Help with choosing breed please.

[JedJackson]

As far as friendliness goes, if you are starting with chicks you can raise just about any breed to be friendly. It just takes spending time with them, holding them a bit, and getting them used to you. Feeding treats out of your hand is a good way to go about it.

Now, breeds. First off, I advise against having any roosters of any breed. They are unpredictable around children. You say your main desire is getting lots of eggs. In that case, I think black sex links would be a great choice. They lay lots of eggs, are easy to sex so you won't have to worry about getting males, and are large enough to be easy going, in most cases. You could even do a mix of black and red sex links. The red sex links lay even better, are also easy to sex, but are smaller and not quite as calm.

 

[CannedMonster]

I have Black Australorps, Speckled Sussex, Partridge Rocks, Silver Penciled Rocks, Easter Eggers, Naked Necks and Red Sex Links.
Each of these breeds have individuals that are confident and friendly and also individuals that are aloof and want nothing to do with me.
My sex link is, hands down, my best layer. She’s not quite 1 1/2 years old so I can’t comment on her longevity. She is confident and my dominant hen but she is also a hog for food (all those eggs).

My other birds are all pretty friendly but my friendliest are my Speckled Sussex.
They’re awesome.
They always want to come over and see what we’re doing and will often follow me as I do chores and gardening.
I really wanted them because every review I had read about them was very positive and I never heard about them being aggressive.
I used to have 3 Silver Laced Wyandottes and I rehomed them because they would bully my others and even each other.
I’ve also had issues with my Easter Eggers because they really like to go over the fence and wander while foraging and I was always having to chase them back over the fence.
Sadly one was caught by a neighbors dog on the other side of the fence.

So I highly recommend Speckled Sussex and Australorps and Rocks are also good choices IMO.
Almost all my chickens were ordered from Meyer Hatchery and are very healthy and beautiful.

 

[chickitychickity]

A really fun, funky and friendly breed is the Salmon Faverolle. They lay cream colored eggs. They are fluffy and adorable. They are cold tolerant. They don’t like it TOO hot though. It gets up to 100 every once in a while here and the ones I had did fine. Iced treats make a hot day for chickens more fun.
I would recommend mixing 2 or 3 breeds to spice things up.
Olive Eggers and Easter Eggs give you fun colors and they are friendly.
Australorps and Opringtons are easy going.
Barred Rocks like to run around and explore.
Speckled Sussex are very curious and tend to follow me around the yard! I don’t know how they do with cold or hot weather though.
Have fun picking. It’s really up to you and what you end up choosing. I say go to your local farm store and pick some friendly breeds there. That way, if they’ve only got three friendly breeds then you’ve only got three options!

 

[Notaneggspurt]

Go with a reputable local breeder. Let them know what kind of area you live in (rural, suburb, city) and exactly what you want from a chicken. Listen to their advice. A good breeder will be able to you specifics about their flocks. Things like behavior, average time to POL (point of lay), how long they usually take to molt, how well they lay in winter and a ton of things you might not understand. Biggest disadvantage is being limited to straight run (can't tell the boys from the girls).

 

[WILIFORD]

I live in an area where the summer temps are frequently 100 degrees or better. I know a lot of members are partial to the black sex links, but I found them to be frequently broody, to the point I gave them away. I think any black hen is going to have an increased body temperature when high temperature climates. Which I believe is what causes them to go broody more frequently than other hens. I had a similar goals as you. I wanted something friendly for the grand kids, good layers, that could handle the heat. Our winters are mild, we occasionally get below freezing at night and sometimes, but rarely we may see mid to high 20's. That said, after changing breeds multiple times, I am finally happy with my flock. It is a mix of Barred Rocks, which are my most favorite, some Road Island Reds, which are very good and Buff Orpingtons. All 3 of these have fulfilled all my requirements, They are friendly, Productive and Hardy birds that seldom go broody. I hope this helps

 

[Notaneggspurt]

Excellent point regarding broody hens. They don't lay when broody and the time I was ever injured by a hen was when a broody attacked me as I tried to remove the eggs from her nest. They don't need a rooster to go broody. It's something that happens (more often with some breeds than others).

 

[WILIFORD]

Correcting the broodiness is easy enough, but my 3 black sex links were so bad, it seemed like at least one of them was broody all the time. It became tiresome.

 

[BY Bob]

Is it better to get chickens from mypetchicken.com or should I try and look up a local breeder??

We got our last chicks from mypetchicken and I would do it again. They were great to work with.

 

[Redhead Rae]

Is it better to get chickens from mypetchicken.com or should I try and look up a local breeder??

The thing about shipped chicks, is their safe arrival really has more to do with the post office routes between you and the hatchery then the hatchery itself. If you order from mypetchicken, you will pay 3-10 times more than you will from other hatcheries. Other hatcheries have low minimum orders at certain times of year. I would suggest talking to your local farm store(s) and asking where they order their chicks from. They usually know which hatchery shipments arrive the fastest.

A local breeder is a good option as well, you can at least be sure you won’t get a box of dead chicks in the mail. They usually sell straight runs of chicks because sexing day olds can be complicated or they sell started pullets or grown out young hens they decided not to use for breeding. But with local breeders, you’ll have less of a choice when it comes to breeds. You may get the ones you want, or you may not. It is hard to tell until you look.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Is it better to get chickens from mypetchicken.com or should I try and look up a local breeder??

With ordering chicks there is costly shipping charges AND with small orders (under 25) those costs go through the roof. Then once they do arrive not all always make it.

Personally, I would explore your states thread and see if anyone is ordering or breeding birds in your area.
I do advise against getting birds from Tractor Supply as there are WAY to many posts of wrong breeds AND accidental roosters from there for me to ever recommend them.

Other feed stores in your area may be the best choice for a variety of breeds. Those birds will have already gone through shipping and be up and eating.

Some chicks may not survive shipping. That can be devastating to children.