Friendliest breeds?

[newtochickening]

What are the friendliest breeds out there? Ones that might let you hold them and pet them / good with small children?

 

[cherrynberry]

I have heard orphingtons and barred rocks are quite friendly, but out of personal experience, Easter eggers are super friendly...even the roosters

 

[MarkJr]

TSC labeled this one as a bar rock. (It’s not) But the bar rocks are just as tame and mellow. I have a dozen broody reared just like this one

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Buff Orpingtons are incredibly sweet birds and would highly recommend

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Silkies make sweet pets, small and fluffy, too.
Orpingtons and Wyandottes are calm natured.
A lot depends on how they are raised and how much they are handled as chicks.

 

[yakitori]

I feel that silkies are on a different level of calm and friendly. I would also try to get pullets, because roos may become mean when their hormones kick in.

 

[BleuSaphir]

My experience with Rhode Island Red are good. Easter Egger is like playing poker. Some would be extra friendly. Some are skittish.

 

[Allthefloofs]

We like our Mottled Houdan, and our cream legbar, our Easter egger is pretty sweet, and our Super Blue is practically narcoleptic, she falls asleep when I worm her . The super blue is the white one sleeping on my shoulder, our EE is the spoiled brown girl on my lap, the first pic is our houdan.

 

[piminuse]

Chickens are just like dog breeds...you always hear that Golden Retrievers are the friendliest, but there's always a bunch that are absolute terrors.

Case in point: my Buff Orp hates to be cuddled, though her breed is supposed to be one of the sweetest. My Barnevelder, a supposedly quiet breed, screams her head off every time it gets close to bedtime. My Mosaics range from super friendly, friendly-on-my-terms and tepid (at best). It's always such a gamble on what you're going to get. My mom's Polish are absolute psychos and my SIL has a silkie that nips when held. All go against the status quo and there's no guarantee you'll get all the traits the hatchery is claiming.

I think the best advice I want to share is to go with a breed that has other traits your like (egg color, size, heat tolerance etc) and just make sure you're patient and dedicated to spending time socializing with them. Handling them and understanding their limits is good animal husbandry. The birds I have don't all want to cuddle, but they trust me and when I do have to handle them there's not running/flapping etc. The ones who do like being held are treasured.

Sorry that this is kind of a cop out answer, but everyone has their own faves for different reasons. Pick a bird you like and give it a shot!

 

[FarmerGirl101]

I definitely agree with @piminuse as every bird is different although handling while young helps a lot