[Kittencotes]

I am contemplating pekins and wondered if those of you with experience of breeding them could tell me...

Are they the type to hop up on your knee for a stoke? Or just too placid to resist if you choose to pick them up and plonk them on your lap?

Are they calm but clever? Or docile and a bit dim?

Will they free range in the wind and rain of North East Scotland? Or just stand huddled in their coop all day?

Are they compulsive broodies from May to October? Or no worse than any other cochin breed?

Can you keep a few males if free ranging and pleanty of coop space? Or will they fight with each other and mob the hens?

Any other observations or pros and cons would be apreciated.

[Richmond]

Answers as follows:

Yes they will get on your knee. Easily tamed and very placid birds.
They are docile but dim.
They will free range, but hate bad weather. They will stay inside all day in cold/windy/wet weather given the choice.
They will spend most of their life broody. They are good sitters but not necessarily good mothers.
Males will fight each other. I recommend keeping only one cockerel in the flock. They can be quite feisty.

My own personal opinion:

Great as pets, great with small children.
Given their tendency to broodiness they will lay relatively few eggs, basically a clutch and then go broody.
Given their feathered feet and legs they are not suited to wet conditions, they get terribly muddy in winter. They will also be prone to getting scaly leg mite.

I would not recommend them for a wet and windy climate. Look for something a bit tougher like sussex or wyandotte bantams, if it is bantams you are looking for. They will go broody (most bantams do) but not as often.
Hope this helps.

[Kittencotes]

It does help thanks Richmond. Perhaps I will just stick with my croad and PR bantams.