BYC Debate Thread- What's The Friendliest Chicken Breed?

[Chicka101]

I think the friendliest chicken breeds are cochin/pekin frizzle bantams and barbu d'uccles. I think this because I have raised quite a few breeds, they are all friendly up to laying age, then they pretend they don't know you and run away from you. However, frizzles and d'uccles will still be your lap chicken during laying age! I have a frizzle and a d'uccle who are at laying age, and they love to jump up onto my lap (by choice!!!) and get cuddles. I was just outside enjoying a long cuddle with Thor (frizzle) and Noodles (d'uccle).
D'uccle roosters are also very friendly, I used to have 2 d'uccle cockerels who were also cuddlebugs!
For d'uccles, the peeps on the d'uccle cult thread can back me up. And for bantam cochins, @EmmaRainboe, @Overo Mare or the peeps on the frizzle thread can back me up.

also, Bantam frizzles and d'uccles tend to make great friends with eachother, and are cute, pocket-sized, and nice to other chicken breeds.

View attachment 3068233

I have both Pekin bantams and barbu d’uccles and they want nothing to do with me! I can just about catch them

 

[Abigail Rosette]

i don't have a huge frame of reference, as i only have 5 breeds, but of mine, i think its definitely buff orpingtons

 

[Kelsykin]

I got tagged over here so I will try my best to answer. They want us to stay with no more than 3 breeds. These are just from my own personal experience with the breeds I have raised over the past many years. So I will answer with my personal choices. Bantams and Standards for my choices are the same for friendliness as far as my experience.

• What is the friendliest chicken breed(s)?
  • Jersey Giants
  • Brahmas
  • Cochins
• Why do you think this?
  • I have no scientific proof, but IMO the reason is they are like dogs the great big ones are usually the gentlest. It may be due to the fact they know they can do serious harm to people or it could be just what breeds were used to develop these breeds.
• What evidence can back you up? Threads? Articles?
  • All three of the breeds when you google are mentioned on just about every Friendly chicken breed list I have searched. There are too many to list here. A simple search for 'Friendliest Chicken Breeds' and most of them list these three breeds,
• What is your experience with this breed(s)?
  • I have raised all three breeds as well as several other breeds over the years. I continue to return to these three breeds as my preferred chickens. I currently have Brahmas, Jerseys and Bantam Cochins. I have other breeds as well, but those three are by far my favorite.
• What breeds are not very friendly? Why?
  • Most of the unfriendly chickens have been roosters. I have ha them attack me. Had a few that ended up going to camp kenmore as a result of their lack of friendliness. Those breeds would be Barred Rocks, Welsummer, New Hampshire Red, Rhode Island Red, and White-Faced Black Spanish
• Anything else
  • I think most domesticated breeds are pretty friendly. As to the friendliest breeds that is subjective to the individual. Every breed can have a mean bird. Even the friendliest breeds can produce a mean bird on occasion.

 

[allgr8dogs]

agreed. It would be great if you edited those posts with some of these...

• What is the friendliest chicken breed(s)?
• Why do you think this?
• What evidence can back you up? Threads? Articles?
• What is your experience with this breed(s)?
• What breeds are not very friendly? Why?
• Anything else

So far, besides my mentally challenged Silkies, my Bielefelders are the friendliest.

 

[RebelEgger]

I have very limited breed experience, but I still have 2 of my original 3 hens (2 years old), both are easter eggers and I really like these guys. They are friendly, outgoing, social, and don't mind being handled at all. I would definitely recommend this "breed" and I would get them again! The males however I would not recommend! Both the roosters from this batch were nasty! I had read this about EE males as my chicks were growing up, of course as young boys they were great, we rehomed the one to my niece and he turned into a jerk right away. Extremely people aggressive. Would bite and fly at you with spurs. The one we kept didn't turn until he was around 1 year of age. I would not want another EE rooster, no matter how handsome they are - are they are very handsome!

My other 2 hens are Azure Blue. They are very flighty and skittish - exactly what they had been described as when I looked up their personality. They do not like to be handled. Having said that, they are very nosey and love being involved in whatever it is I am doing. They follow me around and are the first ones to come running when I call the birds. They make me laugh all the time.

My current rooster is a Dorking-Cornish X. He is around 3 years old, I adopted him 5 months ago. He is stand-off-ish. Can't handle him without really doing it against his will. But he is not aggressive with anyone and he is a great flock leader.

Having said all that, my vote, based on my experience is with easter eggers for the friendliest chicken breed.

 

[GingerRose]

This statement is not debatable. It's just my personal observation about 2 of my hens....

I have read many comments on Rhode Island Reds having bad attitudes. I don't have much experience with Rhode Island Reds in a large quantity. I only have 2 hens. They are both a little over 2 years old.
These are the sweetest and most gentle of all my standard size hens. They were being picked on and bullied, had almost completely quit laying and their feathers looked dull. They would only eat after everyone else had finished and were far away from the feeders. Last week, I removed them from their flock and into a coop with my sweetest silkies. Now, they are back to singing and mingling (with the silkie flock). Also, I noticed their feathers have gotten their glossy sheen back.
I had no idea that RIRs were not generally like these 2 hens. Could something be wrong with them? Should I be concerned?

 

[Iluveggers]

I don’t think anything is wrong with your hens, @GingerRose You are just lucky to have two sweeties! There are always exceptions to the trend!

 

[GingerRose]

I don’t think anything is wrong with your hens, @GingerRose You are just lucky to have two sweeties! There are always exceptions to the trend!

Thank you. I was worried for a second.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

I love my naked necks

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

bantam cochins, mine love to jump on my back and they run to me when i get near them