Your opinion Best Backyard chicken breeds? free range, friendly, docile, good egg layers and color

[connieconnie]

Hi,
I'm new to raising chickens, and I've just recently hatched some barred plymouth rocks!
However I want to have a few different breeds to have egg color variety (Cream, blue, brown, green etc.).
They'll be living in my back yard, free ranging and would ideally like them to be super friendly, docile (not pick fights and peck one another) and good egg layers.

Are they're any breeds you could recommend? Could you recommend a few ones that work well together and also have different egg coloring?
For example a brown layer, a dark chocolate layer, a blue layer, a green layer, a white layer etc?

Are they're any breeds you wouldn't recommend for a beginner and someone living in a mild cold climate (the UK)?

Many thanks,
I really appreciate any help and advice!
Connie

 

[cmom]

This was my Gladys. She was a love and loved to be held. One day I was out painting the coops and she was in a garden dust bathing when a fox came up and snatched her during the middle of the day. I was really heartbroken. I cried. If I had only put her in her pen but I thought since I was out there no predators would come around, WRONG. I still miss her. It's been about a year since the fox got her. She was special with special needs as she was a cross beak. I still miss her. I have never had a bird like her. Again good luck and have fun...
This is Gladys in DH's lap. She would jump up when she wanted to be held.

 

[Rammy]

I have SLW, Red sex links, JG, Barred Hollands, Buff Cochins, Blue Sumatra, Gold Spitzenhaubens, SS, Gold laced wyandottes, Cuckoo Maran, Columbian Wyandottes, Lakenvelder, White Rocks, and a few others I cant think of right now. They all get along but its called pecking order for a reason.
I used to let mine free range but they tended to die from predator attacks or neighbors deliberatly running them over with thier car if they were in the road. Totally my fault for that one. So I already had an area fenced in but not big enough for all 60+ chickens, so it was expanded and now they stay in there. I also have chain link fence panels with wire overtop to prevent dive bombing hawks that they stay in if Im not home. This has saved many from those nasty buzzard hawks that nearly wiped me out years ago.
Unless your yard is fenced in, free ranging is not a good idea. They dont know property boundaries and they might cause neighbors to get angry especially if the dig up the mulch and eat thier prize winning flowers.

 

[RiverOtter]

Friendly, docile chickens are not the best for free ranging. Active, busy, alert chickens are.

Having said that, don't worry much about temperament. A mix of breeds will give you a mix of temperaments and so long as they stay together as a flock your docile birds will be alerted by your active ones and you likely won't be bothered that not every hen wants a snuggle as long as on or two are ok with it.

 

[55Flowery]

Wow! Thank you, this list is incredible! I'll look into each one I really appreciate the time this must have taken! Tried searching for the 55 flower hen, no luck, super beautiful but super rare the sound incredible though

You're welcome! If you want personality and non stop egg laying you can't beat Rhode Island Reds. One of my RIRs was attacked by a ginormous Red Tailed Hawk, honestly I don't know how she got away. It hit her back, flipped her over, peeled the skin and feathers from neck to legs and wing to wing and started to tuck into lunch. She managed to escape and came running with the flock, huge wedge of skin dragging on the floor, as if nothing was wrong. It was a Sunday evening and no vets were available so we had to cut off he trailing skin and patch her up as best we could. Her injuries were pretty horrific, I didn't think she would make it. We treated her for 3 months with Vetrycin to keep it clean and coconut oil to keep it moist and for that time she roosted on a step ladder in our games room. She has a bare patch but a lot of the feathers grew back surprisingly. Now she's really part of the family, she knows where every door in the house is and will make a fuss at each one until we let her in, then she heads straight for the fridge. If I don't open it quick enough she tugs at my pant leg until I get her some treats, then we go for a long walk before she rejoins the flock. She's a superstar, tough as old boots!

 

[BGcoop]

I enjoy my buff Orpington, (tried to buy another chick this spring, but when the feathers came in she was all white so I’m not sure what we got). My Rhode Island reds have a lot of character and lay well, my created cream Legbar slay pretty blue eggs, but are a bit skittish, as are my leghorns(but white eggs are fun too).
So far the only ones I probably won’t get again are the gold laced Wyandotte’s, nothing particularly wrong with them, but the ones I had just seemed more prone to having random issues.

 

[igorsMistress]

In my experience it doesn't matter what breed the chicken is. They'll peck each other, that's why there's a pecking order Each bird has its own personality and where they are in the pecking order can influence that.
Easter eggers are barnyard mixes and can give you the widest variety of colors but you don't always know what color they'll lay. If you want specific colors get the specific breed that lays that color. Birds from the same breed can lay varying shades of the same color.

 

[cmom]

Welcome to all of the new members. @WVBirdsAndBees is correct. I would choose the breeds you want. Everyone is different as well as their situations. There are a few breeds of birds that tend to be more flighty such as Leghorns but even they can mellow out some depending on how they are handled, and indeed every bird will have it's own unique personality. They will work out their pecking order. I have certain breeds that I raise to show at poultry shows. I interact with my birds daily. Some don't want to be touched and some look forward to that little pat. It appears you are starting off with chicks or eggs to hatch. Again, good luck and have fun...

 

[cmom]

I didn't realize that Rhode Island reds also had a white version! Are they similar in temperament?

They are good birds and do tend to go broody more than the Reds. This was my Patty. Sadly she is no longer with us but was a great bird.

 

[FowlLove]

I have barred rocks, buff-laced polish, golden Campines, Rhode island red's, and silkies. If you're looking for a good egg layer I would definitely recommend the barred rocks and RIR's! The polish and campine's don't do half bad either and they are very friendly. Silkies are probably not what you are looking for, they are not good egg layers. But, IMO they are the sweetest chickens ever! That's all the breeds I have experience with.