Wyandottes and a "tendencey toward dominance"

[naturegrrl]

I'm looking for a sweet, friendly, good layer to act as a pet, keep the garden pests in check, provide supplemental protein to a couple of vegans

, and get along with the other bird I've chosen for my little flock of two - a buff brahma (my plan/hope is to get both birds at the same time, so that I can raise them together). I like shiny things, so naturally I'm very attracted to Wyandottes for their gorgeous plumage. However, I have heard some rather off-putting stories about their tendency to pick on others. I was hoping to get some insight into whether this breed would be a good choice for me, and/or what other breeds folks might recommend for the above-mentioned snuggly pet/protein factory/slug patrol.

 

[lovemychix]

Mine are not as friendly as my other chicks and seem a little aggressive. My buttercups are the sweetest things ever. They love to be held and petted. My cochins seem to be the calmest and love attention also. Polish not so friendly just curious. My hamburgs are jumpy but like a little attention. One jumps up on my lap. This is just what I've noticed with my breeds. Hope that is helpful.

 

[CarriBrown]

Mine don't seem to pick on the others. They are pretty neutral. It's the little girls you need to watch out for!

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Hi, Naturegrrl!

I have two wyandottes in my little flock, a silver and a gold. I will tell you that the silver is definitely top of the pecking order! She is not mean to the others, but by golly she gets first dibs on everything good. The GLW is a little calmer, but she too is pretty high up the ladder. They were my first layers out of the 15 hens. Even with the day growing shorter they are pretty consistantly laying every 24- 36 hours. The eggs are a pretty brown and very quickly grew to be full sized.
Both were pretty reserved chicks. They are curious adults, but neither are lap animals. The only lap chickens I've got are silkies, buffs and EEs. The others have Things To Do.

I totally agree with you- my SLW is absolutely stunning. She's striking to see in the crisp fall daylight. I have a silver laced sebright bantum as well. She's gorgeous too, but she's a froot loop!

I've heard that Barred Rocks are sweet birds. They're really pretty B/W stipes. Dominiques are lovely too. You might check them out.

 

[mikarod]

My females were on the bratty side. They'd run the others ragged. Wound up giving them away. The males were EVIL!

There are Silver Laced Cochin if that would soothe that "lacing" itch! lol

 

[ChickaD]

In our most recent batch of pullets, our SLW and GLW are pretty dominant and challenging towards others (all jockeying for the alpha hen position)...but they sure are a gorgeous eyeful! On the other hand, one of the GLW (Salsa) has always been the most outgoing towards me. We had an earlier batch that included a SLW hen (Guido) that didn't get too far being pushy towards the others, however.

 

[naturegrrl]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm certain that there are some wyandottes out there who are gems both in plumage and in personality, but in the end I think I'll be better off going with another breed - I'm considering speckled sussex and australorps, though I've also heard good things about cochins (but are they decent layers?).

 

[mikarod]

Quote:
My Cochin is one of the only birds laying right now. Production Cochins are probably even better than her at laying!

Speckled Sussex. I LOVE Speckled Sussex. I had one that was an absolute doll! Australorps are fun too! lol

 

[cqranch]

My older barred rock hens dominate the coop. However, the SLW I have seem to be a bit more aggressive with others except the BR, they don't mess with the BR hens. The GLW I have are very calm not aggressive at all.

 

[Katy]

My wyandottes (BBS and BLRWs ) are all very friendly and calm birds.

I will agree that my Speckled Sussex are my most friendly birds.