cuddly breeds that can be sexed at hatching.

[millkbone]

me and my family are looking to get chickens, but we don't want them to just be laying chickens who we don't interact with much. we would like a cuddly breed that we can go out and sit with and pet - i knew a chicken who would sit on my chest and let me pet her all day. For this we think it'd be best to get baby chicks, as most adult chickens for sale in australia near us are not socialised with people and are purely for laying, so we'd like to socialise them ourselves. But we also want females because we don't want accidental babies or rooster aggression. So basically, we want an affectionate and cuddly breed that can be sexed the day they hatch. the amount of eggs they lay isn't a big deal. is this unrealistic?

 

[nuthatched]

Temperament and friendliness is up to the individual bird.
One can't make blanket statements across breeds, in fact, 'friendly breeds' are usually so over/inbred that they're obnoxious jerks.
You won't get babies if you don't let a broody sit and incubate. And most roosters aren't aggressive, just no one talks about them. It's how you raise them plus Temperament plus genetics.
Most chickens hate to be held or petted since it goes against their prey animal instinct it's also uncomfortable since their lungs take up a fair bit of their bodies and it's hard for them to breathe when held.

That being said, a few of mine like their keels massaged and 2 will hop one my lap to pick lint off my shirt. I've had chickens for 20 years and I've only had 4 that seemed to seek out human affection.

 

[Tervuren]

Not sure if the breeds are in Australia yet, but both my Bielefelder and Cream Legbar are/were very friendly! They are also autosexing at hatch, and that trait continues through the generations. My Bielefelder, Nettie, is super chill and loves to follow me around the yard. Fancy, my Cream Legbar, was a legit lap chicken. She would fall asleep on my lap and loved to have her head stroked. Legbars are very sprightly and very to watch forage in the yard.

If those breeds aren't available you might be able to find someone who breeds heritage sexlinks. Someone a state over from me crosses a Splash Australorp over Barred Rock hens for sexlinks to sell locally. You could socialize chicks like this and get some friendly pets.

 

[AusHen]

We are extremely limited when it comes to Auto-sexing and sex-link birds here in Australia
For Auto-sexing we only really have Cream Legbar which I find are friendly birds.
ISA/Bond Browns are popular sex-links that for the most part are lap chickens. Some people make their own sex-links. I'm partial to Marans cross Cream Legbar for both their egg colour (green) and personality
If you don't mind Bantams several can be sexed early (4-6 weeks) so plenty young enough to handle and many make good pets such as Pekins, Old English and Japanese.
Silkies, Polish and Wyandottes are good candidates for adults that are easily won over

With all that said as mentioned it really does come down to individual birds. I have several friendly crosses, breeds said to be "flighty" that are friendly and some "friendly" breeds that only come close for food

 

[Evadig]

My Cream Legbar is not friendly at all - she’s very skittish. In my limited experience, Buff Orphingtons are the best. I also had a wonderful, sweter, friendly Brahma, but I’ve been told those can be aggressive. We once had a trick Wyandotte that would ride on our bike handlebars but she was somewhat mean to the other hens. It really just depends on the individual chicken like everyone was saying. It might be helpful to get pullets or full grown hens instead of chicks so you get a better idea of what their temperament is like .