First off I love this site. I am a city girl movin' to the country and my place comes with a nice little coop. I think I need to build a run though or Ill have trouble with the dogs. Anyway, I just cruised through the "breed" pages and had NO IDEA there were so many types of chickens! I think I might be in love. Does anyone have a favorite egg laying breed or any chickens that I should avoid with small children? Im getting really excited but have to get my homework done first!
Lucky you to have a place with a coop! I'm sure others will chime in about what breeds are good with children. I too, am rather agog at all the chicken breeds but will stick with my choice of black jersey giants. Gotta get the coop built though....just too hot right now.
If you have children then you need to get a couple of fun hens that lay blue or green eggs such as Ameraucanas or Easter Eggers. Buff Orpingtons are a big fluffy friendly breed that lay big brown eggs.
You'll get so many answers to this, . All of the breeds I own (in my sig) were chosen first and foremost for their personalities. I was a novice too and wanted chickens that would have a better chance of getting along with each other and people. I have heard though that Buff Orpingtons are known for both sweetness and egg laying. RIRs lay well, but a few people I know that have them say that they're not terribly friendly.
I chose mine because.... The nice man down the road sold three breeds... so I had one of each... And then the other nice man 2 hours away only had 2 of the breeds I wanted anyway (which I'll be getting Wednesday) Not to burst your chicken-ing bubble, but so far my breed choices have been severely limited by what was available. Not that I dont love my hens, but I DONT have an orpington... thats just not right (I have an Australorp... she kinda counts)
My Buff Orpingtons are the friendliest and most docile among my birds. They seek out our attention and like to be held and petted. They even tolerate my 3 year old granddaughter holding them without a bit of an issue. Very sweet birds. Good luck with it, and have fun!
With kids, Easter Eggers are a must. (they are sold as Americauna by hatcheries) They can lay any color egg, but most often it's blue or green. My kids love the colorful eggs. Just pick a few breeds that appeal to you, and fit what you want in your flock. If you want lots of eggs, then look at the Dual purpose breeds. Dark eggs, go for Marans or Welsummers. Keep in mind your climate too. If you are in a really cold climate, you may want to choose breeds with small combs like Delaware, Brahma's, Wyandottes. (birds with large combs are prone to frostbite) You can see I have trouble choosing just 1 breed from my signature line.
My Barred Rock is really sweet. She's not laying yet, but it will be ANY DAY NOW! I have a three year old, and although he doesn't pick her up, she tolerates him petting her and sometimes jumps up on our laps. Very curious and fun to watch. My new French BC Marans is calming down a bit, too, and I'm hoping she will become as friendly. The other two are a leghorn and a prodcution red, and although the leghorn is a lot of fun to watch due to her nutty-ness, she doesn't seek attention much, and the PR is the same. Those two are supposed to be the best layers, though, so I guess they all have their roles in my little flock. I have two EE babies, and they are supposed to be great around kids, too.
Most kid friendly in our flock are the Orpingtons. They do come in more colors than just buff. They tolerate my boys carrying them around the yard and are great layers! They are also big & fluffy and pretty to look at. As soon as you open the house door they all come running up to ya! I have a mixed free range flock so my egg basket has lots of colorful eggs. So not all of my chickens are docile but they all serve their purpose. So far I have Olive Eggs, Chocolate Eggs, Brown Eggs, Speckled Eggs, white eggs, blue eggs and an occasional green egg. Silkies are a MUST for kiddos! They lay small eggs but they LOVE to be snuggled! I wouldn't limit yourself to one breed...they all have different personalities! Have FUN!!! Let us know what you decide to start with.
I have a Barred Rock pullet that is about 12 weeks old. Out of the 21 Chicks, she is the only one that comes up to the kids to be petted. She is the sweetest little thing ever. Among the chicks are Rhode Island Reds, a Black giant Jersey, a white one, that I think is a white rock and 15 Easter Eggers. Of all those, there are only 4 hens though.
