'Sweetest' / most human friendly chicken breeds

[Hotchick65]

It will be a while before I get more chickens, but when I do, what breeds have you guys found to be the most human friendly? By that I mean anything ranging from:

Doesn't run from people
to
Likes to follow people around
to
Likes or tolerates human handling

Or is that more of an individual chicken thing versus a breed thing?

My frizzle hens are the sweetest birds. They follow talk and love petting! Small but quiet and loving.

 

[Xouie]

Do you have a side profile picture of strawberry?

Strawberry was happy to oblige.

Then her roommate Taco wanted to be a star too.

I’m surrounded by diva hens.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

My barred rocks have been the friendliest. The roosters like to perch on my shoulder and crow and the hens like to nap in my lap.

 

[Bonnieboo]

Big thank you to all who gave me their tips I'll now know which chickies to choose!

 

[Featherella]

It will be a while before I get more chickens, but when I do, what breeds have you guys found to be the most human friendly? By that I mean anything ranging from:

Doesn't run from people
to
Likes to follow people around
to
Likes or tolerates human handling

Or is that more of an individual chicken thing versus a breed thing?

Hi there! I hope this helps My family and I have worked with many different breeds through our time raising chickens (and ducks lol) and we have found that buff orpingtons, barred rocks, and cochins are the best. I am also speaking as someone who has usually kept hens so I cant speak for the roosters but I can speak for the hens. They were so sweet and sometimes would sit in my lap when I'd be out in the yard. There definitely still is that component of how often you handle them though, because if they're started from a young age being handled (carefully and respectfully of course) by people, then they typically are a lot friendlier overall. These hen breeds I have also found to get along with other breeds of hens, as in they never caused problems with the other girls in the coop, unlike some of the other breeds I have also had. Side note I've found cochin roosters to be sweet too.

 

[Featherella]

It will be a while before I get more chickens, but when I do, what breeds have you guys found to be the most human friendly? By that I mean anything ranging from:

Doesn't run from people
to
Likes to follow people around
to
Likes or tolerates human handling

Or is that more of an individual chicken thing versus a breed thing?

Hi there! I hope this helps My family and I have worked with many different breeds through our time raising chickens (and ducks lol) and we have found that buff orpingtons, barred rocks, and cochins are the best. I am also speaking as someone who has usually kept hens so I cant speak for the roosters but I can speak for the hens. They were so sweet and sometimes would sit in my lap when I'd be out in the yard. There definitely still is that component of how often you handle them though, because if they're started from a young age being handled (carefully and respectfully of course) by people, then they typically are a lot friendlier overall. These hen breeds I have also found to get along with other breeds of hens, as in they never caused problems with the other girls in the coop, unlike some of the other breeds I have also had. Side note I've found cochin roosters to be sweet too.

 

[Iluveggers]

Out of my flock of 21, the friendliest breed overall is Barred Rock. My friendliest was friendly as a chick and now still as a hen.

One of my Easter Eggers is next in line as friendliest. We also have Wyandottes, Australorp, New Hampshire, ISA Brown, BSL, and a Sapphire Gem.

After reading about other friendly breeds, this year will be adding Orpington, Speckled Sussex, Salmon Faverolles, FBCM, Welsummer, Delaware, a Partridge Rock, more Easter Eggers, and Cream Legbars just to name the “friendliest”.

Next year hoping to add some bantams! Bantam Cochin & Ameraucana are at the top of that list!

Here are the two friendliest ladies, in pic one looking for goodies stuck to my lap, in pic two Miss Busybody checking out the camera!

 

[Coops Dad]

I've posted this before but my RIRs have turned out to be pretty friendly, too.

 

[Ascholten]

Still a youngun there. I need one that will sit on my shoulder like that, I can hear that now, me outside with a hen on my head, the one inside would be exploding !

Aaron

 

[Coops Dad]

She is still the friendliest chicken in the flock and is a constant "talker", following me and making conversational chicken noises. She hops on top of the feed barrel to get closer to people height and likes being picked up and scratched under her wings.