best "fancy" chickens for eggs, banties?

[Zoomom]

Hi,
I'm not sure if this is the right spot for this question, but I was wondering about getting fancy looking chickens for my backyard, where my neighbors may think they are not chickens but fancy pet birds.
I was thinking something like frizzles, silkies or some type of feather footedand/or crested hens....
They need to be relatively quiet and tame. I will get them as chicks and tame them.
We really want them for eggs though, as well as pets. We go through 1-2 dozen eggs a week.
I was thinking we have room for 4 layer breed hens, or 6 or so banty hens.
Any ideas or advice?
Or should I just go for 4 RIR or Red star or laying breed???
Thank you!

 

[Mrs MIA]

If you want regular sized eggs, go for the layers. The bantams are sweet, but lay smaller eggs. Silkies go broody at the drop of a hat, as do mille fleur d'Uccles, so the egg laying is not as reliable, either.
There are some pretty large fowl breeds out there that lay well... you should check out one of the hatchery websites.

 

[Zoomom]

Thanks for the advice!
I have been cruising all the supplier sites to try to find info on the breeds.
I might just have to really grow some tall stuff on the side without the privacy fence,lol.
And bribe them with eggs...

 

[Msbear]

bantam ameraucanas ... I can never spell it but they are cute little birds and will give you blue and green eggs... so neat for a small backyard flock.

I chose bantam cochins for their beauty and they have been pretty good layers. They will also go broody once a year so you'll miss out on eggs for a couple months from each hen.

If maximum egg production is not your main priority but fancy garden birds are, your options are endless. ...just select what tickles your fancy

 

[Zoomom]

msbear,
both are priority, as the eggs are what will get DH to agree to them, and the cuteness factor will keep the neighbors at bay if they happen to see the girls out in the yard.
I don't mind broody once a year. I just hear reports of broody a lot more often than that. Do you think if I have lights on a timer for them to keep their days longer it will help? I can give them a rest in winter.

 

[ghulst]

If I were you I would get commercial bred layers. They are the most trouble free and the production is steady. They also are some of the tamest birds. The red sex-linked will fill your bill.

 

[Zoomom]

That's good to know. There are some Shaver Red Sex Links if I want 20 wk olds, or a lot of choices if I want day olds here.
Everyone here is so helpful!

 

[Msbear]

I added a red heat light and that has increased egg production. Bantams are easier on your garden as well as your yard. A large production hen can dig a hole in your pansies. That's another reason I went banty. Many people swear their intake out-put ratio is better than a standard. That means they much less than the big gals but still produce nice sized eggs for what they eat.

If you really want egg producers, than I would go with a miniature version of the real thing... wyandotte, ameraucana, ...I still think my cochins are pretty good but Im bias. I believe there are bantam leghorns and RIR too and that would probably be your best bet if egg getting is top priority.

Post a thread on the breeds/genetics asking which bantams lay the best and which are the prettiest. Im sure a lot of folks would be glad to show off what they got.

Id do a search for "bantam" "egg" "layer" "best" and see what pops up because I know this has been discussed on here before several times.

Good Luck!!

 

[Lollipop]

Couple of things that weren`t mentioned above. I would talk to my neighbors and see if they have any objections. You probably will not want a rooster, if you have close neighbors, but you should also consider the neighbors flower and plant beds, as these could get scratched apart. Like was said, banties lay small eggs, but large breed hens, like cochins are very ornamental. Look at some of the online catalogs offered by hatcheries and get what you like. If you don`t get a rooster and your breed is of a broody variety, fertile eggs can be found and hatched. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Zoomom]

Hi Lollipop,
Good points.
I was not wanting a rooster because of the noise - I know I'd get complaints of crowing. Just some hens.
My back yard is fully fenced so they chickens will be contained and not able to go on the neighbor's property. They would be allowed free ranging when someone is home, and in their coop or pen when we aren't.
I'll have to see about the neighbors. I want to stay low profile, but I think all but 1 will be ok. This last neighbor is also the one with noisy kids, a squeeky trampoline, squaking parrot and barking dogs, but they complained about my dog barking when we never let him bark more than a few times and then we go see what's wrong or take him in. It is another neighbor that lets their dog bark for ages and doesn't stop her. Totally different voices, too. But what can you do....