Breed for a 9 year old girl

[thudson]

Thanks for all the info. I believe we are going to place and order from murray mcmurray in the next week or so.

Great choice on the hatchery. I have ordered several batches from them about of 100plus I only lost 2. My first ex- wife was about ready to kill me because of the survival rate. (HaHa). But they will treat you right!

 

[Jtp79]

Yes, just like dogs chicken breeds differ in temperament. For a 9 year old to show a bird, it needs to be easy to hold and have good temperament.
Silkies are usually the top recommendation for this but, especially for a first timer, due to the fluffy feathering it can be difficult to point out the body parts when showing at a fair.
Brahmas and Buff Orpingtons, even though they are a very calm breed, are big birds so I can see how they would be difficult for a 9 year old to handle.
Leghorns and Polish are light (~4-5 lbs) and the Polish are very nice looking but they can be/are mostly flighty.
I would suggest getting bantam (dwarf) Cochins. They are very sweet and the hens weigh just two pounds. 4-H kids in my county have had a lot of success showing them. Unfortunately, they don't lay very much and the eggs they do lay are small.
If you aren't looking for anything exotic, then I would then default to getting a Buff Orpington or a Barred Plymouth Rock. They are both calm birds but the downside is that they can weigh 6-7 lbs. However, an upside is that the Barred Rock will give you ~4 eggs a week.
If you are looking at getting a lot of eggs, I suggest getting show birds (ex. Cochins) and production birds (ex. Red Sex-Links). I doubt you'll be able to show sex-links since they technically aren't breeds but they are the best choice for egg laying.

Getting mail order chicks at a day/couple days old is the norm and is cheaper and much less time consuming than hatching yourselves. Some good hatcheries are McMurray, Meyers, and MyPetChicken.

She isnt planning on showing the chickens at this time. Just having them and hoping to get some eggs.

 

[Killer Tomato]

My Barred Rocks and RIR are egg laying machines, and very sweet! I'm adding a Leghorn or two to the bunch as well, to make up for the lazy Easter Eggers next winter.

You guys are going to love this chicken adventure. No pets have ever made me laugh so hard, or made me breakfast every morning!

 

[Izzychicky]

I highly recommend buff orpingtons. They are the sweetest egg laying champs ever! I have one that every day I come home she runs up to me and waits for me to pick her up