Aggressive and nicest breeds of chicken?

[JanetMarie]

Nicest were/are RIR** hens and roosters, Dominique, Ameraucana, EE, and Buff Orpington.

**RIR meaning true heritage lineage, not what is sold as RIRs at feed stores/hatcheries, which are actually Production Reds.

 

[moniquem]

I've had my mini flock for a year. I have a SS, BA, EE and HAD a BR. The BR was really aggressive. I purchased these gals all together from the same place at 2 days old.

It started out with her jumping on my back and raking me with her nails. I thought this was normal chicken behavior but the 2nd time she did it she went flying across the yard-sorry sensitive folks but I'm not into nasty behavior with my animals. The she started attacking my SS. I re-homed her after that, what a b#@ch! I love the look of a BR, there so traditional but never again.

I now have the SS, BA and EE and they are all really nice birds. The BA is very calm, quiet and lays 5 eggs /week. The SS is also nice but a little loud and skittesh but lays 5 eggs/week. My EE is very calm, likes to be held and lays 5 eggs/week. I like all of the girls I have left.

 

[Fatherdowling]

Nicest breeds are the Barred rock, Silver laced Wyandotte, any of the variants of the Orpington.

Aggressive breeds are Rhode Island Red, My Red Sex Link are pretty aggressive, and my Black Copper Maran sometimes antagonizes my other chickens.

 

[anderstr196]

I’m new to having chickens and only have 5 different breeds.. EE, Polish, Silkies, bantam Cochins, and Production Reds (sent as packing males).. Out of the five the Cochin hens are the sweetest, then my Polish hen follows. My silkie hen (one that is definitely a girl) is sweet but is a bit stand-off’ish. Now Roosters is a different story lol. Unfortunately all the breeds I wanted, except EE, were all straight run so I ended up with way to many Roosters and I’m having a hard time finding homes for. So on a one on one basis some of my roos may be better then having the competition of the other boys.

 

[woodmort]

Nicest breeds are the Barred rock, Silver laced Wyandotte, any of the variants of the Orpington.

When I was in HS I had a barred rock roster that was the meanest bird you'd ever want to see. We had a mixed corgi-type dog that used to kill woodchucks for sport that was deathly afraid of him. When people came to the house they'd honk their horn so we would come out and chase the rooster away so they could get out of their cars.

That being said I think chickens are like people, some are mean, some are nice and a few fall in between, depends on how they're raised and the breed has nothing to do with it.

 

[SenpaiChickens]

Our Dominique Roo is a SUPER sweet heart!
Our Cream Legbar Roo is a sweet heart to.

Our New Hampshire Roo and Silkie Roos gives us a problem, they are pretty mean..

I haven’t had any mean hens yet though?

 

[SenpaiChickens]

Dominiques are really aggressive!!! the hens are ok but the roos are evil

Weird I’ve never had a problem with mine. He’s a sweet heart and comes to my lap for cuddles.

 

[Hayduke27]

I have had both aggressive and really friendly RIR hens. I have had both white and brown leghorns; both types were very flighty, but not aggressive. Of all the breeds I've been through, my friendliest chickens to date have been RIR, Easter Egger, Rhode Island White, and I had a really nice Cuckoo Marans. Most of the rest have been calm and easy to be around, but not necessarily "friendly".

Oh, BTW- I have been through a number of roosters as well. A cochin was the nicest by far. I currently have a Lavender Orpington that is a pretty friendly guy, but who isn't against chasing a stranger out of the yard. Meanest roosters that I have ever seen were both bantams (mille fleur d'uccle and a golden sebright). I think they must have a nasty case of Napoleon complex.

 

[AquaDuck]

Interesting, but not surprising how different everyone answers. It's hard to generalize breeds for temperament, as there are many different breeders and lines.

The least favorite breed I've had is the Norwegian Jærhøne, simply because they are REALLY NOISY. Constant, never ending bak-bak eggsong. Didn't help that they were nice, they drove me insane.

 

[mountainchickens]

I think it depends on the chicken quite a bit, and the way they have been handled, predators they've encountered (one who was grabbed by our dog and survived was super skittish from then on), etc. But in general some of the breeds I like are EEs, Silkies, and most Orpingtons. We had an Isbar roo in the past who was super friendly, as well. Barred Rocks and our Ayam Cemani mixes too.