Suggestions for chicken breeds for kids?

[Mvan42]

I have two Plymouth Rock and a rir we got as chicks. My son would have need 5 when we got them (his first chicks). He spent every chance he got in the pen playing with them. They follow us around like dogs now.. especially if they think they are getting treats. Our lavender Orpingtons are calm and friendly also. Feeding them treats from you hand helps. Lol

 

[TheRockLady]

I had flock of several even with a rooster, when we had a 4 year old at home. I handled with the birds a lot & they came running if they thought you were bringing scraps. The brahmas were extremely calm (the rooster I kept was a Brahma because I was much nicer than the others).
However, it is up to the birds. We had 1 Rhode Island Red who, the 4 year old would carry around upside down & she didn’t seem to mind a bit. She would follow him around & seemed to prefer our yard, over the field (free range) with the rest of the flock.
My suggestion is LOTS is socializing, for like 6 months.

 

[Madi131]

If you haven't made up your mind yet, personally I would say a Polish or sapphire gem. I'm not sure how popular the sapphire gems are, as I have only been able to get them once. But that is the most personable chicken I have ever had. And we carry ours around like babies. All of our birds are spoiled rotten and are actually spoon fed eggs almost daily. So I know everyone gets some. Our sapphire gem, Ella, will climb on my lap when this time comes. We have raised all of our birds the same. Most of them are the same age. I also have silkies, Frizzles, EE, sex links, turken, ducks, turkey, etc. So far Ella is the best. She also lays huge eggs (as big as the sexlink who is about a year older than her, and she just started laying so I expect them to be huge. We get one almost every day) If not available where you are, I would suggest polish 100%. Ours is sweet. They're dumb and easy to mess with. Very very interesting to watch. One of ours, Tina, actually pecks her shadow. And the rooster, Louis, skips around the yard.

here's my little brother holding our bantam rooster, he was a very good bird until the hens came around.

My beloved Ella Bella.

And again our Tina. My little brothers, who is 3, favorite one.

 

[Florida Patty]

My grandson will be 4yrs this summer, now obviously he can only "aid" in the care but we would like a generally friendly, docile breed recommendation, winter hardy please, long and can be very cold winters here, we've owned chickens for years but what is left is either not hand raised and/or pretty old so not suitable for him, he enjoys helping but we want to start the process from the beginning again so we will get sexed chicks.

Probably will sort him his own coop vs trying to mingle with our older ladies currently here. Decent egg laying would be good but not a 1# priority, might free range but may not my predator risk here can be a bit intense, don't want anything happening to his babies, so a larger penned area will made.

Thanks!

Love our buff orpingtons for our 3 year old grandson. Very kid friendly. He named his favorite one "Chickoletta" from Paw Patrol.

 

[clickncluck]

Speckled Sussex are the best

 

[sarahconnor]

Silkies, Buff Orpingtons, Brahmas, & D'Uccles.

Yep!!

 

[sarahconnor]

Our polish is super sweet. We carefully trimmed feathers around her eyes so she could see properly. She’s like a different bird now that she can see. Super sweet and always runs up to me - I treat her with a little bird seed. Good luck.

 

[VictoriaTemple]

Brahmas or Cochins. Kids love them BIG! And cuddly. Both are very cold hardy and lay right through the winter. They also breed beautifully with each other and make lovely hybrids! If it wasn’t so cold I would also recommend my favorite Jersey Giants, but they need a little help in a cold winter.

 

[CindyinSD]

Wyandottes can sometimes be mean. Some individuals can be nice, but even if hand raised can have a temper. Some are docile towards humans, but I have heard one to many stories about how peoples Wyandotte hens are bullies toward flock members to keep this breed.
But hey, who knows? Maybe if you got one it would be really sweet.

I have 3 Columbian and 3 Silver Laced Black Wyandottes. My experience has been that the Columbian are super friendly and fluffy while the SLBs are skittish and elegant and sleek. For being two color variations of the same breed they're very different.

 

[FlyAnywayAJ]

My most docile is my Plymouth Barred Rock. EEs are a given for kids because they are docile, hardy and lay fun eggs.