Backyard Poultry Forum

Hi people, I need to get another pullet pretty quickly to keep my 13 week old Salmon Faverolles company. They will go in with other bantams (Pekins, Light Sussex, Crossbreed) when they are big enough to join the grown up girls.

We chose the little Fav for the placid reputation, and the key words 'low pecking order' in the breed description! This is because our foray into the world of Araucanas was not a success. Our Pekins have been terrified half out of their wits by the Araucanas and I want the new birds to be non-challenging.

I want to get another breed that is low pecking order, placid and child-friendly and easygoing but hoping for a few more eggs as well. I'm tempted to get a second Fav as she's extraordinarily docile, but I gather Langshans are the way to go for top egg production, or Australorps.

So firstly, does anyone know if these breeds (bantam Australorp, bantam Langshan) are likely to be easy-going with the flock when they reach maturity?

And secondly does anyone have suggestions of other breeds that are similarly placid? Bantam Brahmas? Hard to find in Victoria, but think I can get one later in Feb. Worth the wait or just grab something else sooner? And do Brahmas lay well or not?

By the way, we don't want Silkies, Wyandottes or more Pekins (lovely though they are) and our Light Sussex is top ranking here, and not what I'd describe as placid. Though she's great.

Cheers, Judy

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Staffordshire Bull Terrier, a tripawd Beagle mix, 2 Pekins, a Bantam Light Sussex, a Bantam Salmon Faverolles, a Bantam Australian Langshan, a Bantam Plymouth Rock, a Bantam Brahma, a Bantam Australorp, a hive of bees and a family of boys.

If you get a young langshan or bantam australorp they are both good layers and will all get on pretty well together.

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Erika

Plymouth Rocks are pretty placid

It's unfortunate that your experience with Araucanas wasn't a success. I've found that the few Araucanas we've had have been very agreeable to slotting into the main flock without issue, and definitely not challengers for top spot. Always with at least one Pekin in our flock at the time, and also with Belgian Bantams (either d'Uccles or d'Anvers depending on when) that the Araucanas have all got along with well. All our Araucanas were very chilled out with other chooks. It's sad that your Pekins were freaked out.

I think that each of the breeds we've had have varied in personality depending on the individual chook. We have Australorp bantams longest, and have a fantastically benevolent leader of the flock in one of them, a slightly bossy second in command who is getting more narky the older she gets, and a particularly timid one. We have bantam Aussie Langshans who are all pretty relaxed, although all of those arrived into the flock late in the piece so I suspect that has impacted on their position. If I compared our three Australorps to the three Langshans, the Langshans are more alike in their demeanour & generally relaxed. I've never seen the Langshans have a go at our current Pekin, whereas our one narky Australorp has taken great delight lately in hassling her from time to time... nothing serious, but just annoying & becoming more frequent. Our Pekin is certainly not afraid of any of them & doesn't always back down which doesn't help her cause.

We have d'Anvers that are confident but completely docile to the other chooks for the most part. They never start a fight, but if another chook picks on them they'll stand up for themselves with vigour. I particularly love their smaller eggs. They're not known for being good egg layers. Despite this, between the two of them we've been consistently getting at least one egg a day even when other breeds are moulting. I'm rather partial to their 25 gram eggs, which are the perfect size for me & just adorable. They're a pleasant, people-loving chook in our experience. Reading I've done regarding d'Anvers & of d'Uccles indicates that d'Uccles are more docile than their clean-legged cousins. I haven't found that. I have found that the d'Anvers are a more confident breed than d'Uccles, but not so much that most people would notice, I would imagine. Either are lovely. I have found the d'Anvers lay better than the d'Uccles. I don't know if that's just due to the particular lines we bought our birds from. I'd be surprised if your Pekins were afraid of the Belgian Bantam breeds.

We have bantam Leghorns, all of whom get along well with the Pekin & are brilliant layers. The four we have are incredibly different in personality. To people, two are as friendly as the Australorps, one is a bit stand offish, and the fourth won't let you near her to the point where even picking her off the roost in the dark to worm her is a drama. We've come to an understanding, she & I. To other chooks, three are always lovely. One is mostly lovely, but if a new chook is introduced, or if she's in a foul mood, she'll have a brief set to with the new arrival. The chook that hates people getting near her is not the same one that has a go at new chooks. It's one of the two friendliest to people that gets annoyed at new arrivals. So a real mix there. I reckon bantam Leghorns are highly underrated as a backyard layer & the oft-repeated myth that they're "flighty" is a self-fulfilling prophecy. People that get them often figure that they're a flighty breed, so treat them accordingly, and then they are flighty. The type of people more likely to get them are often those who just want layers & aren't going to spend time with them, so they never get to realise just what a friendly breed they can become. Treat them as you would a friendly breed... spending time with them, handling them, talking to them, and they are brilliant (bar my banshee chook who was sent to test my ability to worm a screaming, wriggling target... seriously, she sounds like a strangled goat when I hold her, without pausing for breath). I've been asked from time to time why I keep her... I keep her because she's lovely & she lays like the clappers whilst eating like a sparrow (or like a bantam Leghorn, to be precise) ! She gets on great with other flock members. It's just that she doesn't get on with people. I know how she feels !

Good luck in figuring out what to get !

Thank you everyone.

Winglet, that made very interesting reading! I love hearing about chicken personalities. We might have got a Leghorn (or indeed a Plymouth Rock, although I'm not sure from where) if we'd had a chance to read it before we went shopping on Saturday afternoon, but I knew I needed a buddy for the Fav quickly, so went off and bought a Langshan as I knew where to get one.

She's NOT going to be friendly with us, I suspect. She's quite flighty (and with terribly sharp claws), although she obviously hasn't had any handling, not sure this would make a difference. We'll see. The Fav had not been handled at all, but after 1 day was tame, and after less than a week, she flies up to my shoulder or arm if I go into the run, and stretches out in my lap if I sit down! Extraordinary. She makes even the Pekins look standoffish. She doesn't even do it for food. Just for being near me.

My son has called the Langshan Princess Leia. So hopefully she lives up to the name and is a brilliant layer

Thanks again, people.

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Staffordshire Bull Terrier, a tripawd Beagle mix, 2 Pekins, a Bantam Light Sussex, a Bantam Salmon Faverolles, a Bantam Australian Langshan, a Bantam Plymouth Rock, a Bantam Brahma, a Bantam Australorp, a hive of bees and a family of boys.

Just an update on the two newest members of the family.

Our Bantam Langshan has just started laying, has become very tame (much to our surprise) and is an absolute delight! Soft, sweet tempered with a cooing little voice, and very easy going with all the other hens, she is a roaring success. She's also the only one of seven who is laying, so hooray for Princess Leia!

Our Bantam Salmon Faverolles is very large on personality, and (dare I say) cheek. With a much less soft personality, and spoiled rotten as a young thing, she is likely to fly up onto your head if she wants a taste of what you're eating, and will try to get up into anything you are doing if she feels she is being unfairly excluded... particularly if it involves cuddling another chicken. She's raucous and friendly, with a habit of chasing wild birds around the garden at top speed just for fun and is not nearly as low in the pecking order as she should be. Having said that, she has a lot of cheek, but is no bully. No eggs yet.

It's a pity our little Langshan is so quiet about laying and doesn't announce herself as this might inspire the others to join in.

All in all, we are very impressed with both breeds and would highly recommend them. I'll wait and see how the Fav goes before I recommend her as a layer (As a dual purpose bird, I suspect she'll be no better than our Pekins at laying) but I'd certainly recommend her as a pet. And the Langshan is a sweet little ripper.

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Staffordshire Bull Terrier, a tripawd Beagle mix, 2 Pekins, a Bantam Light Sussex, a Bantam Salmon Faverolles, a Bantam Australian Langshan, a Bantam Plymouth Rock, a Bantam Brahma, a Bantam Australorp, a hive of bees and a family of boys.

And one further update, the Fav turned out to be quite a good layer and the eggs are really huge. We've had several favs since the original post and all are ridiculous and loveable birds. The Langshan is still laying like mad. But I've since had to separate the flock into big bantams and small bantams because the favs were bullying one of the Pekins. It didn't help at all that they are heavy and tall compared to the Pekins. But now we have two separate flocks, at least I can buy a D'Anvers or D'Uccle without worry if I want to Winglet, and put them in the little girl pen.

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Staffordshire Bull Terrier, a tripawd Beagle mix, 2 Pekins, a Bantam Light Sussex, a Bantam Salmon Faverolles, a Bantam Australian Langshan, a Bantam Plymouth Rock, a Bantam Brahma, a Bantam Australorp, a hive of bees and a family of boys.