Hi! We are so glad to have found this forum, being new to country living and full of questions and curiosity. Anyway, we have a small flock of 10 hens, mostly "mutts" given to us. But I REALLY want some chickens that lay pretty eggs - specifically speckled ones. Is there such a thing? Or, is there only the plastic variety used in country decorating :) Also, are there breeds that are more tame-able and pet-like? Thanks!

-- N. W. Whitlock (Casaflora@aol.com), January 26, 2001

Answers

Some chickens of any breed will sometimes lay eggs with speckles on them. I got an araconda(easter egg chicken) recently mixed in with some white cornish crosses. She looks just like the others and it threw me for a loop when I started getting one green egg everyday! This egg is usually green with brown speckling. I can't tell you if every chicken of that breed lays the eggs with speckles or just this one since it is my first. My preference on chickens is Rhode Island Reds. I've hand raised many over the years and they are always my gentlest most personable chickens. Usually there will be one or two out of my flocks that follow me around and keep me company. Barred rocks are good chickens but lack the personality of the RIR's. I don't care for black australorps....pretty but skittish. I think buff orpingtons are beautiful and good layers but not as personable as the RIR's. These are the only breeds I have personal experience with. I think that hand raising and feeding them special treats (ie. scraps) has a lot to do with how big of a pet a chicken is.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), January 26, 2001.

Hi and welcome to the forum. I am pretty new here myself. Not to the country though. most my life i have been a farm girl. I have Araucanas that lay bluish green eggs, some bantams lay speckled. I pickle the little ones.

While i tend to agree with Amanda that Rhode Island Reds are great. I haven't really found a chicken i didn't like, except a cocky rooster or two. I have many different breeds raised from day old chicks and are handled alot. The sweetest is a feather footed bantam while my Japanese bantam rooster can be a crab. My ladies follow me around the yard and my husband says "there goes the pied piper". See he thinks he is funny, because i haven't told him he isn't.

I would suggest that you start out slow and find a breed that you are pleased with. I enjoy my chickens, i am sure you will too.

-- Shau Marie (shau@centurytel.net), January 26, 2001.

N.W., I've had buff orpingtons and rhode island reds. I was getting a lot of brown eggs with speckles until they each went through molt. Now their all back to solid brown. I've, also, have a RIR rooster that is getting a attitude (haven't had a rooster before) but this thing is giving me the evil eye. I reached down to check a hen the other day and he started pecking at me. Guess I encroached on his domain. And, I think he has put out a call for help from other birds. I walked out last night and there was an owl sitting on my truck. I walked right up to him and he just sat there. He didn't move until I reached out to see if he would get on my 'gloved' hand. He didn't. Sorry I got off the subject.

-- Gary in Alabama (gmattox@integrity.com), January 26, 2001.

hi, Amanda, I was surprised to hear that your Australorps were skittish. Mine have been favorites because they are extremely tame and several of them will sit eggs every year and are great mothers. Perhaps they are different from flock to flock.

-- mary, texas (marylgarcia@aol.com), January 26, 2001.

Yes I'm sure they vary from flock to flock. It could also be that I had a mixed flock. I think I had RIR, barred rocks and the black austrolorps. They may have been friendlier if I had just had austrolorps.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), January 26, 2001.

I have found that Cochins (bantam and large fowl) are very calm birds. Even those we haven't worked very much are calm if you need to work with them. Our Silkies are also very nice as pets - just get them used to being handled some. The suggestion of treats is good. Almost any bird, will become friendly for some treats.

-- Trisha-MN (tank@linkup.net), January 27, 2001.

I hear that Cochins don't lay many eggs. Does anyone keep them for eggs? What is their egg size, and about what production do you think of as normal? Are they slow winter layers? I've heard they are very friendly, calm, and require little space.

-- Marty Puckett (Mrs.Puck@Excite.com), January 28, 2001.

We don't keep Cochins primarily as egg layers but ours lay well. Probably not as many as our Barred Rocks but our Bantams (Black) are at about 1 egg/day with two hens and our Standard Cochin (Partridge) would be at 2 eggs every 3 days. SandHill Preservation lists Partridge Cochins as the 5th best layers for Large Fowl and Black Cochin Bantams as 2nd best with White Cochins as 4th best for bantams in their "unscientific" study for their information guide.

The eggs have been average sized but the winter doesn't seem to slow them down much. Our Cochins were laying through some of our coldest weather. However, they do have a tendency to go broody so that may affect egg production.

-- Trisha-MN (tank@linkup.net), January 28, 2001.

I don't know about a breed of chicken that gives speckled eggs, but I do know of Ancona ducks (yes, ducks not the chickens). They are supposed to lay white, blue, or spotted eggs. If it dosen't matter if you have chickens or ducks, e-mail me for some addresses (Ancona ducks are rare).

animalfarms

-- animalfarms (jwlewis@indy.net), January 30, 2001.

I have Barred Rock chickens and they usually lay speckled eggs. I've just bought some Aracona's (Aruacona?)but they aren't laying yet. What I can't figure out is that the Aracona's all look different. One is so different looking it looks like someone poured bleach on it! I'm not sure if it's really the same breed or not. The Barred Rock chickens, the Girls as I call them, are so sweet. They follow me around and are so inquisitive about everything. Except for them trying to peck the freckles of the back of my leg, we get along wonderfully.

-- Wanda Wilkerson (wrfw@lcc.net), September 05, 2001.