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Many people have chickens that they have bought at a market or from some local dealer. Such animals are usually crossbreds between several breeds, or they are white, black or brown ‘egg layers’. It regularly happens that owners are disappointed in their birds, for instance because they keep on getting into neighbouring gardens, crow very loudly and often, lay poorly or absolutely refuse to be tamed. This is in fact the disadvantage of animals that are not purebreds -it is hard to predict how their behaviour is going to develop and what qualities they may either have or lack. With standard or true-breeding birds, not only have their physical features been fixed, like build, type of plumage and colour, but also qualities like broodiness, whether or not they are good layers, and the colour and average size of their eggs. Furthermore, the breed also determines those features that may be best described as ‘character’. There are breeds with which an owner can easily form an attachment and which, when well treated and cared for, will follow him or her around like little dogs and sit on his or her lap. But there are also breeds that react rather agressively or shyly to people. Furthermore, you find breeds that can fly quite well and those that never do so, and there are roosters with a rather soft voice and ones that crow really loud. The fact that such qualities are ‘fixed’ in a breed is very handy for people who have certain requirements or wishes as to their new pets. Some folk simply want chickens because they are decorative, just to look at. They have the space to let the birds run free safely and it does not bother them if they do not get very tame. And there are others who have a small backyard where they would like their chickens to go about freely, expecting them to remain at the right side of a low garden fence and not to scratch about in the flower beds. Or there are those who only have a balcony, where they would nevertheless like to keep a few bantam hens in a space no larger than a mere square metre (10 sq ft). Though keeping chickens on a small balcony area is not recommended. Still, all this is possible. But should one have such wishes, then the chance of success is far greater if one picks a breed that has qualities corresponding with one’s requirements and possibilities. Apart from that, it is an old wives’ tale that hybirds are stronger than purebreds. There are indeed some breeds that are a bit more vunerable to certain diseases and parasites, but this is usually easily prevented by vaccination or adapted housing. Most breeds are downright tough. (The Complete Encyclopedia Of Chickens by Esther Verhoef & Aad Rijs)