Suggestions for: toddler friendly heritage or rare chicken

[1SkyBird]

Hi I am a wildlife carer and have hand raised many things from finches to kangaroos now its time to find friendly heritage chickens for my family, lots white egg would be a bonus. gold, brown, or cream, colour chickens are all great. Chickens that are happy to sit on a lap and have a cuddle, and can cope with a small back yard. we would need to be able to find these chickens in Australia. thanks I look forward to peoples suggestions

 

[getaclue]

My first suggestion is keep your toddler away from your chickens unless the toddler is under strict scrutiny, and supervision. I prefer Australorps, and you have some of the best in the world available to you. I am unsure if they come in brown though. They come in black, blue, and splash for sure.

 

[cavemanrich]

Welcome to BYC, Not sure what chickens are most available in Australia, so I will leave those suggestions to others.
Wishing you best in your chicken adventures...... and

 

[2 many chickens]

Bantams are very people friendly

 

[Pork Pie]

Hello and welcome to BYC. I'd suggest asking on your country thread - https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/australia-six-states-and-that-funny-little-island.598568/

 

[Hyroler]

I have toddler and she loves chickens.I don't think breed of chicken makes that much difference.If you want chicken you can hold ,pet and sit on your lap.You need to handle it a lot when it is young.If chick grows up with you picking it up and petting it then it will trust you when it's older.Its all about building the relationship from day 1

 

[Blooie]

This is our adorable granddaughter Kendra with her Grampa, my dear hubby Ken. Kendra has Spina Bifida and Autism, and is conversationally non-verbal. She has had the Mitrofanoff procedure done - a stoma put in her lower tummy to assist with her 5x daily catherterizations and the MACE procedure, another stoma with a small plastic cap on the other side of her tummy so we can do her nightly enemas through that. She’s been around the chickens since she was 2 years old and facing her first leg surgeries. We are her only day care providers so she’s here a lot. There is nothing we wouldn’t do to protect her, teach her, and keep her safe and happy. We even culled a special rooster because we didn’t trust him around her.

And this is our Kendra with her favorite chicken, a Silkie roo named Smudge. I’ve posted this photo a lot on BYC because it shows clearly the absolute trust we have in the two of them, although she’s always, always carefully supervised. We had many types of chickens, but our Light Brahma, Tank, and Silkie, Smudge, adapted themselves well to Kendra’s developmental stages and disabilities. Granted, there are stinkers and sweethearts within every breed or variety of chicken, but if either of these two are available in Australia, I highly recommend them as gentle and sociable. Tank would even settle herself on Kendra’s lap when Kendra was out there in her wheelchair. And after all, if we allowed them around our precious Kendra.....

 

[Hyroler]

You have beautiful granddaughter and that is very cute silki.

 

[getaclue]

My 2, and 3 year old granddaughters snuggle with some of my chickens. Again, it's under my watchful eye. I don't just turn the kids loose on my chickens.

Great pic Blooie.

 

[Alaskan]

of the breeds you listed I think the Faverolle or Cochin/Pekin (aren't those the same breeds just brit name verses American name?) would be the best snugglers.

Both of those breeds have calm sweet hens (not the best layers though)