Clueless person in need of guiding!

[Error]

Hey everyone. Lovely meeting you all.
I've been looking to get a pair of new friends/egg layers. I live in a very cold climate(around -20F during winters at worst) I find it quite challenging to find information about keeping chickens and hen in these temperatures.
I'm not sure which breed to pick out of, because there is just way too many to choose from. I live in Northern Europe (Not UK) so availability is one thing to consider.
Main purpose egg, but the chickens should be edible, but I dont care if it tastes any good or if its plenty of meat. I want them to allow socializing, and not being too loud, as I live in a quite small neighbourhood.
I looked up some using the CheckBox system to find chickens(through this site) These are the ones I came up with, that had a decent amount of reviews.
Golden Sex Link
Prone to health problems
Black Sex Link
Very vocal
Batman, I mean, Brahma Bantam
The Brahma seems to be known for being calm.

I assume that the Batmans are the best for me, but what are you alls opinions?
I havnt searched on the forum for this but I'll ask when I'm at it anyway. What does this mean? APA/ABA Class Does it matter? Is laws involved?
Would these chickens require any special Coop, as it does get very cold. I'm thinking of isolating with some material, but then in the summer, is it risk of getting too hot? What are the operating temperatures of a chicken?
I'm not looking for any Roosters at the moment.
I'm looking for 2-3 Chickens in total. Because I live at home with my parents, I must make it quite subtile.
Do they enjoy the shadow or the sun? Or both? Sunrise location or sunset location?(Depending on which side of the house)
I've looked up some laws about the Coops and chicken keeping and it's a Clear on that.

Thank you all in advance. And I hope to see you all soon. Regards Error.

 

[KeyFlock]

I think the brahma would be a good choice.

 

[Michael OShay]

Red (Golden) and Black Sex Links are full size chickens, not bantams. If egg production is a priority, you don't want to go with bantams anyway as their eggs are small and they don't lay as well as the best laying standard breeds. The sex links are egg laying machines which will consistently churn out more than 300 large brown eggs per hen per year. I especially love the Black Sex Links which have been friendlier and hardier than my Red (Golden) Sex Links. They are also a little more persistent layers in really cold winter weather. If you go with Brahmas I would suggest going with standard sized Brahmas. Not only are they very cold hardy and calm and gentle, they are good layers as well. Other cold hardy breeds that are good layers and have a well deserved reputation for being calm and gentle (good lap pets) are Australorps, Orpingtons, Faverolles, and Sussex. Of course there can always be an exception with any breed. If egg production is a priority, Australorps are the best layers on this list. APA/ABA are poultry governing bodies which determine the standards for particular breeds. If you get your birds from a hatchery or feed store, they will likely fall short of APA/ABA standards, but unless you are planning on entering them in poultry shows, they will still meet your criteria. Whatever breeds you end up getting, good luck with your flock. )

 

[BeaverQB]

I would recommend Orpingtons. They're great birds, great egg layers, and do well in cold climates.

Good luck to you!

 

[tunafishpie]

My Dominique and Easter eggers do great in the cold. You may want to get a heating lamp though....most chicken breeds do fine in the cold

 

[Error]

Thank you all so much for your input! I actually talked to my parents about this, and we're looking further into it.
Now the next step. Actually deciding... Does it matter what time of the year you buy the chickens, I thought. If I buy them as chicks now, and properly build a small mini-house for them to have indoors, and during the spring build a proper outdoor coop+net-protected "open area"
Does this sound like a good idea? Starting to get really excited!

 

[tunafishpie]

Keeping your chickens inside isn't a very good idea mine stay outside even in the below 17* weather
If you buy them as chicks you need an incubator and keep them inside for about 6 weeks