Do you know how many hens you would be getting? How about a mixed flock if you like color? Birds of a similar type and temperament usually get along fine together, a mixed flock and the different colored eggs makes for a nice egg basket. Check out the BYC Breeds forum for member reviews on a lot of breeds, and the Henderson chicken breed chart compares a lot of popular breeds. http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html If you are looking mostly for egg layers the commercial Red Sex Links are probably the best brown egg layers, and the White Leghorns the best white egg layers, some other popular breeds that are step below them are Rhode Island Reds and Australorps, some hatcheries/feed stores also sell production reds or blacks ... other nice egg layers that are a little more duel purpose or come in fancy colors are Wyandottes, Sussex, Delawares, Plymouth Rocks and Orpingtons, orps tend to go broody but they are really popular since they are good pets. The Easter Eggers (hatcheries often sell them incorrectly as Ameraucana or Araucana) are also really nice and popular because of the blue/green colored eggs. And Welsummers or Marans lay nice dark eggs.
