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 !
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