Chickens and Children.

[bluemoon]

Our grandson is obsessed with our chickens. He loves to feed them and collect their eggs. Our daughter has a huge back garden with plenty of space, so if I were to have a house and run made for him, what would be the best breed for him to keep? Obviously his mum would be doing the day-to-day care as he isn't old enough for that sort of responsibility, but I know that he'd want to do all he could (under supervision). I'm thinking 3 buff Orpingtons, my daughter suggested banties, but I'm of the opinion that they'd be a bit flighty and when I see Orpies they always look so calm. Any better suggestions? I'd probably buy hatching eggs and let him see them grow from hatching and I'll probably wait until spring so he'll be almost 5 by the time they go to live with him.
Oh, and they've got to be reasonable layers, collecting the eggs is very important to him.

[Bramble-Poultry]

Banties can be flighty but there are several breeds that are not - trouble with banties if you want them for eggs is that the eggs are small and they are not the most prolific of breeds.

Orpingtons are very nice, very placid and don;t require that much space, average number of eggs 100 - 150 per year, same number as you will get from alot of the similar chickens such as cochin, but then the trade off is less flighty and become very firndly as do the cochin.

if you want a good layer you require a utility breed such as sussex or rhode island red or welsummer - or of course a hybrid. If you want a productive hybrid that looks nice try a bluebelle or magpie. (but of course looks are subjective - and this is only my opinion)

[bluemoon]

Thanks, Bramble, we keep utility Rhodies so hatching a few eggs for him will be no problem at all. My other idea is a mixed bag of Sussex so he can tell them apart, but they're not a breed we've ever kept. Small eggs are not a problem, we have a couple of Silkie/Sussex crosses which although they have large fowl as both parents, lay small, bantie-sized, eggs and he loves these.

[Bramble-Poultry]

why not cross your RIR to a Sussex? its a sex linked cross with the males coming out yellow the hens coming out brown. good basic hybrid, excellant layers and you will know from day one the boys from the girls so can keep back the boys for the table.

we have an old light sussex here, i will be surprised if she goes through the winter, she is nearly 8 years old! she is quite placid, but can put a turn of speed on when needed. She is a true utility bird though as she is a very large sussex, bigger than i have seen recently at auctions. the sussex i see at auctions these days semms to be about the same size as a large silkie!

oh well, this is why the true light sussex is on the rare breed survival trust register i guess

[Hilary B]

why not cross your RIR to a Sussex? its a sex linked cross with the males coming out yellow the hens coming out brown. good basic hybrid, excellant layers and you will know from day one the boys from the girls so can keep back the boys for the table.

we have an old light sussex here, i will be surprised if she goes through the winter, she is nearly 8 years old! she is quite placid, but can put a turn of speed on when needed. She is a true utility bird though as she is a very large sussex, bigger than i have seen recently at auctions. the sussex i see at auctions these days semms to be about the same size as a large silkie!

oh well, this is why the true light sussex is on the rare breed survival trust register i guess

Of course you have to cross a Rhodie cockerel to a Sussex hen to get the sex linkage (I know you know this BP, but maybe not all reading it would).
On average, the bigger the breed, the more placid the temperament (in most species, which is why a St Bernard is more placid than a Jack Russell), but in all things there are exceptions to such rules......

[RedThorn]

www.Hens4Homes.co.uk | We supply all your chickens needs
Click on the coral reef pic... our girl is exceptionally tolerant of my daughter and gets carried around a lot! She's a smallish girl who lay's pale brown eggs and so far been a good layer

perhaps someone else can actually identify the cross (fingers crossed)

[di]

We hatched our Buff Orpingtons because we wanted a breed that's good with children.So far so good,they are both really friendly,even though they're only 16 or 17 weeks old.
I'd say the three disadvantages are,if you're hatching your own they take forever to be able to sex for definate(although I had a sneaky suspision which was which quite early on).They aren't great layers & apparently they go broody at the drop of a hat.But their fluffy/friendliness does kind of make up for it.
We've got a few Brahma crosses that we've hatched & next year I'd like to try some Pure Dark Brahmas,although huge they are pretty docile birds & I think(although not sure?)they lay more eggs.
All that said,our Isa's are great with the kids & are more than happy for them to pick them up for cuddles etc.

[RichmondHens]

If you are planning to have them from eggs onwards then with plenty of handling most breeds will become hand tame. Handle them daily from day one onwards (obviously not excessively in the first week) and they should stay tame for life. (My legbars are supposed to be flighty but mine are SOOOO tame and today I'm trying to stop them constantly coming into the kitchen!) Teach your grandson how to be gentle with them and how to hold them correctly and all will be well.

Orpingtons are gentle but are quite large birds for a 5 year old to manage, especially if he wants to pick them up, but you could go for the bantam version.

[its hilly]

If you are planning to have them from eggs onwards then with plenty of handling most breeds will become hand tame.

Yup, true. My quietest girls are my e-bay specials Which are probably Orp x silkie or cochin, but they have been handled daily from hatching.
I would go for something middle sized that you've raised or had from chick and handled daily. At least if you use your own x or pure hatching you'll be able to see which ones he likes best, and which are quietest for him.
My first cockeral was a buff orp x, and was super friendly. But if a five yo tried to pick him up it would be a struggle as he was so big. Beak and childs eyes would be quite close too. My banty Orps are just as friendly, but MUCH noisier. (although that could just be luck of the draw) How about crossing your good Rhody cockeral with an orp hen? Laying, fluff and friendly!

[Hilary B]

If you are talking about HENS, almost anything accustomed to handling from a baby will be tame (although not necessarily placid).
With cockerels, the tame ones, if they do start 'feeling their hormones' are actually more likely to act! One which is not tame may be too scared to attack, a tame one, if he DOES get the urge to attack, will have no such worries.
Many cockerels stay genuinely friendly, but the exceptions are hard to predict (apart from less common in the big breeds) and being unafraid of humans just means their determination to be boss is not curbed.

[Bramble-Poultry]

piccies of my daughter, proving most chickens can be stupidly tame regardless of breed

[Reb Williams]

I grew up with Rhode Islands and loved them - and our Rhode Island cockerels were true gentlemen. If it were my kids, though, I would NOT get a cockerel unless I'd seen him in action with other small children. As others have said on here, they can be unpredictable. What looks like a small peaceful bird to you can be a vicious, terrifying enemy to a small child. The Rhodies were fine but our first cockerel was some kind of sadistic mongrel (no idea of breed). I used to have to carry a stick home from school to beat ours off and he took huge chunks out of me on several occasions. He pretty much kept me prisoner when I was a 5 year old!


Reb
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[kirsty b]

How cute is pic 2?