Best chicken for little kids?

[FluffTheDuck]

I think Brahmas would be best.
They’re gentle giants. They’re great pet chickens for their quiet and tame nature, they’re very cold hardy and they’re good winter egg layers.
They’re also great broodies
Good with children. Mine have never pecked anyone.

I breed them. Here’s some pics of mine
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Yeah I agree Brahmas are pretty good.

 

[Brahmachicken240]

Your birds are gorgeous. I am about to talk myself into some Brahmas, BUT I didn’t make my nest boxes larges enough, just the normal 12x12x12. That breed wasn’t on my radar when I built my coop.

Thanks, 12x12 should be fine, mine are 16x16. There’s also Brahma bantams. I’m planning on breeding some partridge bantams this spring.

 

[WindingRoad]

I get your concern thanks for replying.
We will most likely only be having kids pick up birds at certain times and with certain birds. The child will be helped with an adult (me or some other worker) while holding a chicken. The parks will make people sign a waiver saying they won’t sue the parks. And In the middle of the parks there has always been a medical center

Kids are rambunctious, noisy, rough, and IMHO would scare the chickens. As for a waiver probably about as worthless as the paper it's written on, when a chicken gets a kids eye. Do you know patient's sign "waivers" just like that and still sue the doc? I have a hard time controlling my BO sometimes do you think me and a wiggly kid would do better. Just overwhelm the chicken. Keep em behind ( the chickens not the kids) a fence and have a look don't touch. Even a very well behaved dog bites sometimes.

 

[Mimi13]

Thanks, 12x12 should be fine, mine are 16x16. There’s also Brahma bantams. I’m planning on breeding some partridge bantams this spring.
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I love my two partridge colored pullets. I do have two additional nesting spots aside from the built in boxes. One is a large bucket under the poop board and the other is a dog house out in the run. I guess the Brahma would be likely to choose something more her size, huh?

 

[Acre4Me]

Sorry to rain on your parade. Chickens are dirty, Ever look at their feet. Yorkshire terriers are not recommended for households with small children because they can be dropped and injuried. Even docile chickens like BO can scratch my hand when I pick her up. She knows me, she knows I'm gonna feed her, but she doesn't realize she's scratching me. Chickens are a lot of work. Who's gonna do first aid on a child who's been scratched and hope it doesn't lead to a severe infection. Many petting zoos have been closed because children have gotten sick. Will the town carry liability insurance. Seems like this endeavor hasn't be very well thought out. I wouldn't let my kids ( grandkids that is) handle chickens. Not even my own.

good points with respect to cleanliness and health.

In my example of the park in the city we lived in, I don't ever recall the kids picking up the chickens. I only recall the staff picking up the chickens and giving the kids the opportunity to touch their feathers, while they talked about chicken facts. Saw lots of squatting employees to get down to the level of short kids. Sometimes they would show them the nests with eggs in them, and talk about that. The "free-range" chickens were skilled at keeping a distance between them and the visitors...maybe these were more of a flighty/fast breed?

 

[LlamaGirl4]

This isn’t a fully developed idea so things could change. I may talk to the park commitee about kids holding chickens. Maybe have an age limit like saying you have to be over 10 or something or just having workers hold the chickens

 

[ShannonR]

Sorry to rain on your parade. Chickens are dirty, Ever look at their feet. Yorkshire terriers are not recommended for households with small children because they can be dropped and injuried. Even docile chickens like BO can scratch my hand when I pick her up. She knows me, she knows I'm gonna feed her, but she doesn't realize she's scratching me. Chickens are a lot of work. Who's gonna do first aid on a child who's been scratched and hope it doesn't lead to a severe infection. Many petting zoos have been closed because children have gotten sick. Will the town carry liability insurance. Seems like this endeavor hasn't be very well thought out. I wouldn't let my kids ( grandkids that is) handle chickens. Not even my own.

Man, do y'all raise your kids in sterile bubbles, or what?

I truly do applaud your concern for the kids and grandkids. Every parent should be concerned. I guess this is one of those "to each their own" issues. Personally, I would be heartbroken if my kids didn't have chickens to play with. Just yesterday, my 2 year old was out in the mud and rain, chasing the gamefowl rooster and his hens around. Do I worry? Only a very little bit, I've made sure the rooster knows that my toddler is the boss and not the other way around. Honestly, I worry more about the kid slipping in the mud than I do the chickens.

 

[Mimi13]

Man, do y'all raise your kids in sterile bubbles, or what?

I truly do applaud your concern for the kids and grandkids. Every parent should be concerned. I guess this is one of those "to each their own" issues. Personally, I would be heartbroken if my kids didn't have chickens to play with. Just yesterday, my 2 year old was out in the mud and rain, chasing the gamefowl rooster and his hens around. Do I worry? Only a very little bit, I've made sure the rooster knows that my toddler is the boss and not the other way around. Honestly, I worry more about the kid slipping in the mud than I do the chickens.

Ditto. My 2 yo grandson joins me in eating after the chickens, well, and dogs. Shoot, we even pick hay out of the horses’ manger and chew on it.

 

[WindingRoad]

Man, do y'all raise your kids in sterile bubbles, or what?

I truly do applaud your concern for the kids and grandkids. Every parent should be concerned. I guess this is one of those "to each their own" issues. Personally, I would be heartbroken if my kids didn't have chickens to play with. Just yesterday, my 2 year old was out in the mud and rain, chasing the gamefowl rooster and his hens around. Do I worry? Only a very little bit, I've made sure the rooster knows that my toddler is the boss and not the other way around. Honestly, I worry more about the kid slipping in the mud than I do the chickens.

Until you see a kid down on the ground with a rooster spurring her face. This has nothing to do with sterile. Or a bubble. I don't let my
kids play in the road just because I've never seen a speeding car go by. And we aren't talking about kids who've been brought up around chickens we're talking about kids who probably have no idea. If they have chickens at home why go to the park. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

ETA: would you let a bunch of kids you don't know come and handle your chickens. What if the kid is sick? Or your birds is sick and you don't know it yet.

 

[SongBaby33]

I think Pekin bantams would be good I have one and she is as gentle as a lamb!