I actually bought some bantam Blue Sumatras because they had the best blue color I've seen in any chicken breed. I wanted to transfer their blue lacing to my d'Anvers - I have been breeding d'Anvers for 20 years or so. My pens are presently set up for the docile d'Anvers and I was not prepared for what I was about to take on. The Sumatras, and their half-breed offspring LOVE to fly. They do not fly because they are afraid or startled. They fly for the pure joy of flying. Meaning, when I open their coops to take care of them, sometimes they all jump and blast past my face before I can react so they can fly up to the top of the house with ease (the house is uphill from the coop - so this is quite a feat). Then they are EXTREMELY difficult to catch and put away, even though the females are tame most of the time when in their coops.
The males are nasty, nasty nasty in the breeding season. Now, d'Anvers males also have a reputation for being aggressive, BUT they are nowhere near as damaging as the Sumatra males. I would call the Sumatra males unpredictable and they hit with heavy blows. I have culled hard against aggression in my d'Anvers and rarely have an issue with it in my strain anymore, but when they are aggressive, the d'Anvers boys always do the classic head bob and wing drag before attacking and usually just go for your ankles. Sumatras will be on the roost one minute and you can be on the other side of the pen - no head bob, no warning and next thing you know they are in your face, which they can easily reach with their adept flight muscles. D'Anvers, by comparison, almost tickle - whereas the Sumatras are quite capable of drawing blood. The Sumatra males might look fine one minute and be raking their claws down your face the next when you are simply leaning in to check for eggs. Also, one of the Sumatra males became abusive to the d'Anvers hens he was with. He had been with them for about a month and then he just turned on them. He pecked off all their comb spikes and was just flogging them, chasing them and ripping their feathers out, for no apparent reason. I had to put him in to mate them once or twice a day and then promptly remove him to a single pen - ugh!!
I work with ALL my birds as chicks - feeding them mealworms, etc. The Sumatras and their mixes easily out-competed my d'Anvers when going for the worms and would run over the top of them, mostly due to the huge difference in size (bantam Sumatras are HUGE). The Sumatras proved to be smarter faster and better fliers....perfectly happy to be close to me to get treats and extremely food motivated, but not particularly personable, even when raised with the same treatment as my d'Anvers. Now, bear in mind I am used to d'Anvers - who will spoil anybody for personality and will often bond closely with their caretaker. From this information, I would say if you want OUTSIDE birds that can take care of themselves, the Sumatra is for you. If you want friendly, personable birds that withstand confinement well - do not get Sumatras. Also, if you have kids - Sumatras may not be for you.
Good luck! And go ahead and invest in a net and ladder ahead of time. You might need it to catch them.
The males are nasty, nasty nasty in the breeding season. Now, d'Anvers males also have a reputation for being aggressive, BUT they are nowhere near as damaging as the Sumatra males. I would call the Sumatra males unpredictable and they hit with heavy blows. I have culled hard against aggression in my d'Anvers and rarely have an issue with it in my strain anymore, but when they are aggressive, the d'Anvers boys always do the classic head bob and wing drag before attacking and usually just go for your ankles. Sumatras will be on the roost one minute and you can be on the other side of the pen - no head bob, no warning and next thing you know they are in your face, which they can easily reach with their adept flight muscles. D'Anvers, by comparison, almost tickle - whereas the Sumatras are quite capable of drawing blood. The Sumatra males might look fine one minute and be raking their claws down your face the next when you are simply leaning in to check for eggs. Also, one of the Sumatra males became abusive to the d'Anvers hens he was with. He had been with them for about a month and then he just turned on them. He pecked off all their comb spikes and was just flogging them, chasing them and ripping their feathers out, for no apparent reason. I had to put him in to mate them once or twice a day and then promptly remove him to a single pen - ugh!!
I work with ALL my birds as chicks - feeding them mealworms, etc. The Sumatras and their mixes easily out-competed my d'Anvers when going for the worms and would run over the top of them, mostly due to the huge difference in size (bantam Sumatras are HUGE). The Sumatras proved to be smarter faster and better fliers....perfectly happy to be close to me to get treats and extremely food motivated, but not particularly personable, even when raised with the same treatment as my d'Anvers. Now, bear in mind I am used to d'Anvers - who will spoil anybody for personality and will often bond closely with their caretaker. From this information, I would say if you want OUTSIDE birds that can take care of themselves, the Sumatra is for you. If you want friendly, personable birds that withstand confinement well - do not get Sumatras. Also, if you have kids - Sumatras may not be for you.
Good luck! And go ahead and invest in a net and ladder ahead of time. You might need it to catch them.
