I get a lot of queries from people all over the world about what is the best breed to get for this or the best breed to get for that. Most people want their chickens to lay eggs, have babies and look good. I personally don't believe anything but a pure-bred (Americans call this Standard-bred or Bantam) fowl looks good, so if you think I will suggest a hybrid crossed laying bird to anyone, you will be sadly mistaken. So, gather your skirts ladies, hitch the belt men and let's go walking in the chicken yard!
Before we choose a breed for you, let's take a look at a few things that need consideration. The first item on the agenda is... space. How much room do you have in your yard to keep chickens? Obviously, if you own acreage in the country, this is not an issue but most of us live in towns or cities which limit the room we have to pursue such activities. Limitations on space may determine whether you choose a large breed or go for something in the more petite bantam line.
Town living also means [shudder] neighbours... those people we either love or hate, who can make life a pleasure or a pain. Some neighbours won't tolerate ANYTHING which means change in their lives and these folks are quite likely to put pressure on you to not keep any chickens at all. Or keep a dog, or a cat, or have children, or change your car... and some even prefer you didn't breathe! You probably have only two choices with this kind of neighbour... move away or somehow convince THEM to move away.
As an aside, I once had a friend who managed to achieve exactly that goal. Let's call him, Bill. His neighbour complained long and hard against Bill keeping racing pigeons, even though they caused absolutely no grief to the neighbour. He complained to the authorities, he complained to other neighbours he complained, complained and complained. Eventually, Bill purchased a small flock of flying tumblers which can be trained to fly over the one spot for hours on end. He trained these birds to fly in circles above the neighbour's yard and on the days the neighbour hung out his washing, Bill would quietly release his pigeons, whereupon they would fly up about three hundred feet and begin circling. Now birds being birds, they were quite adept at um... let's just say they would make an airforce bomber pilot proud! Now the neighbour did not take kindly to having sticky white spots being spattered across his freshly washed laundry and he complained loudly to the authorities. The inspector who arrived to speak to my friend about the pigeons was a sympathetic man who spent most of his working week chasing frivolous complaints from temperamental neighbours. My friend insisted that he only kept racing pigeons that never flew in circles anyway and suggested that the birds causing the problem must be wild pigeons from the park. Now local council inspectors are not always well versed in the differences between racing pigeons and flying pigeons and being a kindly man who did not like chasing silly complaints anyway, made his report to say that Bill did not have pigeons that would do what the neighbour was claiming they were doing. And that was the official line the local council office took. Even after many more complaints and strident claims that these "wild" pigeons flew into my friend's shed each night could not sway the city council. The pigeons were deemed feral and therefore my friend could not be held accountable for their actions. In fact, they even went so far as to suggest that perhaps the neighbour was somehow encouraging "vermin" to the neighbourhood. After nearly six months of having his yard "bombed" by pigeons, the neighbour finally placed a "For Sale" sign on his front gate and vacated the premises, never to be seen again. My friend, being a wise man quickly introduced his new neighbour to the joys of pigeon keeping, those "wild" pigeons moved on to greener pastures and life for my friend settled down nicely. He never did take up my suggestion to raise "wild" pigeons and turn a profit out of his idea. He was just happy to be able to race his birds in peace.
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