What breed would you chose?

[MarkRainbolt]

I live in central Missouri and our winters are pretty mild and our summers not too bad either. I have had Rhode Island reds before and they did just fine. But I am leaning towards Plymouth Rock barrs this time. I like the brown eggs !!!!! So what do you think of my pick? Or what would you all pick if you lived where I do? Just curious what everyone would pick if you could only pick one breed. Thanks for answering.
Mark

 

[nuthatched]

Plymouth Rocks come in more colors than barred in case you want something fun. Buff, white, Columbian, partridge, and silver penciled. They're good birds. Mine were always so nosey, if my windows were closer to the ground, they'd likely watch me all day.

 

[MarkRainbolt]

Bump
Mark

 

[Iluveggers]

I love my barred plymouth rocks! They are friendly, inquisitive, and lay lots of eggs! I think Plymouth Rock chickens are a good choice. And as previous poster said, you can get a variety of feather colors, which is great for telling them apart, especially if you have to treat one of them for some reason or to notice if something is wrong with one.

 

[awall]

I live in Southern Arizona. Different climate from yours, for sure. We went with one of everything. Our requirements were: each breed has to produce at least 180 eggs a year, mostly docile, have the ability to free-range, and be able to handle the summers in the shade with a swamp cooler. Some of the breeds are dual purpose, meaning that if they were not docile and attacked the other hens, they would be invited over for dinner. We’re mostly in it for the eggs, though.
Because this is our first year with chickens, we had no experience with any particular breeds. I had a wishlist of about ten to fifteen breeds I was interested in and went to the feed stores to see what they had.

This is what we went with:
Olive Egger (green eggs)
Cream Legbar (light blue eggs)
Ameraucana Splash (light blue eggs)
Black Copper and French Wheaten Marans (dark brown eggs)
Barred and White Plymouth Rocks (tan/brown eggs)
Easter Egger (?eggs)
Buff, Jubilee, and Lavender Orpingtons (brown eggs)
Blue Andalusian (white eggs)
Two Rhode Island Reds (brown eggs)
Welsummer (brown speckled eggs)
Delaware (brown eggs)

I got the first ten beginning of April, and the last six the second week of May. So far, no one seems to be a rooster. The two groups are separated, but will be introduced once the young ones are at least three months old.

I would like to add a Moss Egger or an Isbar to the flock in the future because I think they’re pretty darn cool. We have a fair bit of property out in the county and a protected yard, so 20+ chickens is doable. Trying not to let chicken math get the better of me though, haha.

Edit to add: Our favorite chicken happens to be our Delaware, Cheese. Sweet, inquisitive, ability to produce lots of eggs, and durable! The gentleman at the hardware store recommended that breed.