Wanting to give this a go.

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My friendliest bird is the Buff Orpington. That said, the Red Sex Links I have raised from chicks are pretty friendly too. They come running when I step out of the car or out the door. If they hear or see me, they run to me. They occasionally get out and all I have to say is get home and they start to the pen. I would say that any of those suggested that you raise from chicks will be really friendly to you. If the kids are part of the raising process, they probably will be friendly to them as well. They lay very well, probably the best egg layers I have (they were bred for egg laying). As far as a meat chicken, they aren't much for that, though. I don't know much about meat chickens.
For a coop, build what you can afford. Don't think you need a special place. Look at the suggestions on here and take from the ones you like. One suggestion I will make, however, for when you make the pen (can also apply to the coop) around the outside, make sure to lay some fencing on the ground pointing out, away from the pen. Six inches to a foot will probably be enough, err on the longer amount. Pin it down a little, as the grass grows, it will hold it down. Believe me, ever try to pick up some fencing that has laid on the ground for a few months? Anyway, this keep critters from tunneling in. I used 2x4 welded wire (we call it dog wire around here) It was a little more than the chicken wire, but it is much stronger.
 
Ok I've been looking at the coops and they are very nice also very pricy. Now I know you need an enclosure and such but what are the basic needs. Windows? Roosts or nest boxes?
 
tad and charity said:
Ok I've been looking at the coops and they are very nice also very pricy. Now I know you need an enclosure and such but what are the basic needs. Windows? Roosts or nest boxes?
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Yes you definitely need windows, nests and roosts. At least one window. You need one nest for every 2 hens you own. 2X4s with the 4" side facing up are the best roosts.
 
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I beg to differ. Windows look cute, but I don't see the use. You need some ventilation, but you can fix that several ways. I am building a new coop in a couple weeks, pictures to follow. My plan is 12x12, with a slant roof. My current coop has a dirt floor. That is fine. They like to dig around in the dirt on days they don't go out. I kept them in one day when we had ice because I couldn't open their door. There are all kinds of rules for how much space you need. I found that it depends on what your chickens do during the day. If you plan to keep them in a smallish pen, or in the coop, then they need a lot of room. If they are allowed to free range or have a really large pen, then you can back off that space a bit. They say 4 sq feet of coop per bird and 10 square feet of pen(run) per bird. You need roosting space. I use 2x4s and 1x4s. We did some demo of a house and I took all the old 1x4 door frames and made their roosts. I nailed them to some 2x4s running at an angle. I will tell you that they will not want to sleep at the bottom. I tried to make it so that the top two rows are long enough to hold all my chickens. There are two rows each about 8' long. They huddle close to each other in the Winter to stay warm. In my new coop, I plan to have the same setup. However, I plan to have a board (an old piece of roofing tin) under the roost to collect Poo. They are prodigious poopers. For the nesting boxes, I use a variety of things. Right now, I have 2 old tote boxes. I cut a hole in the top and wired it to to the base so they can 't knock it off. I fill the boxes with pine shavings. My 15 hens use those two boxes fine. I think there is occasionally some squabbling, but they are fine. I still get about a dozen eggs per day plus or minus a couple. In my new coop, I will have about 4 boxes accessible from the outside. I once had 6 boxes for my hens, but they only used two of the boxes, so when I rebuilt, I only put in 2 bigger boxes. I also plan to put in two brooding boxes near the floor so that if one of my hens goes broody (something I want) they can be close to the floor for the chicks. My current coop has plenty of ventilation due to my ineptitude, but I have learned and this one will be better. My plan is to leave about a 3 inch gap at the roofline to allow hot air to escape in the summer and provide air circulation in the winter. I will have a door for me to enter and some small sliding door for the chickens. I will run chicken wire along he bottom two feet of the coop along the top to deter critters from entering. I would use hardware cloth if I had more money. I have a large pile of vinyl siding my father in law salvaged at some time that I will use for walls. I'll be putting pictures on in a couple weeks.
 
Different breeds start at different times. Don't use the guidelines posted. Those are averages, your mileage may vary. I bought some Golden Buffs from Meyer ( they are the red sexlink chickens) the literature says 20-26 weeks. Mine took about 6 months before any really started laying consistently. Chickens don't lay well in the Winter, but there are exceptions. My Golden Buffs laid all winter. So, as many will tell you around here, they will start laying when they do. Use the average as a guideline. If they reach that age in the Winter, they will probably skip some time before they start consistently laying. Mine are all laying now.
 
It depends (notice that most things with chickens start with "it depends") I have several different breeds living together. Some breeds are more aggressive than others. You can look on this site under breeds to lean more about each breed. That aside, chickens have personalities too. So even if the breed is docile, you may get a real cranky one. Or vice versa. I think in general, though, chickens don't care about race. Buff Orpingtons live in peace and harmony alongside Rhode Island Reds. A lot of good lessons to learn from chickens.
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