Breed suggestions for a small backyard flock

hey folks - after many years, i've finally got the space in my new backyard to keep chickens which I've wanted to do for quite some time.

My city allows me to keep up to 4 hens, and I'm currently trying to plan out which breeds would be most suitable for my situation.

My backyard isn't large, but I'm looking at purchasing or building a coop/run that's a similar size to the Eglu Cube (the13ft run).

As far as breeds, I'm looking for quieter breeds (we are in the suburbs) that are docile and generally like human company. We're not overly concerned with the amount of eggs but want a decent balance between the "pet" breeds and the breeds strictly for egg-laying.

My thoughts so far:

• 2 Silkie Bantams - small, generally quiet (although I've heard some folks' silkies can be a bit loud), docile, entertaining, cute, not great egg layers. Really love the look of these guys and so does my wife.
• 2 standard or bantam sized Plymouth Rocks - great egg layers, easy going, generally quiet, hardy

I was thinking that this would provide a nice balance between having a couple of "pet"-focused chickens (the silkies) and good egg layers (the plymouth rock). We also live in the upper midwest so we want breeds that will be able to handle both the winter & summer. Open for other breed suggestions, though.

My questions:

• If that breed mix makes sense, would you recommend standard or bantam sized plymouth rocks for our coop/run size? The Eglu Cube site says it can house up to 6 large, 8 medium, or 10 bantam sized hens. My thought with going with the standard is they would be able to lay much larger eggs than their bantam counterparts. Maybe I'm overthinking that a bit too much, but just concerned that having all bantam eggs would be too small.
• If we did decide to go with the standard, would the bantam silkies and the standard plymouth rocks be able to be housed together? I’ve heard that it will be fine from several folks but just want to be sure.

Rev0 said:

If that breed mix makes sense, would you recommend standard or bantam sized plymouth rocks for our coop/run size? The Eglu Cube site says it can house up to 6 large, 8 medium, or 10 bantam sized hens. My thought with going with the standard is they would be able to lay much larger eggs than their bantam counterparts.

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The Eglu Cube really isn't large enough for that many hens. @3KillerBs has a wonderful write up on how much space is needed per chicken, but to summarize, you need around 4 sq ft per bird standard size and 3 sq ft per bird for bantams depending upon your location. A coop the size of an Eglu is only 9 sq ft including the nest boxes (those don't officially count towards coop space). The 13 ft run size is really only appropriate for 1 standard or maybe 2 bantams.
I don't have any experience with silkies or bantams in general, but I would recommend looking at Easter Eggers. They come in standard and bantam. Mine are very friendly and are good egg layers

My favorite breed of chicken that I currently own is a Speckled Sussex. She is a great chicken. She doesn't make much noise at all when she is laying, she is a great forager, she is friendly, lets my 2 year old pick her up and my puppy chew on her tail lol. She lays a small beige egg everyday. We also nicknamed her the loner because she is always away from the rest of the chickens. She minds her own business and just wanders around the yard foraging. She is also a strong chicken, my neighbors Akita dog got loose one day and came into our back yard while my chickens were out of their coop and attacked her and carried her away from our yard. I came outside running and screaming and grabbed her out of the dogs mouth. We thought she was going to die but thankfully she has made a full recovery.
I defiantly recommend adding a Speckled Sussex to your flock.

MeganAnthony09 said:

We also nicknamed her the loner because she is always away from the rest of the chickens. She minds her own business and just wanders around the yard foraging.

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That is interesting, our Speckled Sussex tends to be a loner too. She is also very friendly, but Nutmeg, unlike your girl, is very loud. She likes to follow us and complain about everything Glad your girl survived her attack!

RubelliteRose said:

The Eglu Cube really isn't large enough for that many hens. @3KillerBs has a wonderful write up on how much space is needed per chicken, but to summarize, you need around 4 sq ft per bird standard size and 3 sq ft per bird for bantams depending upon your location. A coop the size of an Eglu is only 9 sq ft including the nest boxes (those don't officially count towards coop space). The 13 ft run size is really only appropriate for 1 standard or maybe 2 bantams.
I don't have any experience with silkies or bantams in general, but I would recommend looking at Easter Eggers. They come in standard and bantam. Mine are very friendly and are good egg layers

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Thank you I’ll check out that post! I figured the cube was too small based on my research, I will likely build my own that has more space inside.

As far as the outdoor run, I’ve seen ranges from 10sqft per chicken to 25sqft per chicken minimum (which would mean a run for my 4 hens should be 40-100sqft). Obviously the more space, the better, but it’s definitely challenging filtering through all the differing opinions on the internet! I know this forum’s topic is more focused on breeds, so I can certainly search over in there in the coop forums for some more info.

Rev0 said:

Thank you I’ll check out that post! I figured the cube was too small based on my research, I will likely build my own that has more space inside.

As far as the outdoor run, I’ve seen ranges from 10sqft per chicken to 25sqft per chicken minimum (which would mean a run for my 4 hens should be 40-100sqft). Obviously the more space, the better, but it’s definitely challenging filtering through all the differing opinions on the internet! I know this forum’s topic is more focused on breeds, so I can certainly search over in there in the coop forums for some more info.

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The rules of thumb are:
8+ sq feet per chicken in the run (if you can) 4 sq foot per chicken in the coop, 14 inches of roost bar per bird, 1 nest box per 3 birds, 1 square foot of ventilation per bird. :] I second speckled sussex, I like my barred rocks but they tend to hoot and holler about anything. Brahmas are pretty quiet and do well in the winter.

RubelliteRose said:

That is interesting, our Speckled Sussex tends to be a loner too. She is also very friendly, but Nutmeg, unlike your girl, is very loud. She likes to follow us and complain about everything Glad your girl survived her attack!

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Our loner follows us around too and scares my nieces and nephews because she is so friendly she will follow anyone anywhere and the kids think that she is chasing after them. I think that is one reason why she was attacked by the dog and the rest were not. She isn't scared of people or animals and it made her an easy target. Thank You, I am very glad she survived as well.

I have never owned a silkie but based on my research they are queit and friendly. I have also had easter eggers that are very queit and friendly. Building your own coop is probably best for space and size. I have a 8 × 4 coop for my 5. And they have plenty of space.

I love the Speckled Sussex breed as well, from my research, in fact I almost started out my chickening with a whole flock of them! I'm sure they would be great. I don't have any first-hand experience with bantams, so I can't really speak to that, but I am curious what others may say about their egg size.

I have Australorps and Welsummers and I heartily recommend them both as breeds as well. Very friendly and interested in me, tolerate my daughter handling them etc. I feel like there are still one or two of each bunch that most want to be held, so it can always come down to the individual bird's personality, too. The Australorps are excellent layers, and the Welsummers lay some of the prettiest eggs! So I feel like I have the best of both worlds that way.

That said, I can't speak to how loud they may be as adults, as mine are still little, but I have thus far found the Welsummers to be noticeably chirpier chicks! lol So if volume is a concern at all, there's that.

Ultimately, as a great BYCer once said, "Get the chickens you love!" I'm sure you'll make a great choice.

My easter Eggers have always been my quietest hens. They are also the flightiest, however, I got them at 8 weeks, so they didn't get handled much as babies. The eggs are pretty, and decent sized, but they don't lay every day. As everybody says, more space is better. I have four hens. Their enclosed run is 10 x12 feet. I consider that barely big enough for part time confinement.