar and have excellent temperaments.

I've not had Sapphire Gems, so I can't comment personally on them. They are a new breed, meaning more standardization, of 2 Rocks, in particular a Blue Plymouth Rock and a Barred Plymouth Rock. Rocks tend to be very inquisitive and mostly friendly. I find they are the ones that will follow you in the yard just to see what you are up to. I enjoyed my Barred Rocks. Some can get more aggressive, but not normally.

If you want blue eggs, I can say that Cream Legbars are a bit flighty but not aggressive. My CLs tend to be in the middle of the pack.

If you want brown eggs, I can say that Barnevelders typically are very sweet birds. They tend to stay in the middle of the flock as well.

My thoughts
LofMc

Thanks this is great information. I'll reaserch cream legbars and barnevelders too.

 

[pekin queen]

okay i can answer you question on sapphire gems or olive eggers we dont have them in NZ....BUT we do have lots of other friendly breeds that you most likely will have in your country it depend on what you want them for so: eggs, pet, ect, a personal favourite breed (there a bantam breed) is the pekin bantam (also known as Cochin bantams in other country) they are docile and are good broody's (so dont lay much as they sit on eggs so much but not ALL of the time) but they are so pretty and come in meany colours i LOVE them

 

[pekin queen]

another breed is the silkie (these come in bantam and standard) the chances are you all ready know about these balls of fluff they have a big crest that obstructs there sight and that helps with there friendliness in my experience raising silkies the bigger the crest the friendlier the silkie they are much like the pekin in egg laying and are grate broody's (like the pekin bantam ) they come in less colour then the pekin bantam but still some very pretty ones such as: splash, paint, buff, blue, self blue (lavender), partridge, red, ect

 

[pekin queen]

okay i can answer you question on sapphire gems or olive eggers we dont have them in NZ....BUT we do have lots of other friendly breeds that you most likely will have in your country it depend on what you want them for so: eggs, pet, ect, a personal favourite breed (there a bantam breed) is the pekin bantam (also known as Cochin bantams in other country) they are docile and are good broody's (so dont lay much as they sit on eggs so much but not ALL of the time) but they are so pretty and come in meany colours i LOVE them

another breed is the silkie (these come in bantam and standard) the chances are you all ready know about these balls of fluff they have a big crest that obstructs there sight and that helps with there friendliness in my experience raising silkies the bigger the crest the friendlier the silkie they are much like the pekin in egg laying and are grate broody's (like the pekin bantam ) they come in less colour then the pekin bantam but still some very pretty ones such as: splash, paint, buff, blue, self blue (lavender), partridge, red, ect

and both of these breeds have feathered feet (silkies have less than pekin bantams)

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I can second that Cochins and Silkies are extremely sweet and often make good pets. They might be a good fit if your birds are extremely chill.

However your concern was making sure the new birds fit into the existing flock well.

In my experience my bantam Cochins, and especially Silkies, were not a good fit for my standard flock. The larger girls constantly harassed these gentle littler birds to the point I created a separate hutch for them.

The feathered feet makes them much slower, and they waddle rather than run, which makes them an easy target for an assertive larger hen and overhead predators, if that is a concern.

From my experience, I cannot recommend them for an established mixed standard flock.



LofMc

 

[Callender Girl]

My Sapphire Gem is a very sweet girl who lays lovely big eggs. Petra shares a coop with a pair of Easter Eggers. Evie and Audrey are not nearly as large as Petra (or her now-deceased sister, Vanna) but are clearly more assertive then she is. Come to think of it, I've never really noticed Petra pecking at anybody.

My experience with with Cochin Bantams varies with the individual bird. Two of the hens are pretty easy going and occasionally get pecked at in the yard. The rooster, Billy Boy, is a total jerk who is trying my patience. Sally, a little barred CB who has a bad leg and consequently hops when she runs, is a take-no-prisoners girl. None of the big girls mess with her, and she chases her would-be suitor away any time he gets romantic notions.

My Wyandottes, a Columbian and a Blue-Laced Red, both tend to be pretty easygoing. The BLRW was housed with Sally and another CB when I got them from a friend who was downsizing. All three got along fine, and Marietta would often protect her little friends from bigger girls; sometimes, she would chase off the offenders as if she thought the CB's were her babies.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[aart]

I want to be careful about what I add so all the chickens will play nice.

Adding docile chickens can be a disadvantage as the existing birds will not be happy about newcomers.
Most important when adding new birds is to have lots of space.

Will you get new chicks or full grown birds?
If older birds, consider biological/medical quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article

Here's some tips about......
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

Good ideas for hiding places:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[Iluveggers]

What breeds are in your current flock? That would help figure out breeds that would get along with them, be docile, but not so much they get picked on.