[Agatha]

Hello.  I'm contemplating getting some chickens this year, would like a British pure breed if possible.  I have a rescue collie x and I have noticed that when I go to friends who have chickens, some breeds are much more placid than others, which in turn means she gets less excited by them.  So, I wondered if there are any dog-owning henkeepers out there who could advise me on breeds to consider (and breeds to avoid).

Second question:  If I start off with two, will it be possible to add another two in later on or will doubling the group size cause problems?  I know you can add a few to a bigger flock and they sort themselves out, but is there a ratio of new to established hens that you shouldn't exceed? 

[bantam novice]

Hello Agatha,

Welcome to the forum 

It depends on if you are looking for egg layers or meat birds.  If you are looking for a placid egg layer I have found my Orpingtons to be great.  They are lovely to look at and very friendly but not terribly good egg layers though.

My Jack Russell ignores my Silkie and Light Sussex bantams and they ignore him.  They are good egg layers but go broody at the drop of a hat!  Full sized Light Sussex are a good dual purpose bird and have attractive black and white feathering.

I would advise going for three to begin with rather than two.  This is because if one of them dies then you are not left with a lonely only.

You can add two more at any time and we have found here that it can become addictive 

I'm sure some others will be along to advise you.  In the mean time good luck and keep us posted 

[Agatha]

Eggs rather than meat...I don't think I'd have the guts to kill anything myself & I don't know anyone I'd trust to do it for me.  I mostly use eggs for baking so I'm not worried about getting a hugely productive breed, I'll just bake less when they are laying fewer eggs!

Thanks for your suggestions.  Will keep you posted.

[Maeve]

I am a relatively new chicken keeper as I have only been keeping them for about 3 years.  I am sure you will get many replies from very much more experienced chicken keepers on this forum.  I can assure you of one thing, however.  you will not stop at two -or possibly even four. Chicken keeping is addictive!  I now have five and the only constraint on me is the size of my coop and run.  I would strongly recommend that you  think ahead in this regard and have accommodation for more than two, even at this stage.
Secondly, just to reassure you about dogs, we have two chocolate Labs who are completely accepting of the chickens and never bother or chase them when they are all out in the garden together.  We put them on leads and held them when we let the chickens out for the first time.  Every time they tried to move away towards the chickens, the leads were given a gentle tug and they got a firm "no."  That was it. Our neighbour who also keeps chickens, did this with their beagle and she too has never tried to harm either their birds or ours.  However as you rightly say, some breeds of chickens are less placid and are best avoided.
I'm not quite sure what you mean by British breeds so perhaps my recommendation is not really what you are looking for.  My five are a Blackrock, a Welsummer and three pure breed Rhode Island Reds (two large fowl and one bantam), my all-time favourite breed.  RIRs are friendly, calm, good-natured and beautiful.  They are also good layers.  What's not to love about them?  (I would not recommend Welsummers as my one has never really become tame.  She's always been a slightly nervous, skittish bird.  That has been my experience anyway.)  As far as adding new birds is concerned, I would never add a single bird.  I would always add two at a time.
Finally, do look up what Hillfooter has to say about starting chicken keeping.  You will find plenty of thoughtful, practical advice.  

[joyfull]

do you want rare breeds or any pure breeds?
Marrans are good purebreeds, as are welsummers, light sussex, speckled sussex (one of my favourites), buff sussex, rhode islands, orpingtons - in a variety of colours - the list is endless.
In the rare breeds why not look out for something like the Lincolnshire buff?
A couple of good hybrids are the blackrock and the bluebelle 

[chloe]

Battery hens are very docile friendly birds who make great pets and egg layers! 

[Agatha]

Chicken project on hold at the moment as injury has left me temporarily 1-handed, so can't do anything much, but have lots of chicken breeds to consider while inactive!

[Casey76]

See if you can get a hold of the Haynes Chicken Manual.  Lots of good information in there, both on husbandry and on chicken breeds.

Hopefully that will keep you occupied while you recover

Wishing you a speedy recovery

[nic_28]

in my brood, my Buff Orpington and my Light Sussex are the two most friendly girls. They are slower and not so flighty. My Speckeldy is a nightmare! comes flying towards me when I call her, my dog gets excited by her the most.

[Tony H]

what you have to consider is that not all chucks even same breed are not the same i have 4 bluebells 3 of whitch are freindly not flighty and very freindley as the breed should be but 1 is a nightmare she charges up the garden jumps up us if a cat comes into the garden she's the first to charge it, and our poor dog who doesnt bother the chucks gets a peck from her  i have herd that maran are more docile, but as mentioned ex batts are freindley and you can get them for free and make great pets, i have 1 and find her so freindley.

[Touché Turtle]

We have a collie x (her dad was actually a working farm sheepdog) and she's never been any bother to the chooks. In fact she's rather wary of them, as they've tried giving her the odd peck and she's just shied away... She's never tried to chase or worry them.  This has now left her at the bottom of the pecking order!! Honorary chicken!

[Derculees]

in my brood, my Buff Orpington and my Light Sussex are the two most friendly girls. They are slower and not so flighty. My Speckeldy is a nightmare! comes flying towards me when I call her, my dog gets excited by her the most.

Funnily enough my two speckledies are little ladies, although they have given the back of my hand a peck and drawn blood when they know I'm clutching mixed corn. The future queen will be the G/L/Orp. so placid but with authority. The Barred W/dotte is 'nuts' as my previous post. So can't always tell. 

[Lizziechick]

Hi

My Speckledy goes broody alot - I thought hybrids werent supposed to go broody and I was disappointed at first...until I discovered buying fertile eggs on the internet! She is such a good mum! And whenever she's not brooding she lays well and is very friendly (bit noisy though...) I also have a red Sussex, which is one of my speckledy's foster children  - she is friendly enough but has never been as tame as the others, maybe because she was raised by a chicken instead of in an incubator? She hates being handled, I know I should probably pick her up more to get her used to it but it scares her so I tend not to.  She is very pretty though and I'm glad I've got her, because my other chicken, a Bovans Nera (hybrid) died recently - I'd definitely second what bantam novice said about getting three so that you're never left with a lonely one on its own.

[YoungChickenLover]

I like my Burford Browns a lot. They have very pretty black plumage with orange on the neck. They lay dark brown eggs and are friendly and sweet. Orpington are also great.
I, like you, love the idea of some British rare breeds. Here's list of British chickens:
Sussex
Ixworth
Lincolnshire Buff
Norfolk Grey
Orpington
Derbyshire Redcap
Scots Dumpy
Scots Grey
Indian Game
Dorking
Old English Phesant Fowl
Marsh Daisy
Hamburgh

Hope this helps

Weasel and the Chooks