What is the perfect mixed-color egg laying flock of calm, friendly, quiet, cold-hardy hens?

[Scifisarah]

My mother in law is looking to start keeping chickens here in Michigan and wants 4-5 hens. She lives in town and has lots of grandkids over so wants birds that are quiet, calm, friendly and can handle our cold Michigan winters. I think it would be fun also to have a mix of egg colors - blue, green, brown, dark brown, white, pink etc. to be pretty and also so she can tell who is laying eggs, and who is not. I would like to stay clear of EE/Easter Eggers and purchase purebred breeds. What would be your suggestion for the perfect mixed-color egg laying flock for a rainbow of eggs?

 

[DavidKerk]

I think a Rhode Island Red (really light almost pink looking brown, cream color egg), a Wyandotte (light brown eggs and great feather coloring in Silver or Golden Laced Wyandotte), a Maran (chocolate colored eggs-Marans could be hard to find in MI, if you can't find it I'd get an Australorp, which will give you light brown eggs), an Ameruacana (green eggs), and a Leghorn (white eggs) would give her a calm, friendly group that would give her plenty of eggs, be a wide range of different feather colors, and could handle Michigan's winter (I keep all these breeds ,except the maran but I know someone who keeps these in MI, and I live in MI.) The Leghorn would be a little flighty, but I threw it in to provide her with a ton of white eggs (my leghorns have always faithfully given me almost an egg a day.) Keep in mind that any chicken that isn't handled frequently from the time you get it will be flighty. I've heard of people who have really friendly leghorns. I would recommend getting them as chicks and handling them about 3-4 times a day.

I hope your mom-in-law enjoys whatever chickens she decides to get!