My Australorps are very friendly, they are always there to great you at the door and talk to you, but they are a hands off sort of birds because they will not jump on your lap and don't enjoy being picked up, though usually calm. They are also great layers their first year, then after that it rapidly declines, which is fine for pets, but not very good for comercial egg production. Overall I definitely recommend them if you want friendly chickens that don't need to be handled often.