Best Breeds with Children

[Benjamin III]

You should definitely get a barred hen or a black sex link hen. I call it a black link hen. They are great with children, I have 3, and they lay over 600 eggs a year. Its awesome. They are amazing. For more info visit my thread, the best chickens for children.

 

[jak2002003]

The friendliest and most easily to handle.. and docile birds I ever owned were Amber Star chickens.

They have lovely soft fluffy feathers as adults too.. and are very hardy!

They are like the ragdoll cat of the chicken world.. when picked up they just go floppy. They love to sit on you lap and be petted and will come running and follow you around everywhere.

In fact that was why a re homed them all!!!!

They were too friendly. Anyone coming into the yard would be instantly surrounded by a gang of 10 hens.. with some climbing on their shoes and trying to fly onto their shoulders... and most visitor did not like that.. it was a shock!

Also these chickens always wanted to with me.. they would try everything to get into the house.. Had to keep all the windows and doors shut.. but I still often walked into the living room to see 10 chickens sitting on the sofa and rug and watching TV!!!!!

My partner had had enough.. because they used to spend most of the time waiting outside the front door for it to open slightly so they would rush in.. But while they waited they pooped a lot all over the porch floor!!!! So they had to go.

But as pets.. 2 or 3 of them in a pen would be fantastic!!!! Any they lay lots of eggs too!

 

[Michael OShay]

I would define the best breed with children as the one that was friendliest, calmest, gentlest, didn't mind being handled (gently) by children, and posed no real threat of injury to the children. Given this criteria, I would say that Silkies are the best chickens for children, followed closely by Cochin or Pekin bantams. If you want a standard breed for children, then one of the standard breeds that has a well deserved reputation for being calm and gentle would be the best such as Australorps, Orpingtons, Cochins, Brahmas, Sussex, or Faverolles.

 

[tiffmw10]

My RIR and buffs have been great with my daughter!

 

[SixChickFlock]

I am also new to this chicken thing... Only six weeks along. So far our Black Austrolorp is the most gentle of the flock - She just stays still and waits to be handled. She seems to understand foraging better than the rest. She will practically climb into an offered jar of food, tilted her way, to have it all to herself. She also seems to enjoy being tickled under her wings. What I mean to say is... She is not timid, nor is she bossy or aggressive.

Sweet, gentle big bird is a good description!

So, I'm almost 10 months in to this chicken thing. We lost one (Florence, Silver Laced Wyandotte), and adopted 3 more pullets. One of the new gals is another Black Austrolorp. I really planned on having no duplicate breeds... But Minty (#1 BL) is such a great gal, I couldn't resist adding another to the flock. While all of my hens are super easy to handle, Minty and her breed mate Raven are as cool as you could get. Minty has also turned out to be one of the 2 best layers... Astrid (Buff Orpington) is the flock leader and the other top layer.

Astrid helps me garden when the weather is nice (gonna be awhile!) and is always on top of my hay fork when I turn the compost for them. Early bird really does get the worm. Of the rest... Chipmonk and Dove are Easter Eggers. Nellie is a Golden Laced Wyandotte. Good layer until the days got short. June Bug (we named her Ginger, but she prefers June Bug) is a New Hampshire Red (?)... June Bug colored feathers with a black tail. And then there's Dot, a Barred Rock of some sort. Dot got sick shortly after the 6 week old mark. She spent a lot of time on my lap in the summer drinking extra antibiotics from a syringe and later, eating meal worms and other treats from my hand. She is huge... And Gentle... And follows me around to be first for food and treats... But she has never laid an egg. Such a great hen, I didn't really care.

Just yesterday, Dot squatted right in front of me for the first time! I'm thinking she will be giving me her first egg pretty soon!!!

Since this thread is about the best breeds for children... I'm thinking that it's all in the way you raise them and interact with them. We have 2 kids that help tend the flock and play with them. When friends come over... We might pull a few off the roost at night and just hold them for a bit of warmth in the dark on the patio. And when the weather is nice, neighborhood families bring the kids by to see if the chickens are out. If I am out with the girls, I make an effort to pick one uo so the kids (and parents) can pet her and just be a little familiar with chickens. I make a point to spend some cuddle time with each of the girls each week. Just hold them and pet them and talk to them.

Anyway... I wouldn't trade any of them and with very little work, they are all quite gentle and suitable for kids.

 

[Michael OShay]

Since this thread is about the best breeds for children... I'm thinking that it's all in the way you raise them and interact with them.

How you raise them and interact with them is definitely a major factor in taming them so they can be handled by children, but some breeds are by nature more gentle and calm than other breeds which makes taming them much easier. My children easily made lap pets of about 7 breeds. There were other breeds that they used the same methods on that tolerated handling, but never really liked it, and then there were some flighty and high strung breeds that screamed bloody murder whenever anyone (including me) handled them, and no amount of interaction or attempts to tame them changed their flighty and high strung nature. The good news is that all of your breeds are generally docile breeds by nature. )