This past spring we purchased three different breeds of chicks and quickly began to see the differences in them. Each breed is so unique in look and temperament! Some get along with chickens of other breeds while certain ones only like each other, some are more skittish while others are friendly, and they all look distinct as well!
It’s been quite interesting to observe the differences in the three breeds we have over the past 4-5 months.
Building a Mobile ‘A’ Frame Chicken Coop was also quite the adventure, so you should probably go check out the end result of that project!
Now let’s get to talking about chickens!
Stick around to learn a little more about the three types of chickens that we own. We’ll discuss the look of each, their unique temperaments, how they get along with one another, and what our thoughts are after observing them for 5 months now. We didn’t have much knowledge about chickens before, but I feel like we’ve gained a lot of experience in a short time! I’m also excited to learn more. Just below you’ll find all the details about our Rhode Island Reds, Ameraucanas, and Plymouth Rock chickens. Stay till the end and you’ll find even more info about bringing chicks home, our chicken adventure story, and the mobile chicken coop we built from scratch.
Rhode Island Red
- Look: Rusty red with some dark brown feathers.
- Temperament: loud, pushy, skittish, and curious.
- They can be more aggressive to birds of other breeds, but will work quite well with other Rhode Island Reds.
- Not known for going broody.
- Lays 250-300 light brown eggs per year (about 5-6 per week).
- Winter hardy.
Ameraucana
- Look: Golden and white, beards and muffs that give them a ‘chipmunk face’.
- Temperament: Extremely skittish, docile, and gentle. They do not enjoy being touched or handled, but they are also not aggressive.
- This breed is social with other chickens of its own kind, and remains in the middle of the pecking order in terms of aggression.
- Lays 3-4 blue eggs per week.
- Broodiness is usually not an issue.
- Winter hardy.
Plymouth Rock
- Look: black with white bars.
- Temperament: very friendly, curious, mellow, and docile.
- Social with all breeds and not typically known for picking on others.
- Good with children.
- 200 large brown eggs per year (about 4 per week).
- Healthy and sturdy breed.
Our Thoughts About These Breeds
As previously mentioned, all of these breeds are extremely distinct from one another in so many ways. We enjoy each one for various reasons, but we also have favorites!
Rhode Island Reds:
I really enjoy the look of these birds! The rusty red color is very pretty and classic. Overall, I am looking forward to the high egg production from these birds, but their temperament is not my favorite. I often see them chasing the other breeds around, pecking more than the rest, and adding a little more excitement than I prefer.
Would I purchase more of this breed? I believe so, but I think the amount of eggs will be the deciding factor!
However, I would not place them with birds much lower in the pecking order. The two other breeds we have are not aggressive, but they also stand their ground against the feisty Reds!
Ameraucana
I’ll be honest here… I mainly wanted these birds because they’re pretty and they lay blue eggs! The validation of those reasoning is yet to be determined. I can’t complain too much about them thus far! They are gentle, a bit skittish, and curious creatures.
The only downside I can see to this breed is that they are supposed to lay less eggs than the other two we have. Based on their temperament, I would purchase them again, but I’m curious to see what egg production is like.
Plymouth Rock
These are our favorites so far! I really enjoy how social they are with people. They’ll come right on up to me with very little hesitation and allow me to pet them! If you’re looking for a companion chicken that’ll follow you around, this is your breed.
I’ve also observed how well they seem to get along with the other chickens. They’ll stand up for themselves against the Reds, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them pick a fight.
I would definitely like to add more of this breed to our flock in the future because I thoroughly enjoy their temperament, their egg production should be high, and they are very unique looking.
More on Chickens
- We Built an A Frame Chicken Tractor
- Everything You Need to Bring Chicks Home
- Our Chicken Adventures Begin