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

 

[Pretty Birds]

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?

Do not free range my chickens, so I would not know which breeds are good for free ranging. With that being said, here are my recommendations.
Buff Orpingtons are good layers of brown eggs, are cold hardy, and are very friendly. The only colored egg layers I've had are Easter Eggers, which got along well with the other chickens in my mixed flock. The Cuckoo Marans that I had also did well in a mixed flock and their eggs added a nice variety, even though they were not extremely dark like some of the pictures I've seen online. I would recommend Austra Whites for white egg layers. They are friendly and lay well in the winter.

 

[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.

 

[connieconnie]

Do not free range my chickens, so I would not know which breeds are good for free ranging. With that being said, here are my recommendations.
Buff Orpingtons are good layers of brown eggs, are cold hardy, and are very friendly. The only colored egg layers I've had are Easter Eggers, which got along well with the other chickens in my mixed flock. The Cuckoo Marans that I had also did well in a mixed flock and their eggs added a nice variety, even though they were not extremely dark like some of the pictures I've seen online. I would recommend Austra Whites for white egg layers. They are friendly and lay well in the winter.

I've heard buff orpingtons have a lovely temperament (plus they're so fluffy!). Sadly Easter eggers are almost impossible to get in the UK Marans sound fantastic (definitely on the short list ). Haven't heard of austra whites, will do some research! Thank you

 

[connieconnie]

I have SLW, Red sex links, JG, Barred Hollands, Buff Cochins, Blue Sumatra, Gold Spitzenhaubens, SS, Gold laced wyandottes, Cuckoo Maran, Columbian Wyabdottes, Lakenvelder, White Rocks, and a few others I cant think of right now. They all get along but its calledpecking 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.

Wow, a whole load of breeds I've never heard of! Going to do some research Thank you so much for all the information! What color eggs do each lay?

We've fenced off a large run in the garden for times when we can't watch them. And when we are they can have the run of our garden, which is fenced high and securely (as we have dogs). We also live in a village in the middle of no where in the UK, where chickens from around the village already can safely cross the road and wonder about. So if they manage to get through the fortress barricades, they still should be okay.

Interesting point about the buzzard hawks! Didn't think about birds of prey! We have a whole load of red kites. Luckily I don't think anyone in the village have had any problem with them yet though.

Our garden doesn't have any pretty flowers, so the chickens can have a party

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[cmom]

You have been given a lot of good recommendations for different breeds. Be prepared for some losses eventually when free ranging. Once your birds are discovered by predators they will pick them off when you least expect it. I used to free range but then the birds were discovered and I lost some to predators so now they are in nice large pens. Here are a few sites that may help you with your decision. Good luck and have fun...
https://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/which-breed-is-right-for-me.aspx
https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chick_selector.html
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html#Chickens
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html
http://www.poultrydvm.com/breed-selector.php

 

[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.

 

[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.